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Land Settlement in Oro Township
The land comprising Oro Twp. was part of a
large territory formerly held by the Ojibways
(Chippewas). This land, along with other adjacent
lands, about 250,000 acres in all, was seceded to
the British government through the treaty of Nov-
ember 17, 1815 for the sum of 4000 Pounds of
which the Oro Twp. portion makes up roughly
1200 Pounds of it.
In 1811, S.S. Wilmot had surveyed a road
between Kempenfeldt Bay and Penetanguishene
Bay with lots of 200 acres (20 x 100 chains; 1
chain = 66 feet) laid out along both sides of it and
lots of 100 acres (20 x 50 chains) in a second con-
cession. By early 1815, a track had been cut out
along this surveyed road as a transport route for
the fur-trading North West Company and the
militia stationed at Penetanguishene. It was along
this track which was soon to mark the western
boundary of Oro Twp. that a number of settlers
began locating themselves in 1819.
In 1820, J.G. Chewett surveyed and laid out
the remainder of Oro Twp. into lots of 200 acres
(30 x 66-2/3 chains) with allowances for roads, for
which he received in payment 3105 acres (15-1/2
lots) of Oro. The Constitutional Act of 1791 re-
quired that one seventh of each township surveyed
be set aside as Clergy Reserves for the support of
the Protestant clergy, a subject of a great deal of
controversy for many years to come. In the same
year a separate instruction required that another
one seventh be set aside as Crown Reserves for the
support of the government. In Oro Twp. 57 lots
(approximately 10,600 acres) were set aside as
Clergy Reserves and another 57 lots (10,430 acres)
as Crown Reserves.
The land policies affecting the settler in ob-
taining his land were very complex and continually
changing to adapt to the often conflicting interests
of the many parties involved in land settlement.
There were four main types of land available to the
settler: Crown Lands, Crown Reserves, Clergy Re-
serves and Private Lands.
CROWN LANDS
In the beginning, five-sevenths of the land in
Oro was Crown land while the other two-sevenths
made up the Crown and Clergy Reserves. The two
main systems of granting Crown lands were the
free grant system and the sales system. Only com-
mon settlers before 1826, United Empire Loyalists
or their children, military claimants, certain
officials and other exceptions were able to acquire
land under the free grant system in Oro Twp.
The first to receive locations in Oro along the
Penetanguishene Road were the Hon. William
McGillivray (600 acres) and William Hallowele
(200 acres) in 1816, but actual settlement did not
begin until mid-1819 as a result of a general Order-
in-Council, April 26, 1819, opening the area up for
settlement.
To encourage settlers to locate along the
newly opened road they were offered 200 acre
lots, double the quantity permitted since 1815, at
a low fee, a policy which lasted only a few years.
These settlers were also required to begin settle-
ment duties within one month after receiving their
location tickets (fig. 1-2-3), that is, to erect a
dwelling house, to reside on their lot, to clear and
fence ten acres next to the road and to clear half
the road in front, all within 18 months. After
performing their settlement duties and paying a
fee of Three Pounds, Five Shillings, Two Pence
they would receive title to their land in the form
of a patent.
At the same time, a number of discharged
soldiers, "men of colour", who were veterans of
the War of 1812, began locating on 100 acre lots
beginning on Concession 2 fronting Wilberforce
Street. They were also subject to performing
certain settlement duties (abolished in 1835) but
were not required to pay patent and survey fees
for their grant. Many other militia claimants, in-
cluding seamen, acquired grants of 100 acre lots
throughout the township under the same condi-
tions. After 1834, only those who were discharged
in the province were entitled to free grants which
eventually ended in 1843.
Half-pay officers were entitled to free grants
until August 1, 1831 after which they were
allowed a remission of the purchase money in
amounts varying according to rank. In 1831, a
number of half-pay officers came to Oro and ob-
tained substantial grants of land scattered through-
out the township. They were: Charles S. Monck,
1370 acres; Malcolm Ross, 1223 acres; James
Adam, 1200 acres; Edward F. Davis, 1195 acres;
Andrew Carthew, 1190 acres; Robert Oliver, 1100,
acres; Edward G. O'Brien, 885 acres; and William
B. McVity, 340 acres.
United Empire Loyalists or their children
were eligible for 200 acre grants free of fees but
subject to the same settlement duties as militia
claimants. Not much is yet known to what extent
and proof that the settler was established on his
land was required. Two neighbourhood witnesses
would swear in writing before a Justice of the
Peace that they knew the applicant and described
to what extent the settlement duties were per-
formed. Often a long period would elapse, even as
much as half a century, from the time a settler
located on his lot until he received his patent. This
was possibly due to bureaucratic delays or slow-
ness in making payments. Some problems arose
when he settled on the wrong lot or bought land
from another settler, the original nominee, who
had not paid all his instalments and had no title.
One settler complained about paying $9.00 per
acre for stony land bought from the Crown Lands
Department while better land in the immediate
area was valued at from $1.50 to $3.25 per acre. A
half-pay officer complained about the manner in
which a neighbour had performed his settlement
duties on the road by hauling timber and brush on
to one of his lots and not cutting the shrubs low
enough. Another settler ended up paying more
interest than he should have when he paid the
same interest on his last instalment as the first, for
which he was never reimbursed.
