Orillia – Welcome to the Simcoe Narrows
These days the town of Orillia is overshadowed by the city of Barrie, a town transformed into a Toronto commuter city. Yet at one time this was the premier Lake Simcoe port, after all the city is located at an important geographic feature at the north of the lake where it narrows considerably, creating a small waterway that connects Lake Couchiching and Lake Simcoe. Although of lesser importance today, the masonry town center and extensive lakefront beach make Orillia an attractive destination.
***Note: Orillia’s most famous factoid is that it share a birthday with its native nation! ***
Table of Contents
Whats in a Name?
The name Orillia itself come from Sir Peregrine Maitland, who was given the land in 1820. Like nearby Oro county, the name has Spanish origins. Maintland was a veteran of the Napoleonic campaign against the French in Spain and thus many think that he was borrowing from the world “Orilla,” which can mean the shore of either a lake or river.
A Brief History
Orillia was once an important hub of the Huron and Iroquois people, who would create a complex system of weirs to trap fish over 4,000 years ago. It would first be discovered by Europeans by French explorer Samuel de Champlain in the summer of 1615, travelling the Coldwater route – a popular fur trading corridor slicing through Lake Simcoe. Treaties with the Hurons were concluded in 1798, 1815 and 1818 in order to gain land to settled military veterans with a final push taking place in 1840 to lay out the settlement of Orillia.
The town began to take shape as a small commercial hub and summer resort in the later part of the 19th century with the construction of a 100 mile road to Ottawa via Bancroft and roads leading to Toronto and Georgian Bay. It would become incorporated as a village 1867, thus sharing the same birth year as Canada and designated a city in 1975.
Things to do in Orillia
Visit the Huron Weirs
Remember those fishing weirs mentioned in the history section? Yes those things still exist but they are in a rather strange location, under a massive roadway crossing the narrows.
The narrows were the epicenter of the Huron fish trade along lake Simcoe, as noted by Champlain upon his visit here. They were created by driving piles into the lake bed and setting up nets with openings in order to catch the fish.
Leacock Museum National Historic Site
Not far from Couchiching beach facing Couchiching Lake, you will find the Leacock Museum Historic house. It once belonged to the author Stephen Leacock, known for his 1912 book Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town. The little town in question was modeled on Orillia known as “Mariposa” and was based an the authors experiences in the town.
A path leading from the house will take you north around to the tip of a peninsula where you will find a small boathouse with view of the bay.
Couchiching Beach Park and the Port of Orillia
Next on our list is the Couchiching Beach Park, the city’s unofficial waterfront playground of the city as well as the port marina. There is little out of the ordinary here, it is a pretty area with flowers and a gazebo as well as a beautiful monument to Samuel de Champlain.
Exploring the City
Any visit to Orillia should start at the Mariposa Market on Mississauga Street, the traditional main street of the city. This old time market makes delicious baked goods such as doughnuts as well as loafs. I strongly recommend that you stop in and see for yourself why it is so popular with the locals.
The downtown core of Orillia consists of many beautiful masonry buildings including the Orillia Opera House, a building that looks like an armoury. The old residential suburbs can also be fairly attractive.
There are plenty more businesses but one of my favourites is the Alleycats Record Store. For those of you that are not aware, Orilia is the home of legendary Canadian musical artist Gordon Lightfoot signer of the hits The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, Sundown and If You Could Only Read My Mind – all amazing songs especially Sundown. Anyhow Alleycats records is a fantastic record store.
