Orillians will soon learn what lies beneath their city.
The local crew behind the Underground Orillia documentary recently wrapped up filming.
In the summer of 2016, Olivia Duck, Xavier Fernandes, Shane Morrison and Aaron Sheedy set out to explore rumours of underground tunnels in Orillia.
“All four of us are from Orillia. All through high school and even after high school, each of us had heard rumours about tunnels under Orillia and what they were used for,” Morrison said. “We did find tunnels and some other interesting underground rooms.”
The four producers came across many underground rooms that were connected at one point but have since been walled off.
They also found a number of window wells that are now below ground.
“The actual grade must have been quite a bit lower at some point,” Morrison said.
They found tunnel entrances, too, and Morrison has “a good idea of where those tunnels went,” though he isn’t at liberty to say yet.
Morrison is being careful about how much information to release before the documentary is finished. That includes details about a fallout shelter the crew was able to access.
Morrison said the City of Orillia and its residents were helpful as he and his fellow producers set off to solve the mystery.
“We had residents that have been here their whole lives and some of them were really passionate about the history of Orillia and rumours of the tunnels,” he said.
Some of the discoveries were surprising, but so, too, was the fact so little is known about the tunnels after all these years and advances in technology.
“It seems kind of strange that nobody else has really delved into this as much as we were able to,” Morrison said. “It’s kind of surprising that it’s still a mystery in Orillia.”
Some of that history won’t be a mystery for long. With all of the filming out of the way, Morrison hopes to have the documentary ready for a public viewing in the summer. The crew is now looking for a venue where they can screen it for the public, free of charge.
“We think a lot of people are going to be surprised and shocked at some of the stuff we found,” he said.
Keep up with Underground Orillia on its Facebook page.
