Oro Township
The Black Settlement in Oro Township
What was Oro Township?
The Oro Township was one of the earliest Black settlements in Ontario. It was not the largest in Upper Canada, but it was the only one that resulted from government planning and encouragement.
Why was Oro Township created?
Oro was intended to settle Black Loyalist refugees after the War of 1812. Black veterans of the War of 1812 were a trained fighting force in need of a place to live. Black veterans were offered land grants in Oro. Sir Peregrine Maitland, Ontario's first lieutenant-governor, decided that the government would sponsor an African-Canadian community in northern Ontario that could become the destination for all Blacks hoping for settlement in Ontario.
What happened to Oro Township?
Many of the black settlers did not stay long in Oro. Settlers were selling their grants and moving to urban areas such as Collingwood, Barrie and Toronto, or working as labourers on nearby farms. The Oro Black Settlement grew to about 90 families, then decreased as the settlers found steady income elsewhere (mainly on railway trains and ships on the Great Lakes).