News & Media Releases
Sound as a Barrel
by Ellen Blaubergs, Volunteer, Coldwater Canadiana Heritage Museum There are numerous interesting “works in progress” involving artifacts at the Coldwater Canadiana Heritage Museum, including two wooden barrels once used to transport ceramics. Both are in...
Happy Birthday to Dr. Nancy Ironside!
Happy Birthday to Dr. Nancy Ironside! In honour of her birthday on July 24, we pay tribute to Nancy Retired physician and anesthesiologist, environmentalist, naturalist and... To many, Dr. Nancy Ironside needs no introduction. Without fanfare, Nancy has made a huge...
Two Horse Rides from Orillia to Coldwater
Corduroy Road Over a Swamp in Orillia Township, Ontario Ware, Titus Hibbert, 1810-1890 Picture, 1844, English Pen & brown & blue inks, grey wash, over pencil. Toronto Public Library Digital Archive, in the Public DomainBy Fred Blair Jacob Gill and his...
Community Difference-Maker: Erin Dixon and the Gojijing Roundtable
Community Difference-Maker: Erin Dixon and the Gojijing Roundtable Three thousand years ago, Orillia was populated by the Wendat or Huron people, whose settlement extended all around Lake Couchiching, which they called Gojijing. As colonizers arrived, the lives of...
Andrew Borland, War of 1812 Veteran
By Fred Blair On June 18, 1812, the United States declared war on the British. Many recent American settlers in Upper Canada, like the Borlands, had to consider where their loyalties lay. By law, all the males between 16 and 60 in the province were required to serve...
Thomson Family: John Thomson
By Trish Crowe-Grande, Chair OMAH History CommitteeThe Thomsons, one of Orillia’s influential founding families, rose in prominence in the early days when lumbering was the big industry and dominated the commercial life of the community.Born in Scotland in 1831, John...
Happy Birthday Franklin Carmichael!
Introduction Happy 131st Birthday, Franklin Carmichael for May 4th, 2021. Fellow Orillians are on a quest to learn more about you. Carmichael was a Renaissance man: husband, father, teacher, philosopher, artist in oil, watercolour and graphite, designer of book...
Sue Mulcahy – 100 Years Young!
Happy Birthday Sue! Lucille (Sue) Mulcahy, stalwart member of our community, turns 100 on March 14th! OMAH and Lakehead University join together to honour Sue and to celebrate her many accomplishments and contributions over those years, that have so enriched...
Past Pandemics : How They Have Shaped Us
The current Covid-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented changes in social interaction and commerce. With all the changes resulting from self-isolation, social distancing, travel restrictions, reduced shopping trips, increased on-line shopping, working at home and...
Christmas Cards from Franklin Carmichael
The OMAH collection is a treasure trove of artifacts, often generously donated by those who recognize their importance to local history. These gems teach us about our past and individuals who played a part in it. Orillian, Franklin Carmichael, a founding member of the...
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Land Acknowledgement
The Orillia Museum of Art & History is located on the traditional territory of the Anishnaabeg. The Anishinaabeg include the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Pottawatomi nations, collectively known as the Three Fires Confederacy.
In acknowledging that we occupy colonized Indigenous territories, and out of respect for the rights of Indigenous people, we accept our collective responsibility to recognize our colonial histories as well as their present-day manifestations in order to honour, protect, and sustain this land.