For an entire road map of Simcoe County CLICK HERE

#1 Town of Collingwood (See Clearview) #2 Clearview #3 Town of Wasaga Beach (See Clearview) #4 Camp Borden #5 Adjala-Tosorontio #6 New Tecumseth #7 Bradford-West Gwillmbury #8 Innisfil #9 City of Barrie (See Vespra) #10 Essa #11 Springwater #12 Oro-Medonte #13 Town of Orillia (See Severn) #14 Ramara #15 Severn #16 Tay #17 Tiny #18 Town of Penetanguishene (See Tiny) #19 Town of Midland (See Tay)

                 OLD TOWNSHIP: MATCHEDASH TOWNSHIP

                 St. John's Anglican  Con 3, Lot 6

            OLD TOWNSHIP: ORILLIA and ORILLIA TOWNSHIP

              Huronia Regional Centre
              Ardtrea United - 1983 Con 9, Lot 4
              Marchmont - 1979 Con 1, Lot 2
              Old-Catholic Angels, Guardian Parish Con 4, Lot 7
              St. Michael's R.C. Con 3, Lot 6

              St. George's Lake Union - 1977, Con 13, Lot 9,
              St. Paul's Anglican, St Mark's Wasago Con 5, Lot 8

              St. James Anglican Con 5, Lot 8
              St. Luke's Anglican - 1977 Con 12, Lot 17

   
SETTLER         Con. Lot Occupation

ALLEY, Gerald    4    9  Indian farm instructor
BAILEY Robert    4    9  Blank
BORLAND, Andre   4    9  Indian trader
BOWERS, Michae   4    9  Blacksmith
DALLAS, James    4    9  Blank
DARLING, Paul    4    9  Doctor, Indian reserve
GILL, Jacob      5   10  Millwright and Supt. of works, Indian post
GODOIR, Antoine  6   11  (GAUDAUR)
LAMB, Peter      4    9  Blank
LAWRENCE, J.M.   4    9  Law, (Indian teacher), or Larmour?
MOFFAT, Andrew   5    9  Teacher, Indian school, and interpreter
ROE, John J.     4    9  Blank
SCOTT, Jonathan, 5    9  Methodist missionary, Rev.
THOMPSON, John   6   10  Blank
WILSON, Leonar   5   10  Supt. for Beeman, the Gov't contractor?

   SETTLER            Con.   Lot  

BOOTH, Robert          3      6 (N1/2)
DRINKWATER, John       3      1 (W1/2)
FRASER, Henry          1      1
GEORGE, Robert         4      2
GOLDING, Thomas        2      5 (W1/2)
HUME, W.C.             1      2
JOICE, Patrick         2      5 (E1/2)
MAGOVERN, John         2      2
O'CONNOR, John         1      2 (Pt)
PATTON, Mara           4      1
PETTIS, John           1      2
REES, John             3      6 (S1/2)
RICKARD, John          2      7 (E1/2)
ROBINSON, Charles      9      5
ROUT, James            4      4 (E1/2)
TAYLOR, Robert         1      2
THOMPSON, John         6      1
WOOD, William          7      1
WRIGHT, John           3      4 (E1/2)

 
     SETTLER          Con.   Lot  

DALLAS, Frederick      3     11
DARLING, Paul          2      6
FINCH, John            1     11
HARVEY, John           1      9
JOHNSON, ....          1     10
KIRSOP, William        6      4 (E Pt)
MULOCH, William        2      5
ROWE, Chas             1      5
SANSON, James          2      9
SIBBALD, William       5     11
SQUIRES, Philemon      5      8
ST. JOHN, St. Andrew   5      6

From the first it was manifest to the traders and settlers of a speculative turn of mind that the Indian trading post at The Narrows might naturally develop into a town at no very distant day. As already mentioned in our skecth of Hawkestone, or Hodegs' Landing, the landing places along the north shore of Lake Simcoe were various, but all were continuative of the great trail across the isthmus of Hurontario. In the immediate vicinity of The Narrows there were at least three of these landing places; the one on Lake Couchiching, where Orillia now stands; The Narrows proper, where the scattered hamlet of Invermara marks the place at which the important trail leading to Port Hope crossed the waters of Lake Simcoe; while the third was on the shore of Shingle Bay. Hence it was no wonder that the first white occupants of The Narrows and its environs were divided in their opinions as to the site of the coming emporium.

Honore Bailly patented, on September 1, 1826, five hundred acres in the vicinity of the town, viz., lots 10 and 12, in concession 5, (200 acres each) and lot 11, in concession 6, (west part, 100 acres). These lots were all beside the lakes, and were evidently selected on account of their proximity to the water.

