Orangeville, Ontario

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For other places with the same name, see Orangeville.
Orangeville, Ontario
The town clock was moved to the centre of Broadway in the recent construction project.
The town clock was moved to the centre of Broadway in the recent construction project.
Motto: "Historic Charm -- Dynamic Future"
Coordinates: 43°54′55″N 80°6′31″W / 43.91528, -80.10861
Country Canada
Province Ontario
County Dufferin County
Incorporated (village) 1863
Incorporated (town) 1873
Government
 - Mayor Rob Adams
 - Governing Body Orangeville Town Council
Area
 - Town 15.57 km² (6 sq mi)
Elevation 450 m (1,476 ft)
Population (2006)
 - Town 26,925
 - Density 1,729.3/km² (4,478.9/sq mi)
 - Urban 29,110
Time zone EST (UTC-5)
 - Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
Postal code L9W
Website: http://www.orangeville.org

Orangeville (2006 population 26,925; UA population 29,110) is a town in south-central Ontario, Canada, and the seat of Dufferin County.

Contents

[edit] Demographics

According to the Canada 2006 Census:

  • Population: 26,925
  • % Change (2001-2006): 6.5
  • Dwellings: 9,636
  • Area (km²): 15.57
  • Density (persons per km²): 1,729.3

[edit] History

The house of Orangeville founder Orange Lawrence as it stands today.
The house of Orangeville founder Orange Lawrence as it stands today.

Before European settlers,Orangeville was thought to be a native hunting ground. No permanent settlements have been identified in the area, although minor burial sites have been discovered.

The first patent of land was issued to Ezekiel Robinson, a land surveyor, on August 7, 1820. This was followed by land issued to Alan Robinet in 1822. In 1863, Orangeville was named after Orange Lawrence, a businessman born in Connecticut in 1796 who owned several mills in the village. As a young man, he moved to Canada and settled in Halton County. During the Mackenzie's rebellion in 1837, he was a captain in the militia. Lawrence purchased the land that became Orangeville from Robert Hughson.[1] In 1873, the Act of Incorporation was passed and Orangeville was given town status on January 1, 1874.

The public library, located at Broadway and Mill Street, was completed in 1908. Andrew Carnegie, well-known businessman and philanthropist, provided financial assistance for its construction.

[edit] Economy and Finance

There are many upscale businesses on Broadway through downtown Orangeville
There are many upscale businesses on Broadway through downtown Orangeville

Orangeville serves as an administrative and commercial hub for Dufferin County, northern portion Peel Region and the surrounding area. Orangeville's downtown core is home to several retail stores, and there is a cluster of big-box stores in the Fairgrounds Shopping Centre. Many residents of Orangeville and the surrounding area also commute to the Greater Toronto Area for work.

There are also a number of manufacturing plants located in town. Major industrial employers include Johnson Controls (automotive seats), Greening Donald (automotive airbag components), Resolve Corporation (computer outsourcing), Clorox Company of Canada (Glad garbage bags), Relizon Canada (pressure sensitive labels), Plastiflex Canada Inc. (plastic hoses), Rochling Engineering Plastics (formerly Symplastics Limited )(plastic sheets) and HiSAN of Canada (automotive components).

The residents of Orangeville manage their finances in banks and credit unions. There are two RBC Royal Bank branch,three TD Canada Trust branches, two Scotiabank branches, one BMO Bank of Montreal branch, one CIBC, one National Bank, one Meridian and one Duca Credit Union. The most used banks in Orangeville are RBC,TD Canada Trust, Scotiabank, and the Bank of Montreal.

[edit] Transportation and infrastructure

Orangeville Town Hall.
Orangeville Town Hall.

The main intersection in the heart of the town is Broadway (formerly Provincial Highway 9) and First Street. Provincial Highway 10 runs through Orangeville on its east side.

Beginning in 2005, a major roadwork project was initiated to resurface Broadway through Orangeville. The downtown section was completed in early 2006, with extensive work still be done on the west end into the fall of 2006. In conjunction with this project was a plan to build large planters in the middle of Broadway through the downtown section (First-Third Streets [West - East]). This project has been quite controversial. Many people have found the plan to be overambitious and impractical. Safety concerns have also been raised by the Fire Department because the new concrete planters in the middle of the road have made the right of ways too narrow for fire trucks to properly set up in case of a fire in a downtown building. Construction on this project was completed in late Fall 2006.

