Hi Heather, Not to steal Pam's thunder (as if I could!) Park Lots were a feature of the standard model for laying out all towns when the surveyors were doing this work in the middle of the 1800's. To quote directly from, "Land Settlement in Upper Canada by George Patterson : published 1921": <QUOTE> The town plots in each township measured one mile square, and usually, if an inland township, were situated in the centre. If a water township, they were in the middle of the waterfront. Each town plot was laid out on a prescribed plan, with town lots of one acre, town parks of twentyfour acres, and squares and streets of stated dimensions. <END QUOTE> This is just an extract from the middle of a paragraph but the book also explains that it was expected that the geography and geographic features of the local be considered when placing and making a specific plan but that the standard was to be applied as far as possible. The lot sizes quoted guided the surveyors as to how to "stake" their initial plan but we all know that the actual properties granted and/or purchased were actually part lots in the majority of cases. Some of the Park Lots were to be reserved for public areas while other areas were reserved for church and government purposes. The book is actually quite interesting reading (well, I find it so) and understanding these relatively simple principles tends to give you a few clues when you drive into a strange (Ontario*) town for the first time. (Everything West of Ontario was laid out on an entirely different base and - of course - Quebec was laid out according to French based principals.) We have made a digital edition of the book so you can find a fuller description of it on our web site (see my sig. line) by looking for our Catalogue number CA0227. So, in more direct answer to your question yes, Orillia almost certainly had park lots all around the centre of the (original) town. The geography of the lake shore in Orillia does not make it obvious how the original surveyors would have tried to impose the "standard plan", The road layout doesn't offer any hint (again to me), and I'm resisting the temptation to guess. I think you may have to try and look at an old property map and see how they distorted the nice neat rectangular waterfront layout to accommodate your bays and headlands before you could even start to guess where the Park Lots were. The library in Orillia and/or the local planning department would be my first calls. Malcolm Archive CD Books Canada Inc. President: Malcolm Moody PO Box 11 Manotick Ontario, K4M 1A2 Canada. (613) 692-2667 WEB SITE: http://www.ArchiveCDBooks.ca FACEBOOK: http://tinyurl.com/ACDB-Can-on-Facebook On 8 Nov, 2010, at 3:00 AM, can-ont-simcoe-request@rootsweb.com wrote: > Message: 2 > Date: Sun, 7 Nov 2010 17:39:12 -0500 > From: "Heather Bertram" <aaron@bmts.com> > Subject: [CAN-ONT-SIMCOE] PARK LOT > To: "CAN-ONT-SIMCOE-L" <CAN-ONT-SIMCOE-L@rootsweb.com> > Message-ID: <9374CD305D094B2EB146069367B23749@inspiration> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > I know PamTessier posted this with regard to "Park Lots" in Penetanguishene. > I am wondering if the same refers to "Park Lots" in Orillia. I am > researching a piece of property, south half of the south half of Park Lot A, > west side of Peter Street, Lot 6, concession 5, Township of South Orillia. > > > The term "Park Lot" refers to property located in the town of > Penetanguishene and also on the shoreline on the opposite side of Penetang > Bay in what was then Tiny Township. The lots were originally granted to the > military pensionners at the Establishments and the Drummond Islanders in > return for their service in the War of 1812. -- > > Heather