A great change has come over Orillia since the early fur-traders went among the Ojibways of the forests there at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The first white settlers at the town as given in one account, were: Jacob Gill and family, Gerald Alley, Thomas Butcher and family, Captain Borland, Rev. Gilbert Miller, the Wesleyan missionary; Robert Bailey and family, and James Sanson and family in the fall of 1833.

It is recorded that in 1833 Gerald Alley, who is said to be the first white settler, and who had arrived a year or two before this, was employed by the Government to instruct the Indians in farming, and in the autumn of that year superintended them in clearing a field adjoining Neywash Street, near the dwelling house erected by the government for Chief Yellowhead.

Throughout Simcoe County, as in every county, , the local historians have been the newspaper men, in almost evrey case. George H. Hale of the Packet has been an earnest worker in the early history of Orillia and its environs. and for many years the readers of the Packet have received the benefit of his historical work, especially in his notices of the pioneers, as one by one they were laid at rest. Some of his numerous sketches have proved helpful in the compilation of the brief pioneer notices which follow.

So early as 1834, a few of the settlers made an attempt to establish a town at the landing place on Shingle Bay. An advertisement setting forth its good qualities appeared in the Toronto Courier that year, and it was called the "New Town of Innisfallen."

Notwithstanding the eclat with which the Shingle Bay enterprise was ushered into existence, Innisfallen never matured beyond a few cabins on the shore and a place in the list of dead villages on Lake Simcoe. Orillia instead became the favorite trading point and outstripped the other landing places in the rapidity of its growth.

Walton's Directory, composed near the end of the year 1836, furnishes a list of the settlers in Orillia at that time. On lot No. 9, concession 4, there were:

Gerald Alley, Robert Bailey, Andrew Borland, Michael Bowers, James Dallas, Peter Lamb, J.M. Lawrence (Larmour ?), John J. Rowe.

Nearer the shore on lot No. 9 in the 5th concession, were located Andrew Moffatt and Rev. Jonathan Scott, the Indian instructors. While on lot No. 10, in the 5th concession, also within the limits of the original village, were Jacob Gill and Leonard Wilson. To these names, another authentic list of the first settlers adds the name of Neil Morrison.

The Town of Orillia, owing to its interesting history, and perhaps partly from being the headquarters of the Ojibways, has from time to time figured in Canadian literature. In addition to Mrs. Anna Jameson's sketch, referred to in another chapter, Charles Sangster's, "Sonnets written in the Orillia woods, August, 1859," appeared during 1860 in "Hesperus and other Poems;" and Dr. Scadding has, on various occasions, written at some length upon the town and its surroundings. The adjacent township was the birthplace of Mrs. Fanny Kelly, afterward of Kansas, who in 1864, while travelling across the plains to Montana in a waggon train, was taken captive by the Sioux Indians, with whom she remained in captivity under severe hardships for five months. A Canadian edition of the "Narrative of Her Captivity" appeared in Toronto in 1872. Mrs. Kelly was one of the Wiggins family, of lot 10, concession 2, South Orillia.

By the year 1837, as it may be seen in the appendix, Orillia had a dozen or more white families, but there was little further increase until about 1841, when a fresh influx began, the effects of the rebellion having by this time been worn off.

The white settlers petitioned the Government for a landing in 1838, and received it. In the following year they sent another petition asking the Government to remove the Indians to Rama, which was also done. Samuel Richardson, of Penetanguishene, thereupon surveyed the Orilla town plot in the same year (1839), the removal of the Indians to Rama having left the way clear for the inauguration of a village and ultimately a town.

A number of years passed before the citizens sought to become incorporated. At the session of November, 1866, the County Council appointed John C. McMullen as census enumerator for Orillia, with a view to incorporation. He found there were a sufficient number of inhabitants therein to entitle them to incorporation, and the council thereupon passed a by-law for the purpose, appointing Frank Evans, barrister, as the returning officer for the first municipal election. The first reeve chosen for the new village was James Quinn, viz., for the year 1867.

A historical sketch of Orilla, with illustrations, was printed by the Orillia Times in an edition of the Canadian Annual for 1895, and contained much interesting matter on the history of the place for the preceding sixty years. The Times also issued an illustrated souvenir number in 1906. There have been historical skecthes and descriptions of the town also issued at various times by the News-Letter and by the Packet. The "Memories" of Rev. Thomas Williams, in the last named newspaper, contained many references to the early days of Orillia.

