This image is the cover for the book A Brief History of Orillia: Ontario's Sunshine City, Brief History

A Brief History of Orillia: Ontario's Sunshine City, Brief History

Local author Dennis Rizzo tells the fascinating and diverse history of Orillia, Ontario. First populated by the Huron, Iroquois and Chippewa Nations, Orillia is now a well-loved, year-round recreation destination. Its history is deeply tied to its water. Situated in the narrows where Lake Simcoe flows into Lake Couchiching, Orillia was a gathering place for centuries before Europeans used it to bring furs to market. Sir John Simcoe, first governor of Upper Canada, fostered permanent settlement of the area. A gateway to the Muskoka region, it has been home to lumber, manufacturing, and artistic endeavours. Today, summer cottagers and winter athletes alike enjoy the Sunshine City and its more than twenty annual festivals. Local author Dennis Rizzo tells the fascinating and diverse history of Orillia, Ontario.

Dennis Rizzo, John Forrest

Dennis Rizzo is the author of numerous books and articles. In late 2010, he moved to Orillia, Ontario, where he has joined the Mariposa Writers Group (a writing and critique group) and is their web manager. He is the chair of the Orillia Community Kitchen Resource Group and a member of the Orillia Museum of Art and History. John Forrest is a retired educator and administrator living in Severn Township, near Orillia, with his wife Carol. He is well known for his Christmas stories and his three books of anecdotes, spanning childhood to the present.

The History Press