Construction of the South Arterial Road, often referred to as the 'Orangeville by-pass', has reached its completion. The road runs from East to West, connecting Highway 10 and County Road 109 (formerly Highway 9). Much of the Eastern stretch runs through the Town of Caledon, but officially enters into Orangeville at the Townline Road controlled intersection. When the project was first announced on May 11, 2005 it was touted as the panacea to the commercial truck traffic that congested both Broadway and Townline Road.

Aecon Construction and Materials Limited was the successful bidder for the Design Build project with a price of $9.8 million. The project was completed in conjunction with Brampton-based Armbro Construction, TSH Engineers Architects Planners, Peto MacCallum Ltd. and Gartner Lee Ltd.

Orangeville Transit is the town's own public bus system , and there is commuter GO Transit bus service to Brampton. In early 1990s, preliminary plans were drawn up for GO Transit rail service in Orangeville. However, it never got past the drawing board.

Concerns have been raised over the town's sewage treatment facilities, which are located on Townline Road. Many have argued that, given the town's growing population, the current facilities must be upgraded or replaced. However, despite these demands and the growth of its residential population, the Town does not have the tax base to responsibly finance the project. The Town has attempted to defer such construction by implementing a water conservation program that makes use of water usage metering.

About 100 years ago, survey work was underway for an electric railway line which would serve Orangeville, the Huron and Ontario Electric Railway.[2]

[edit] Education

There are currently ten public and separate elementary schools in Orangeville: Credit Meadows, Mono Amaranth, Montgomery Village, Parkinson Centennial, Princess Elizabeth, Princess Margaret, St. Andrew's RC, St. Benedict's RC, St. Peter's RC and Island Lake Public School, as well as a holding school. Along with these publicly funded schools, there are several private schools in the area: Dufferin Area Christian School, Hillcrest Private School, The Maples Independent Country School, Orangeville Christian School, and Trillium Montessori School. A French School is in the works for the old Springbrook Elementary Building, which is actually sinking 1/2-1 inch a year, into the swamp it was built upon. It is currently being used as a holding school that other schools including Island Lake, Montgomery Village, and Princess Margaret, have used while repairs, renovations, rebuilds and construction were completed. There are two Secondary Schools located within the boundaries of Orangeville: Westside Secondary School and Orangeville District Secondary School (ODSS).As well as a catholic high school, Robert F. Hall Catholic Secondary School, which is located about 20 minutes away in Caledon East.

Humber College is scheduled to offer full-time programs in Fall 2007 at a temporary location. A new campus is planned on a 28-acre site located on Veteran's Way. The first phase of the new facility is planned to open in late fall 2007 or early 2008. Upon opening, the campus is expected to accommodate up to 400 students, expanding to 2,000 by 2017. Georgian College also operates a satellite campus offering part-time courses.

[edit] Media

The local radio station, CIDC, formerly targeted its news and variety programming out of Orangeville to Southern Huronia. However, it subsequently became a top-40 station targeting the Toronto, Ontario and Area. The signals have been moved southeast to increase coverage into Greater Toronto, and studios have been moved to the Toronto community of Etobicoke.

There are two local newspapers based in Orangeville, the Orangeville Citizen and the Orangeville Banner. In addition, the town is also serviced by the major national and Toronto newspapers.

Until June 2005, Rogers Television maintained its Peel North studio and production facility at 98 C-Line. The facility was closed to allow for expansion of the Peel North headend. Rogers is the cable provider for Orangeville.

[edit] Government and Politics

The mayor of Orangeville is Rob Adams.

Orangeville is located in provincial electoral district of Dufferin-Caledon. This was changed from Dufferin-Peel-Wellington-Grey when the Province instituted the 107 electoral districts revision in 2006. Its current Member of Provincial Parliament is Sylvia Jones, former assistant to Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario leader, John Tory. Federally, Orangeville is located in the Dufferin—Caledon electoral district. Its elected Member of Parliament is currently David Tilson of the Conservative party.

[edit] Famous residents

Orangeville is a hotbed of box lacrosse, and has produced a number of notable National Lacrosse League players, including:

[edit] References

  1. ^ Source: The Orangeville Banner, March 8, 1951
  2. ^ Orangeville Citizen: Survey under way for electric railway across Dufferin

[edit] External links

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Municipalities of Dufferin County, Ontario
Towns
Mono • Orangeville • Shelburne
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