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.
The Central School on Coldwater Street opened in March 1882. It was built by Kennedy and McVittie from Barrie at a cost of $12,000.
Kennedy was considered one of the leading architects in Simcoe County and was behind many buildings in Orillia.
This postcard published in 1910 by the R. O. Smith store in downtown Orillia reveals a cement wall topped with a wrought iron fence across the front of the property.
Two men in a buggy standing between two hitching posts are posing for the camera.
Over the years several of the students who attended this school went on to famous careers in Canada. Franklin Carmichael of Group of Seven fame received his education here in the early 1900s. Mazo de la Roach of Whiteoaks of Jalna fame also attended this school in the 1880s.
The building is now privately owned and stands today as one of the oldest buildings in Orillia with its original facade.
