About Orangeville

Historical Items of Interest

  • Orangeville resident, Orange Jull, invented the rotary snowplow for train tracks in 1888.
  • Alexander McLachlan, the Robert Burns of Canada , was one of Canada 's greatest poets. He was a resident of Orangeville and died in 1896. McLachlan was buried in Orangeville's Greenwood Cemetery only to be moved at a later date to Forest Lawn Cemetery where a monument was erected.
  • Dr. G. Harold Campbell, who served as Orangeville's mayor in 1915 and 1916, was Canada 's oldest practicing dentist when he passed away Nov. 4, 1972 , at age 94. Campbell also won a gold medal in the 1908 Olympics as a member of Canada 's national lacrosse team.

Native Canadians

Long before European settlement of the area, it appeared that the Orangeville district was well known to the native peoples. Giving rise to the main waterways flowing north and south, Orangeville and area was situated on a main trail used by the indigenous peoples in their travels through southern Ontario . Although no permanent settlements in the area have been identified, some minor burial sites have been discovered and it is believed that the natives hunted here in the summer.

 

Orangeville becomes a Town

The first patent of land in Orangeville was issued to Ezekiel Robinson, a land surveyor on August 7, 1820 . The next grant was issued to Alan Robinet in 1822. The Town of Orangeville was named after Orange Lawrence, an early settler and businessman. Lawrence was a man of exceptional energy and ability and owned several mills, around which grew a small village.

 

In 1863, a by-law for the Incorporation of the Village of Orangeville was submitted to the County Councils of Simcoe and Wellington . The by-law was passed and Orangeville was incorporated as a village. On May 1, 1871 , the track for the Toronto , Grey, and Bruce Railway from Toronto to Orangeville was completed. Soon after the arrival of the railway in Orangeville, new homes were built and industry boomed. In 1873 an Act of Incorporation was passed by which Orangeville would attain the status of a town on January 1, 1874 .

For a downloadable Map of Orangeville, circa 1982 click here
(Adobe Acrobat PDF file )

For a downloadable Map of Orangeville Presently, click here
(Adobe Acrobat PDF file )

A County is Born

Because of the inconvenient distance of Orangeville and area from the County Towns of Grey, Wellington and Simcoe, an application was made to create a new county out of portions of those counties, with Orangeville to be the County seat. On January 24, 1881 , following completion of the Dufferin County Courthouse and the Land Registry Office, Dufferin County was officially born by the Province of Ontario , named in honour of Lord Dufferin who had been the Governor-General of Canada from 1872 to 1878.

Orangeville's First School

The first public school in Orangeville, a log building with a straw roof, was constructed around 1848 at the corner of Broadway and John Street , the site of the old fire hall. In 1884, the first high school was built on the site of the current Orangeville District Secondary School , only to be burned down in 1948.

First Newspaper

The Sun, founded in 1860, was Orangeville's first newspaper. By 1899, there were four newspapers serving the Orangeville community of about 2,000 inhabitants.

First Sports

Field lacrosse dominated the Orangeville sport scene before the turn of the 20th century, and up until 1931 when box lacrosse was introduced. In 1887, the Orangeville Dufferins had the honour of winning the first Ontario Lacrosse Association Championship.

First Library

Orangeville's Public Library, located at Broadway and Mill Street , was completed in May 1908, with help from well-known philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.

Orangeville Gets a New Town Hall

The restoration of the Orangeville Town Hall , a $4.8 million project completed in 1994, which included the re-development of the Town's Opera House and the introduction of professional theatre in Orangeville, strengthened the identity of the Town and renewed interest in its history.