Jacob Gill came to Orillia from Newmarket, and was the millwright in connection with the Indian Department. He had a family of fourteen children, nearly all of whom became residents of the district. He has been described as a very intelligent person,- originally a citizen of New York State, who had emigrated to Canada from Albany and Troy, N.Y.

A man of considerable prominence in the early days of Orillia was James Sanson, a native of Edinburgh, Scotland, who came to Canada in the fall of 1833 and settled in Orillia Township. After a short time at his first location, he moved to the place known as "Beechwood Hill," in the same township. He soon encountered some experience of pioneer life in the thinly settled district to which he had come, as some sheep which he had brought from near Toronto were destroyed by wolves. He was appointed a Justice of the Peace in 1847, and as a magistrate was a peacemaker, doing his best to heal differences. In May, 1852, he was appointed reeve of the township. At the beginning of 1853 he became warden of Simcoe County and held the office for four years. In 1854 he contested North Simcoe against Angus Morrison during the heat of the Clergy Reserves controversy, bu was not successful. Shortly after he held the wardenship he moved into the Town of Orillia, where he resided at "Melville Lodge," and where he died Aoril 12, 1874, aged 81 years. His wife, Mary Laing, who was a sister of David Laing, the celebrated author and antiquarian, of Edinburgh, also died within a few hours of his death, both being buried at the same time.

Of this family, the Rev. Canon (Alex.) Sanson had the charge of Little Trinity Church, Toronto, for about fifty years. And David L. Sanson was in mercantile business in Orillia for some time, and was twice mayor of the town; he died in October, 1893.

Andrew Moffatt, the Indian teacher and interpreter, was appointed a Justice of the Peace in 1843, and was a resident from the time of his arrival early in the thirties until his death in 1873. His wife was a Miss Manwaring, a native of Connecticut, who came to Orillia also as a teacher of the Indians in 1832, and was married to Mr. Moffatt in 1834. They continued teaching the Indians until the removal of the band to Rama five years later, aftre which Mr. Noffatt went into business in Orillia. She survived her husband until October 12, 1891, passing away at the advanced age of 82 years.

One of the prominent men of Orillia in the early days was James Dallas, who was born in the City of Edinburgh in 1797, and emigrated direct to Orillia in 1835, taking up at this time the property upon which he resided up to the time of his death, on June 9, 1872. In his native city he had been a baillie or alderman, and always took an active interest in public affairs. W. Chambres, in his "Memoirs," speaks of a man, afterward settled at Orillia, Canada, (referring to Mr. Dallas), who had given him, in the early days of his publishing enterprise, an order for bookbinding. Mr. Dallas was the representative to the Home District Council in Toronto in 1842 from Orillia, a municipal body which met four times that year; and was also the representative from Orillia in the Simcoe District Council the following year, being succeeded in 1844 by Frederick Dallas. He was also appointed a magistrate in 1843, and at the end of the same year became warden of the county or district, as it was then called, his appointment having been made by the government. He continued to act as warden for a little more than a year, and then withdrew from municipal life. In his own local sphere he held various positions of trust, including that of President of the Orillia Mechanics' Institute, the Branch Bible Society and others. On his death the Orillia Packet spoke of him in these terms: "Although unobtrusive in political matters, whenever he preceived wrong or oppression, dishonesty or dishonour, he was always ready with voice or pen to uphold the right. He was a thorough gentleman, of the old school, and for nearly forty years his sterling character has given his opinions more weight than those of any other man in our community." When he died, in 1872, the County Council also placed on record its regret, speaking of him as a man known for his integrity and uprightness of character.

Frederick Dallas may also be included among the pioneers. He also was appointed a magistrate in 1843, was District Councillor for Orillia from 1844 until 1849, and in 1841, or earlier, had erected on the stream at his place the pioneer industry known as the Orillia Mills.

Rev. John Gray came to Orillia in 1851 to take charge of the newly established Presbyterian congregation, and in the beginning of the following year was appointed by the County Council as Township Superintendent of Schools for the townships of Oro and Orillia, a position he held for seven years. He was appointed Superintendent of the Oro schools in 1859 and in 1863-4. He was also a member of the Board of Education at various times, and took an active interest in the improvement of the methods of primary education, in addition to the work of his pastorate.

