County seat of Dufferin County since 1881

Orangeville

A Connecticut-born mill owner named Orange Lawrence settled the land in 1844 and gave the town his first name. Two decades later, it became the seat of Ontario's newest county.

Settlement in the area began in the 1830s: John Corbit acquired land in 1829, and in 1833 Seneca Ketchum bought 200 acres on what would become Broadway, creating a settlement on Purple Hill. The town takes its name not from the fruit but from Orange Lawrence, a Connecticut-born businessman who purchased the land in 1844 and established a mill there.

County seat of Dufferin County

Orangeville received permission to incorporate in December 1863, formally doing so in January 1864 after electing a town council. Economic expansion through the 1870s and 1880s led to the town being named the county seat for the newly created County of Dufferin in 1881 — a role it still holds, anchoring the county's government on the northwestern edge of the GTA.

Sources

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