Pioneer families began to trickle into the Orillia & Matchedash area around the turn of the 18th Century. Many of these familes hailed from the predominantly Catholic country of Ireland. Not since the retreat of the Jesuit Misionaries some two-hundred years earlier, had a Roman Catholic presence been established in the area.
By the mid-19th Century, about 40 Catholic families had settled in what was then known as North Orillia. Although they were poor and did not have a Priest, in 1854 these familes banded together to purchase 1.5 acres of land upon which to establish a religious center. The original St. Michaels' Catholic Church was built upon this site. The new church building was very rustic, having been built of rough hewn wood and wooden pegs. Although it was lacking in any formal furnishings such as pews, it became an outreach from the Penetanguishene parish and served to create a new gathering place for Catholic familes to worship together.
Shortly thereafter, a similarly constructed school building was also built on the site.
Within a few years the Orillia parish grew sufficiently to separate from the main Penetanguishene parish and by 1872 a new grand brick Catholic church was built on the current site of the Guardian Angel's Catholic Church. In 1876 the original wooden St. Micheal's Church was destroyed by fire.
Internment continued on the Old St. Micheal's Cemetery site until 1911.
The cemetery is currently in a state of disrepair and neglect with many headstones toppled, broken, over-grown and even tossed aside into the bushes. However, it is still a lovely little spot with benches and trees and a good dose of Orillia history.
Take a stroll, read some headstones, and think of the lives of those buried here. So many were so young. So much tragedy in some families. To imagine the changes that some would have seen over their life-time. And ponder also what is to become of this little piece of Orillia's history without some care and respect.
To reach the final:
- Start at the given coordinates. This will bring you into the graveyard and put you in the general vicinity of a metal plaque giving information about the cemetery.
- From here you will need to find the headstones for the O'Conner family mother & children. This will help you determine the North coordinates.
- You will also need to find the headstone for James O'Connor (Son of Peter & Catherine). This will help you to determine the West Coordinate.
Final: N44 36.5AB W79 25.9XY
Where:
- A = Number of children from John O'Conner's family that died in 1860
- B = Number of years after the death of her children before Elizabeth, the mother of the family, also passed away.
- X = The third digit in the YEAR of James O'Connor's death (i.e. 18_9)
- Y = The numerical date in July that 14-year-old James passed away (i.e. July __)
All stage waypoints are given. All information needed can be found within photos or links given if snow obscures ground-level headstones.