“Before any project becomes a reality it must exist in the mind of someone.”

George H. Irvin, Orr Park Dedication, 1930

In 1909, Orrville founder, Judge Smith Orr, signed over four acres of land to the Village for the purpose of digging a well and building a pumping station to supply water to the town. Over one hundred years later, the site still provides refreshing water to Orrville, but of the chlorinated variety. Today residents can swim, splash, and enjoy our community pool. The pool itself has been around since August, 1934, and is one of the many amenities offered by the nearly 70-acre park in the heart of Orrville, Ohio. Orr Park has grown from being just an idea in the mind of someone, to a sprawling recreation space; from humble beginnings of idle farmland, to place to swim, play, watch a ballgame, walk a dog, ride a bike, and admire the scenery.

Next month, the opening of the “Gateway” will mark the newest expansion of park offerings. The newly constructed path leads visitors into the park and the Orrville City Schools campus. The paved path and design elements take cues from our town’s railroad heritage, mimicking the railway ties in the pavers, referencing the steel of rails and spikes. Dotting the path are signs that relay the park’s growth since 1909. As with every advancement of Orr Park, the completed Gateway project involved members of our community. The efforts of the Orrville Development Foundation, the City of Orrville, Orrville City Schools, the Wayne County Community Foundation, the George T. Dunlap Foundation, local corporate sponsorship, and the volunteer efforts of Kyle W. Zook, architect, and The J.M. Smucker Company’s Creative + Design team have culminated in the completion of the Gateway project.

Orr Park was officially underway in 1920, when the mayor selected George H. Irvin, William H. Heebsh, J.M. Smucker, and Harvey L. Zimmerman to the Park Board. The Board was later joined by Leroy B. Webner in 1929 when Mr. Irvin stepped down. Each civic-minded individual came from a different avenue of Orrville life. Mr. Irvin, a physician; Heebsh, the editor of the Orrville Courier-Crescent newspaper; J.M. Smucker, owner of a small cannery on the outskirts of town, Zimmerman, local grocer and real estate agent; and lastly, Mr. Webner, of the First National Bank of Orrville. These locals started with an idea…and a budget of $200…and built the foundation of Orr Park.

Irvin penned an article for the Courier-Crescent in 1927, calling on the community for support. He wrote: The greatest pride and asset of our little city is not our Banks or our Merchantile [sic] Houses, nor our Manufacturing establishments, but our BOYS and GIRLS. …They are the future Men and Women of the Community. Every advantage and uplift we can put in their path will equip them better to meet life’s battles.

The park grew from the original four acres to include another tract of three acres on the corner of Elm and High streets, purchased from the Board of Education. A generous donation of additional land grew the park to ten acres. The donation came from the great-granddaughters of Judge Smith Orr, known as the Brenneman sisters, Charlotte Chamberlain and Maud Congdon.

On July 25, 1930, the park, now named Orr’s Park in honor of the Brenneman sisters’ donation, was dedicated to the community. Over ten thousand visitors flocked to the site to enjoy picnics, speeches, contests and entertainment. The Goodyear blimp Vigilant also made an appearance to offer rides to a lucky few. Of historic note, after the stock market crash of 1929, the Orrville community came together during times of severe hardship to provide funds and volunteerism, to continue the Park’s growth all through the Great Depression. This culminated in the opening of the pool in 1934 with CWA labor and the continued efforts of original Park Board member, J.M. Smucker. At Orr Park’s dedication, Irvin stated: “The one man, probably above all others, who is responsible for Orr Park being a reality, is our fellow townsman, J.M. Smucker. He has thought park and talked park, and as a result we are this day to formally dedicate this, the beginning of one of the most beautiful and most useful parks in central Ohio.”

The park expanded northward to encompass Orr Woods in 1943, which was purchased for this purpose by Burt Cope of Will-Burt, a local repair shop, and now the premier manufacturer of mobile telescoping masts, towers, trailer systems, and pan and tilt positioners today. Two other major expansions saw Orr Park grow, as in 1940, Ms. Chamberlain sold another parcel of the former Orr farmland to the city, and in 1992, Chamberlain’s son-in-law donated the 40-acre space that now encompasses the dog park and wetland area. Orrville High School seniors wrote for and obtained a $15,000 grant from the GTE Foundation to build a wetlands east of the school on this land.

Lastly, we have the most recent land donations from the Orrville City Schools as well as the purchase of the former Parkview Lanes bowling alley to complete the Gateway entry to Orr Park. It is not from a single donor or philanthropist that the park became reality, but with the spirit of generosity, community service, and volunteerism that Orr Park was realized.