How it began
Milestones of Orangeville since 1863
For the municipality of Orangeville itself, Wikidata records 1863, a date that can be a founding as much as a merger. Rail service is on record from 1906, when Orangeville CPR Station opened.
Photo: Municipal Affairs and Housing · CC BY 2.00historic places on the registers
History of Orangeville · Canada’s heritage registers
Orangeville’s railway story begins in 1906
Within 50 km of Orangeville there are 16 designated places; VIA Rail/Canadian National Railways Station, Georgetown, Ontario, at 33 km, is the closest. The closest top-tier heritage is in Fergus, 32 km from here. Records name 10 people born in Orangeville before 1914; the first is Charles Robert McKeown.
Historic places within 50 km
16
7 of the highest designation
Nearest historic place
33 km
VIA Rail/Canadian National Railways Station, Georgetown, Ontario
Homes built before 1961
13%
typical town: 18%
Born here before 1914
10
the earliest in 1866
The age of the area
From 1850 on: the dated places within 50 km of Orangeville
Out to 50 km from Orangeville, outside the town: each place by when its record says building began.
British North America 1760–18665
After Confederation 1867–19139
Wars and Depression 1914–19452
Since 1946 1946 on0
The oldest is Rockwood Academy in Rockwood, from 1850. The bars count 16 dated places within 50 km. 5 predate Confederation.
Around the town
16 historic places within 50 km of Orangeville
Their towns number 9: Guelph, Georgetown and Fergus first. At 33 km, “VIA Rail/Canadian National Railways Station, Georgetown, Ontario” in Georgetown is the closest. Its 7 places of national rank start with Wellington County House of Industry and Refuge, at 34 km.
The 12 nearest, within 50 km
| VIA Rail/Canadian National Railways Station, Georgetown, OntarioHeritage Railway Station · 1855–1857 · 33 km away, in Georgetown |
| Wellington County House of Industry and RefugeNational Historic Site · 1876–1878 · 34 km away, in Fergus |
| Rockwood AcademyOntario Heritage Trust property · 1850 · 34 km away, in Rockwood |
| Former Elora Drill ShedNational Historic Site · 1865–1866 · 37 km away, in Fergus |
| Former Canadian National Railways (VIA Rail/GO Transit) Station, Brampton, OntarioHeritage Railway Station · 1907–1908 · 38 km away, in Downtown |
| Royal Flying Corps HangarsNational Historic Site · 1917–1918 · 43 km away, in Angus |
| Former Canadian National Railways (VIA Rail/GO Transit) Station, Guelph, OntarioHeritage Railway Station · 1911–1912 · 43 km away, in Guelph |
| Guelph City HallNational Historic Site · 1856–1858 · 43 km away, in Guelph |
| ArmouryRecognized Federal Heritage Building · 1906–1908 · 43 km away, in Guelph |
| Our Lady of the Immaculate ConceptionNational Historic Site · 1876–1889 · 43 km away, in Guelph |
| The BoathouseDesignated heritage property (part IV) · 1930 · 43 km away, in Guelph |
| Boston Presbyterian ChurchDesignated heritage property (part IV) · 1868 · 43 km away, in Georgetown |
Homes by age
Pre-1961 homes are scarce in Orangeville: 13%, against a usual 18%
More than half of Orangeville’s housing predates 2001. The largest single period is from 1981 to 2000, with 34% of Orangeville’s homes. New building in Orangeville runs at the usual pace: 5% of homes from 2016–21, the typical town 4.1%.
13%
Before 1961
29%
1961–80
34%
1981–2000
19%
2001–15
5%
2016–21
OrangevilleTypical town
2021 Census, private dwellings by period of construction (Statistics Canada); the typical town is the middle Canadian town of 2,500 or more.
Born here
One of Canada’s national historic persons, tied to Orangeville
The oldest birth on the record is Charles Robert McKeown’s, in 1866. Counting only births before 1914, there are 10. Of the 10, 9 were born in the decades after Confederation. Gordon Adamson lived longest, to 82, dying in 1986.
Charles Robert McKeown
T. C. West
John Archibald Maharg
Maitland Stewart McCarthy
Johnson Lindsay Rowlett Parsons
Oscar D. Skelton
John Harvey Gahan
William C. McBrien
Claire Wallace
Gordon Adamson
18501875190019251950
Oscar D. Skelton1878–1941 · National historic person, 1947 · Canadian politician
CW
Claire Wallace1900–1968 · Canadian journalist, broadcaster and author
JM
John Archibald Maharg1872–1944 · Canadian politician
JG
John Harvey Gahan1888–1958 · Canadian musician
T. C. West1868–1936 · American politician
Maitland Stewart McCarthy1872–1930 · Canadian politician and judge
JP
Johnson Lindsay Rowlett Parsons1876–1935 · Canadian Engineer and Military Officer
CM
Charles Robert McKeown1866–1942 · Canadian politician
Everyone born in Orangeville → Born before 1914. Birthplaces from Wikidata, each checked against Wikipedia; national historic persons from Parks Canada’s Directory of Federal Heritage Designations, matched by name and life years.
Neighbours
Orangeville and its neighbours
| Town | People | Places | Highest | Oldest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orangeville | 33,070 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Mono | 10,036 | 0 | 0 | — |
| East Garafraxa | 2,976 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Amaranth | 4,808 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Grand Valley | 4,759 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Erin | 12,924 | 0 | 0 | — |
In brief
Orangeville in brief
Of its people of the past, the best known are Oscar D. Skelton (1878), Claire Wallace (1900) and John Archibald Maharg (1872). Its homes are mostly newer: 13% were built before 1961, against 18% in the typical town. Otherwise the figures are ordinary: as with most towns its size, no historic place is listed.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Protection. Being on these registers doesn’t mean a building can’t change. Federal designation commemorates; protection is provincial or municipal, and those lists aren’t open here.
- Provincial and municipal lists. Provincial and municipal listings here come from Wikidata alone, since the provinces’ own registers can’t be reused; a listing needs an encyclopedia article to get a page.
- The grade. There is no history grade: the page sets out the record and compares it with other towns.
- People and events. Parks Canada’s open file gives its national historic persons no place. A town’s page names one only when the person was born there (matched by name and both life years) or one of its own historic places carries the name and its record speaks of them; national historic events stay off.
- The tiers. Tiers follow the designation: national recognition and classement first, other federal designations next, provincial and local listings last.
- The federal register. Every federal designation is in Parks Canada’s directory, and the Canadian Register of Historic Places gives most of them a bilingual statement of significance.
Questions about Orangeville’s history
How many historic places does Orangeville have on the registers?
Orangeville has none of its own yet. VIA Rail/Canadian National Railways Station, Georgetown, Ontario, in Georgetown, is the nearest, 33 km away.
How old are the homes in Orangeville?
Before 1961: 13% of its homes; the typical town has 18%.
Why might a heritage building in Orangeville be missing here?
Its province’s and council’s own lists can’t be reused here; one further listing in Orangeville shows up only as a Wikidata number.
Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada (Parks Canada).
Sources: Parks Canada, Directory of Federal Heritage Designations · Canadian Register of Historic Places (federal extract) · Wikidata (CC0) for map points, other names and articles · Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (homes by period of construction). Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).