TABLES
The following tables should give some idea as
to how the land was taken up. They are based on
an analysis of the Doomsday Books: Oro Town-
ship, and figures are approximate only.
TABLE I
ACREAGE PATENTED FOR EACH DECADE
Years Acres
1820 - 1829 15,055
1830 - 1839 27,068
1840 - 1849 14,673
1850 - 1859 3,030
1860 - 1869 7,555
1870 - 1879 5,145
1880 - 1889 600
1890 - 1899 200
after 1900 250
Total 73,576
TABLE II
NUMBER OF LOTS PATENTED
ACCORDING TO LOT SIZE
No. of lots Lot size Acres
181 200 acres 36,200
312 100 acres 31,200
45 50 acres 2,250
52 irregular, broken or
under 50 acres 3,926
590 TOTAL 73,576
TABLE III
ACREAGE PATENTED UNDER VARIOUS
TYPES OF LAND GRANTS AND SALES
Type Acres
Military grants 18.591
Crown land sales 17,870
Free grants 11,600
Canada Company 10,230
Clergy Reserve sales 8,715
James G. Chewett, surveyor 3,105
Commission grants 1,460
Military Emigrants grants 300
Other or indeterminate 1,705
73,576
The sales system began on January 1, 1826.
Under this system Crown land could be purchased
in Oro for Four Shillings per acre in cash at a dis-
count of 10%, or payment over one year or five
years with interest (revised in 1827 to two years).
From 1827, sales were by auction at upset prices.
Starting in 1841, Crown land was sold strictly for
cash only and it wasn't until 1854 when the system
reverted to the five year credit option.
In 1831, a large influx of indigent immigrants
from Great Britain came to settle in Oro (Heytes-
bury). They first arrived in Shanty Bay to be
located by E.G. O'Brien, a land agent for the
Crown Lands Department. Later they came in
through Hodge's Landing (Hawkestone) to be
located by Wellesley Richey who took over as land
agent. In about four months, ninety-one indigent
settlers and their families were located on lots of
mostly 100 acres. These settlers were required to
pay Five Shillings per acre and were given either
three or six years' credit depending on when they
could afford the 1/4 down payment and the three
annual instalments with interest. They
were also required to reside on their lot. If they
could not afford provisions they were allowed a
loan of Three Pounds per acre cleared up to four,
to be repaid in five years with interest. In a few
instances some of the settlers took up 100 acre
lots. but only purchased 50 acres while obtaining
the other 50 acres free through assisting societies
in Great Britain such as the Glasgow Society. In
1842 William Shaw made an inspection of the 92
lots located to these indigent settlers. Out of the
92 lots inspected, 28 lots were found vacant or
abandoned, 19 of them because of poor soil condi-
tions or lack of water, particularly those in Con-
cessions 8, 9 and 10.
CROWN RESERVES
At first the Crown Reserves were only avail-
able under an unpopular 21 year leasing system.
In 1826, a large land company called the Canada
Company was chartered and through a contract
with the government began purchasing unleased
Crown Reserves at Three Shillings Six Pence per
acre. The Canada Company purchased all the
Crown Reserves in Oro except for one leased lot
which was granted to King's College. Patents for
these lots were issued to the Canada Company
from 1832 to 1846. By 1835 the Canada Com-
pany was selling lots in Ontario for an average
price of Twelve Shillings Five Pence per acre.
Terms were one-fifth cash down and five annual
instalments at 6% interest. From 1842, the settler
could take out a 10 year lease with the option of
purchase, a system which proved more popular.
The armual rent was equal to the interest on the
value of the lot.
CLERGY RESERVES
Like the Crown Reserves, the Clergy Reserves
were available under 21 year leases at annual rents
increasing once every seven years. This system was
discontinued in 1834. From 1827 a limited
number of Clergy Reserve lots became available
for private sale each year which was replaced in
1834 by the auction system at upset prices ranging
from Ten Shillings to Fifteen Shillings per acre.
The terms of credit were one-tenth cash down and
nine equal annual instalments. There was a great
demand for lots on these terms which were better
than those in purchasing Crown lands or Canada
Company lots. However, until 1847 existing
lessees and squatters of Clergy Reserve lots had
pre-emption privileges which made it a lot harder
for other settlers to acquire these lots. Possibly
because of the limitation set on the number of
Clergy Reserve lots that could be sold annually,
most of the Clergy Reserves in the south half of
Oro were transferred to inferior lots in the north
half leaving those in the south more accessible for
purchase which were then sold as Crown land. The
sale of Clergy Reserves was completely suspended
from 1841 to 1845. In 1853 the restriction on the
acreage that could be sold annually was removed
and from 1854 Clergy Reserves were sold under
the same regulations as those for Crown lands.
PRIVATE LANDS
Once a patent was issued on a piece of land,
that land became privately owned. Eventually
most of the Crown lands and the Crown and Clergy
Reserves in Oro passed into the hands of private
owners. When a buyer purchased land from a
private owner the transaction was called "Bargain
and Sale". Land could be bought from
another settler such as one of those mentioned
above, from a land speculator, from the Canada
Company or from J.G. Chewett, the surveyor of
Oro who held a large quantity of land.
In most cases, before any patent could be
issued for a lot it had to be completely paid for.
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