In April of 1908, the Village of Orrville first purchased 4.75 acres of land. This land was originally purchased for the water supply in the lower park area, and a well house sat where the existing old maintenance building now sits in the lower park area. The acreage was purchased by land contract from Smith Orr for a price of $1,425.

The first park board was appointed in 1920, and the board worked on developing this land for a future park. In 1921, Maud Congdon and Charlotte Chamberlin, great-granddaughters of Smith Orr, donated approximately 15 acres of land to the Village for use as a park. Underbrush was cleared, trees trimmed, and the Village built restroom facilities, swings, a bandstand and picnic tables for the new park. The park was dedicated on July 25, 1930.

In 1943 the Village of Orrville purchased 14.25 acres from B. G. Cope for a price of $3,500. In 1964 the City of Orrville purchased an additional 3.5 acres from the Orrville City School District for $4,451, and 2 acres was purchased from Orrville Bowling Lanes, Inc., in 1965 for $5,000. Orr Park is almost 40 acres in size.

Council appropriated $200 for maintenance of the park in 1921. In 1930, $1,000 was appropriated, and in 1996, almost $123,000 was spent on park maintenance alone. The park is named for Judge Smith Orr, a founder of Orrville and the original landowner of this property.