Orangeville, Ontario
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For other places with the same name, see Orangeville.
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| Orangeville, Ontario | |||
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| Motto: "Historic Charm -- Dynamic Future" | |||
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| Coordinates: | |||
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| Country | Canada  |
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| Province | Ontario  |
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| County | Dufferin County | ||
| Established | 1863 | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Rob Adams | ||
| - Governing Body | Orangeville Town Council | ||
| Area | |||
| - Town | 15.57 km² (6 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 450 m (1,476.4 ft) | ||
| Population (2006) | |||
| - Town | 26,925 | ||
| - Density | 1,729.3/km² (4,478.9/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) | ||
| Postal code | L9W | ||
| Website: Town website | |||
Orangeville is a town in south-central Ontario, Canada. Orangeville is one of the furthest municipalities still unofficially considered to be part of the Greater Toronto Area. It is the seat of Dufferin County.
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[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
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 settle 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. (Source: The Orangeville Banner, March 8, 1951). 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
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 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), Symplastics Limited (plastic sheets) and HiSAN of Canada (automotive components).
[edit] Transportation & Infrastructure
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 Ontario Highway 9 provincial highway nine). 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.
The town has its own public bus system, and a GO Bus service to Brampton.
Concerns have been raised over the town's sewage treatment facilities, which are located on Townline Road. Many argue that, given the town's growing population, the current facilities must be upgraded or replaced. Despite these demands and the growth of its residential population, the town does not have that 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.[1]
[edit] Education
There are currently eight public and separate elementary schools in Orangeville: Credit Meadows, Mono Amaranth, Parkinson Centennial, Princess Elizabeth, Princess Margaret, St. Andrew's RC, St. Benedict's RC, and St. Peter's RC. 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.
There are two Secondary Schools located within the boundaries of Orangeville: Westside Secondary School and Orangeville District Secondary School (ODSS). Robert F. Hall Catholic Secondary School 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 formerly targeted its news and variety programming out of Orangeville to Southern Huronia. CIDC later 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 the 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
- Adam Copeland aka Edge, Canadian professional wrestler from World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)
- Jeff Cowan, NHL player currently playing with the Vancouver Canucks
- Bryon Mackie Professional Boxer
- Eric Nagler Child entertainer
- Jason Reso aka Christian, Canadian Professional Wrestler from TNA
[edit] Lacrosse
Orangeville is a hotbed of box lacrosse, and has produced a number of notable National Lacrosse League players, including:
- The Sanderson family, including Terry, Josh, Phil, and Chris
- Brodie Merrill (NLL Rookie of the Year and Defenseman of the Year in 2006)
- Pat Coyle (NLL Defenseman of the Year in 2002)
- Brandon Miller
- Rusty Kruger
| Northwest: Amaranth | North: Shelburne | Northeast: Alliston |
| West: Grand Valley | Orangeville | East: Mono Mills |
| Southwest: Fergus | South: Erin | Southeast: Caledon |
