Postcard Memories is a weekly series of historic postcard views and photos submitted by Marcel Rousseau.
Some were previously published by the Orillia Museum of Art and History and in the book Postcard Memories Orillia.
In April of 1907, the John Dunn property on Mississaga Street West was purchased for $3,500 to be used for a new hospital. The property was high and dry and had good drainage.
Behind this building the lawn sloped down a hill to a small spring-fed stream that originated at the top end of Mary Street. The property contained a 10-room brick-clad dwelling facing Dunedin Street on two-and-one-quarter acres.
The Hospital Board originally planned to sell the Dunn house for $800 and build a modern new hospital for $18,000. The board decided to renovate the house and in May, 1908 the 20-bed Orillia General Hospital opened its doors at a total cost of $16,000.
The community outgrew this building shortly after it was opened and in 1922 the soldiers wing opened with the name being changed to Orillia Soldiers' Memorial Hospital.
The original building became known as the Queen Mary Wing until it was torn down in 1962 to make way for the Harvie Wing. Today, Soldiers' Memorial Hospital still stands on the same site and has grown to 240 beds with more than 1,000 employees.
