Orangeville
What's in a name? Would a rose by any other name smell as sweet? Are tourists drawn to certain places rather than others merely because the name conjures up positive associations? What sounds better? Would you rather tell friends about your stay in Bayfield, Ontario, or Smut, Saskatchewan? Of course, one of the most beautiful towns in all of Canada is Dildo, Newfoundland. For some reason, they sell more postcards than any other municipality in Canada. On roadtrips, I enjoy pondering the names of various localities; trying to suss out their origins helps pass the time.
Where I'm from, towns names are often derived from Ojibiwa: Minnetonka, Wayzata, Mahtomedi...If you watch the 80's Charlie Sheen movie Hot Shots, an entire dialogue between Sheen and a Native American actor is comprised solely of Minnesota and Wisconsin town names. It was, without a doubt, the greatest inside joke in cinema prior to Fargo.
In Southern Ontario, older towns usually are named after the first settler in the area, or are named in honor of a prominent Scottish or English nobleman of the time period. Goderich, for example, is named after the English Viscount Goderich, and Port Albert, 10 miles north, is named after Prince Albert. Other town names reflect their Catholic and/or French Heritage, like St. Catherine's or St. Eugene.
A friend of mine recently moved to the Greater Toronto Area and found an apartment in an outer-ring suburb with the unusual name of Orangeville. Doesn't it seem strange for a Canadian town to be named after a citrus fruit? Wouldn't a more regionally-correct name be Appleville? Of course, if there were an Appleville, Ontario, it would be useless to compare it to Orangeville. That would be like comparing two very different things. It would be like comparing a citrus fruit to a fruit from the genus Malus...But I digress.
As I pondered this mystery over the weekend, it occurred to me that there could be some link to the English monarch William of Orange, or to Irish Protestants. I couldn't let this mystery be. A quick Google search revealed the mystery of this place name. Orangeville is named after the first resident of the area, a man with the unusual name of Orange Lawrence, who settled there in 1820.
Orangeville, we hardly know ye. Are you a homogenous, ticky-tacky suburb, or an enigma shrouded in mystery? What Victorian-era mother, gazing down upon her infant son, chose to name her son Orange? The world may never know.
Where I'm from, towns names are often derived from Ojibiwa: Minnetonka, Wayzata, Mahtomedi...If you watch the 80's Charlie Sheen movie Hot Shots, an entire dialogue between Sheen and a Native American actor is comprised solely of Minnesota and Wisconsin town names. It was, without a doubt, the greatest inside joke in cinema prior to Fargo.
In Southern Ontario, older towns usually are named after the first settler in the area, or are named in honor of a prominent Scottish or English nobleman of the time period. Goderich, for example, is named after the English Viscount Goderich, and Port Albert, 10 miles north, is named after Prince Albert. Other town names reflect their Catholic and/or French Heritage, like St. Catherine's or St. Eugene.
A friend of mine recently moved to the Greater Toronto Area and found an apartment in an outer-ring suburb with the unusual name of Orangeville. Doesn't it seem strange for a Canadian town to be named after a citrus fruit? Wouldn't a more regionally-correct name be Appleville? Of course, if there were an Appleville, Ontario, it would be useless to compare it to Orangeville. That would be like comparing two very different things. It would be like comparing a citrus fruit to a fruit from the genus Malus...But I digress.
As I pondered this mystery over the weekend, it occurred to me that there could be some link to the English monarch William of Orange, or to Irish Protestants. I couldn't let this mystery be. A quick Google search revealed the mystery of this place name. Orangeville is named after the first resident of the area, a man with the unusual name of Orange Lawrence, who settled there in 1820.
Orangeville, we hardly know ye. Are you a homogenous, ticky-tacky suburb, or an enigma shrouded in mystery? What Victorian-era mother, gazing down upon her infant son, chose to name her son Orange? The world may never know.