Arthur G. Robinson, C.E., was for many years one of the well known citizens of Orillia, in which he resided (with occasional short absences) for sixty years. He was born in Ireland in 1817, received an education in Dublin for engineering and came to Canada in 1832 with his father, Dr. S. Robinson, and a number of family connections,- viz., the families of Blake, Brough, Hume, and others,- some of whom settled in the vicinity of Orillia for a time. When Orillia was only an Indian village in 1832, he passed through the place, but shortly afterward returned to Ireland with his father. He returned to Canada the next year and spent his life as an engineer in the country of his adoption, with his headquarters mostly at Orillia. In 1843 he married May, only daughter of Wm. Mulock, of the Coldwater Road. As an engineer he took part in the construction of the Lachine and Welland Canals, the building of lighthouses on Lake Huron and Georgian Bay, the locks at Port Carling in Muskoka, and under the chapter on roads and bridges mention is made of some of his other works in this county. He died on February 24, 1894, aged 77 years, and his widow died a year later.

Henry Fraser moved into Orillia from Price's Corners and began the erection of a large brick building for a hotel, but it was on too large a scale and before he finished it for that purpose, the Canadian Government, in the last months of 1857, or January, 1858, commenced negotiations for purchasing it for an asylum for convalescent lunatics. For some reason the sale or transfer did not take place immediately, so the project was helped along by the County Council, which initiated action in 1859 in reference to increased lunatic asylum accommodation for the Province. Other councils joined, and the crusade had a good effect, as the Government thereupon chose Orillia as the site of a branch asylum. By October, 1859, the sale had been completed, and the Convalescent Lunatic Asylum at Orillia became an established fact. It soon began to undergo enlargement and completion (in 1860) under the superintendent, Dr. John Ardagh, and Kivas Tully, of the Public Works Department, and the building thus erected for a hotel became the first Asylum. It was three stories high, heated by steam, and had, with its two wings, a frontage of 118 feet, the verandahs being railed in with iron rods, which gave it an unique appearance. By 1866 the patients numbered 140, the official title of the institution being at that time the Orillia Lunatic Asylum for Chronic Patients. At a later time the Government transformed it into an Asylum for Idiots, and a large, new building was erected for the purpose, facing Lake Simcoe.

H.R.H. the Prince de Joinville was in Canada in 1861, and in the course of his travels visited Orillia and other parts of the county. He was a son of Louis Phillippe, the ex-king of France, and in the American Civil War was attached to the Army of the North for a time.

Amongst the arrivals in Orillia in the growing years of the early fifties was John Kean, who came in 1852 as a millwright from Brantford, and as he afterward took a prominent part in public affairs, he is entitled to receive some notice in this place. Mr. Kean was a native of Co. Antrim, Ireland, where he was born in 1820. He came to Canada in 1832 and settled in the Township of Nassagaweya, Halton County, where his parents had settled a few years previously. He became a millwright and in early days after coming to Orillia built saw and grist mills, some of which were: Marchmount, Washago, Penetanguishene, Muskosh, two near Orillia, and others. He was reeve of the Orillia Townships from 1862 until 1869, both years inclusive, and was warden of the county in 1868. In 1869 he became the senior partner in the firm of Keane, Fowlie & Co., which built the sawmills at Victoria Harbour and operated them until 1876. In 1875 he was elected member of the Ontario Legislature for East Simcoe, over Hugh Sutherland, by a majority of 164, and represented the riding in the Assembly until 1879. In the winter of 1880 he was sent by the Dominion Government to Fort McLeod, N.W.T., to build a sawmill at Pincher Creek, and in 1833 became one of the pioneers of Lethbridge, Alta., where he built a small lumber mill for the Galt Company, and had charge of other enterprises, including the Northwest Coal and Navigation Co. He died at Lethbridge, May 31, 1892. His son, Mr. B.F. Kean, may be classed as one of the pioneers of Orillia, and also his brother Frank Kean, who came there to reside in 1854.

Thomas Goffatt established a post for the Hudson's Bay Company at Orillia in 1862-3, and continued it for seventeen years, until all their posts throughout Southern Ontario were closed.

THE ADJACENT TOWNSHIP

In the other parts of the township of South Orillia were the following early settlers:

Frederick Dallas	lot 11, con. 3
Paul Darling	lot 6, con. 12
John Finch	lot 11, con. 1
Antoine Godoir (Gaudaur)	lot 11, con. 6
John Harvie	lot 9, con. 1
- Johnson	lot 10, con. 1
William Kersop	lot 4, con. 6
William Mulock	lot 5, con. 2
Chas. Rowe	lot 5, con. 1
James Sanson	lot 9, con. 2
William Sibbald	lot 11, con. 5
Philemon Squires	lot 8, con. 5
St. Andrew St. John	lot 6, con. 5
John Thompson	lot 11, con. 6

