Orangeville, Ontario
—  Town  —
The town clock was moved to the centre of Broadway in the recent construction project.
Coat of arms
Motto: "Historic Charm -- Dynamic Future"
Location of Orangeville within the Dufferin County.
Coordinates: 43°54′55″N 80°6′31″W / 43.91528°N 80.10861°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)
- Density	1,729.3/km2 (4,478.9/sq mi)
- Urban	29,110
- Metro	29,110
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Postal code	L9W
Area code(s)	519
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.

[edit] Demographics

According to the Canada 2006 Census:

• Population: 28,000 (2008)
• % 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.

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 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

Orangeville serves as an administrative and commercial hub for Dufferin County, the northern portion of 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 in and around Orangeville also commute to other areas of the Greater Toronto Area for work.

There are a number of manufacturing plants located in the 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).

Orangeville is also the main banking centre for residents in the area. The financial institutions in Orangeville are:

• Royal Bank of Canada (RBC)
• TD Canada Trust
• Scotiabank
• Bank of Montreal
• CIBC
• National Bank or Banque Nationale du Canada
• Meridian Credit Union
• Duca Credit Union

RBC Royal Bank of Canada, TD Canada Trust, and Scotiabank have at least two branches in Orangeville, in response the most popular banks in Orangeville.

[edit] Transportation and infrastructure

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 to be done on the west end in late 2006. In conjunction with this project, there was another one completed in late 2006 that involved building large planters in the middle of Broadway through the downtown section (First-Third Streets [West - East]). This project has been controversial. Many people^[who?] have found the plan to be overambitious and impractical.^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

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 transit system, and there is commuter GO Transit bus service to Brampton. In the early 1990s, preliminary plans were drawn up for GO Transit rail service to Orangeville. However, it never got past the drawing board.^{[citation needed]}

Industries in Orangeville are served by the Orangeville-Brampton Railway, which purchased 55 kilometers of surplus track from the Canadian Pacific Railway. The railway connects with the CPR in Streetsville, and also services customers in Brampton to the south.

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. 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] Culture

Statue of Santa Claus in Kay Cee Gardens

Orangeville is the cultural capital of Dufferin County. Orangeville hosts the annual Orangeville Blues & Jazz Festival which is renowned throughout the region.

The Town Hall building contains the Orangeville Theater. This facility hosts plays and concerts throughout the year. A number of performances have given the Orangeville Theater a reputation for excellence.

Local artists have made their mark on Orangeville as well. Numerous old maple trees have died due to age in recent years and have been carved into large sculptures.

[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 Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area. The signals have been moved southeast to increase coverage into Greater Toronto, and studios have been moved to the Toronto community of Etobicoke. Orangeville is also mainly served by many Radio stations in Toronto transmitting from the CN Tower.

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. There is also a local paper called snap. That has may events going on in dufferin county.

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

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] Climate

[edit] Famous residents

• Nana Attakora-Gyan , MLS, defender currently playing with Toronto FC
• Keith Beavers — Olympic swimmer (2004 and 2008)
• Sarah Bonikowsky — Olympic rower (2008)
• Ryan Cooley, actor who portrayed J. T. Yorke on Degrassi: The Next Generation
• Adam Copeland (Edge), Canadian professional wrestler for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)
• Jeff Cowan, NHL player currently playing with the Buffalo Sabres
• Dan Ellis, NHL, goalie currently playing with the Nashville Predators
• Laurie Graham, represented Canada at 3 Olympic games in downhill skiing and won 6 World Cup races
• Nick Cvjetkovich (Kizarny), Canadian professional wrestler for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)
• Ron Howden (Nordic skier)
• Colin Lichti, lead singer of Hostage Life.
• Bryon Mackie, Professional boxer
• Peter Magagna, team captain of SUNY Oswego men's ice hockey team
• Eric Nagler, Child entertainer
• Al Pilcher (Nordic skier)
• Jason Reso (Christian Cage), Canadian professional wrestler for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)
• Michelle Ruthven McKendry (Alpine skier)

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

• Sanderson family, including Terry, Lindsay, Brandon, Nathan, Josh, Phil, and Chris
• Brodie Merrill, NLL Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in 2006
• Pat Coyle, NLL Defensive Player of the Year in 2002
• Brandon Miller
• Rusty Kruger

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Town of Orangeville site
• Google Earth Orangeville Thread