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.
This photo was taken from the corner of West and Borland streets showing the Orillia Collegiate Institute (O.C.I.) building built in 1899.
The first high school was built on this site in 1876 and opened its doors to 57 students on Jan. 8, 1877, with Mr. George B. Ward as headmaster. Mr. Ward was not the first choice of the school board.
A few months earlier, they had hired a headmaster from Campbellford, however on Dec. 29, 1876, the following article appeared in the Orillia Packet:
“The person engaged from Campbellford a short time ago as headmaster has since eloped with a young woman of that village, 18 years of age. The unfortunate father of the misguided girl was here Tuesday in an unsuccessful search for his daughter.
The headmaster had been married 18 months and got his wife out of the way by sending her on a visit to some friends in Montreal. He has since telegraphed his resignation to the trustees, from Detroit.”
This first high school, with four classrooms, an assembly hall and gymnasium, had burned to the ground in 1898. The new collegiate building shown here accommodated 118 students in 1900, growing to 169 students in 1902. The O.C.I. had 10 classrooms and an assembly hall.
Attached to the back of this school was a poorly heated, barn-like building used as a gym.
In 1928 O.C.I. saw a new edition built with two more classrooms and a proper gymnasium.
The school eventually became Orillia District Collegiate and Vocational Institute, which was closed several years ago and demolished in 2018.