The opening of the Coldwater Road along the line of the ancient trail, in 1830, or soon afterward, afforded one of the most important arteries to the inflowing tide of settlement. Some settlers came at that time and located on either side of the highway. Amongst these who settled upon it in South Orillia in 1832 was Paul Darling, M.D. Dr. Darling was the first physician to practice in this section of the country, became surgeon to the Indian Department, married a daughter of Captain Hamilton, of Matchedash and Penetangusihene, and went to live in Manitoulin Island, when Captain T.G. Anderson, the Indian Superintendent, moved with the Indians to that island in 1837. Dr. Darling had also two brothers who were early residents of this township for a while in the early years of its settlement, viz., William, who became the Rev. W.S. Darling, for some time Rector of Holy Trinty Church, Toronto, and James Darling, who subsequently moved to Penetanguishene, where he entered into partnership with W.B. Hamilton in a general store.

John Finch, the third on the above list, was a native of England. He forsook the backwoods and entered the ministry of the Baptist denomination, having been located in Tollendal in later years.

William Mulock came with his family from Banagher, Ireland, to the Coldwater Road in 1834, but found the transfer to the Orillia forests a great change indeed. One of his sons became the Rev. Canon (John) Mulock, of Brockville, Ont., and afterward of Winnipeg, Man.

John Harvie, a native of Scotland, settled in South Orillia with his family in 1832, and different members of this family and their descendants have been prominent in the history of the township and the locality generally. The seven sons in this Harvie family were, in the order of their age: John, Andrew, Robert, Charles, Alexander, William, Thomas. All of these, at one time or another, occupied farms of their own in South Orillia.

John, the eldest son, became the well known stage driver from Barrie to Orillia in the early days before the railway, and at a later time was one of the proprietors of the stage line from Orillia to Gravenhurst. His son, John T. Harvie, was the representative of Gravenhurst to the Simcoe County Council in 1885-6-7.

Andrew, the second son, like most of the other members of the family, did much teaming to this settlement from Toronto in the early days, especially in winter, when the boats could not run.

Robert, the third, about the year 1844, took up lot 8, on the second line, which was then a hundred acres of forest, and lived on it throughout his life, which closed April 14, 1890.

The fourth son, Charles, made his first business venture by teaming for the settlement to and from Toronto, before the days of the railroad. It required a week to make the round trip in those days, and for a period he brought all the merchandise required by the stores and all the settlers desired. His homestead was the west half of lot 9, concession 2, where he reaped his first harvest with a sickle and his last with a self-binder. He was an ardent agriculturist, did much to improve the quality of farm stock in his neighbourhood, his herd of shorthorns being the earliest in the district, and he was for many years an active member of the board of directors of the early agricultural Society at Orillia, his name appearing in the minutes of the society as long ago as 1847. At different times he filled the offices of vice-president and president of the society. He also took a prominent part in municipal matters, becoming a member of the township council at an early date, and in October, 1869, his name first appears on the roll of county councillors, as reeve of Orillia townships. He died September 25, 1891, having been connected with municipal affairs for about 20 years, and with public affairs generally all his life. His son, W.M. Harvey, is now sheriff of Simcoe County.

Wm. Harvie, the sixth son, and the last survivor of the seven, died March 8, 1909.

Alexander and Thomas, the remaining sons in this pioneer family, were also lifelong residents of the township.

Three brothers, Charles, Stanhope and Basil R. Rowe, came to Canada aabout the year 1830, They were memebers of a Devonshire family, although immediately from London, Eng. In 1832, Charles, the eldest, came to Orillia and took up land beside Bass Lake for himself and brothers. For a short time, they resided at Holland Landing, but about the date just mentioned, came to Bass Lake. Basil, who was the younger of the three, was 16 or 17 years of age at the time of their arrival in the woods of Bass Lake. Subsequently, both Charles and Stanhope went to the United States, but Basil remained in South Orillia throughout his life. He married a daughter of Captain Hamilton, of Matchedash and Penetanguishene. In the early days of Orilla Township, Mr. Rowe was chosen township clerk, and held the office for a generation or more. His death took place on December 29, 1894.

A few of the first settlers along the shore of Lake Couchiching in this township were half-pay officers, as also in Oro Township. In otherwords, the line of half-pay officers through Oro extended onward through South Orilla into North Orillia, and indeed into Rama on the opposite side of Lake Couchiching. Among those officers who took up lands in South Orillia were three mentioned in the above list, viz., Capt. Wm. Kersop, Capt. St. John and Capt. John Thompson.