A Brief History of Orillia by Dennis Rizzo

Author:Dennis Rizzo
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing Inc.
Published: 2014-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

ECONOMIC TWISTS

The first stages of the Northern Railroad were essentially completed by 1857. The Belle Ewart branch served the passenger, lumber and freight business to Orillia via connection with lake steamers.150

“With a view of controlling the navigation of Lake Simcoe, the Directors [of the Northern Railroad] purchased the steamer Morning and the wharves at Orillia and Bradford [Holland River], and afterwards built the steamer J.C. Morrison.”151 In 1855, Northern Railroad’s J.C. Morrison made the trial trip between the Bell Ewart station and Orillia.

Steamers made the process of travelling from Holland Landing much more convenient than the canoe or bateaux. The heyday of the lake steamers was from 1840 to 1880, after which the railroads took over the passenger and freight business. The dredging of the channel between Lakes Couchiching and Simcoe was proposed and completed so that larger steamers could reach the shallower lake. The Ida Burton was the last passenger boat that plied the lake between Barrie and Orillia, beginning in the latter part of the 1860s and continuing until it was “elbowed out” by the railway.152

Between 1857 and 1870, there was little done to expand rail services. A serious economic downturn strangled Canada from about 1857 to 1865. There were numerous causes, including a financial collapse in the United States and changes in British tariffs. Additional pressure was brought on Canadians by a drop in grain prices, debt payment deadlines from railroad expansion and over-speculation. (Sound familiar?) In any event, the economic downturn slowed most industry. Orillia businesses did not show a marked increase until 1870–71. This corresponds with the arrival of the railroad and the return of general economic prosperity, demonstrated by the number of Orillia businesses that started in 1870–72.

One side effect of this bad economy was the enlistment by young, unemployed Canadian men in the United States during that country’s Civil War. Between thirty-three thousand and fifty-five thousand men from British North America (Canada) served in the Union army, while a few hundred joined the Confederate army. One such enlistment was Charles J. Gill from Orillia, younger son of Jacob Gill. He enlisted in the 151st New York Regiment and served the Union throughout the war. He is buried at the St. James Cemetery in Orillia: “Gill, Charles, Lieutenant, 151st New York Infantry. Born in Coldwater, Ontario, on December 17, 1837. Died February 25, 1916. Buried in Orillia, Ontario. Enlisted as corporal in 1864, fought in Wilderness and Cold Harbor to Opequon (end) and left as Lieutenant.”153 It is possible that other Orillia, Oro and Medonte sons joined in the Civil War.

The changing economy brought back railroad construction. What became the Midland Railroad was chartered in 1846, but tracks were not laid until 1857, when the line from Port Hope to Lindsay opened, primarily as a lumber transport. This line was extended in 1871 to Beaverton on Lake Simcoe and completed a route through Rama and Mara to Midland. It crossed at the Narrows and served Orillia as of 1872. The Grand Trunk (GTR) line to Barrie was extended to service Orillia in 1871.

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