- Markham redirects here, see also Markham (disambiguation)).
Markham (2001 population 208,615) is a town in York
Regional Municipality, directly north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Markham is the largest incorporated town in Canada and
is part of the Greater Toronto Area. Markham was first
surveyed as a township in 1793, first settled
in 1794 and incorporated as a town in 1972. Markham is twinned with Nordlingen, Germany.
Markham comprises five distinct communities: Markham Village, Cornell, Unionville, Milliken and Thornhill. While the town has
historically been recognized as a suburb of Toronto, it has fast become an independent
economy. Many high-tech industries have located in Markham for the relative abundance of land, low tax rates and good
transportation routes. The town has begun branding itself as Canada's "High-Tech
Capital".
History
When Upper and Lower
Canada were established in 1791, John Graves Simcoe was appointed the first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada. Simcoe named the Township of Markham, north of the Town of York (now Toronto), after his friend William Markham, the
Archbishop of York.
Markham Township was originally surveyed in 1793-94, but not until 1801 was the land divided into 10 concessions running north and south, with 6 sideroads running east/west.
Eventually, the boundaries of Markham Township occupied the area, as follows:
- NORTH: Whitchurch Town Line (Between 19th Avenue and Stouffville Side Road)
- SOUTH: Scarborough Town Line (Steeles Avenue)
- EAST: Pickering Town Line
- WEST: Vaughan Town Line (Yonge Street)
The boundaries of present day Markham are as follows: Beginning at the southeastern corner, the boundary stretches northward
along the York-Durham Line until approximately one half concession between 19th Avenue and Stouffville Side Road. The boundary
continues westward until it reaches highway 404, where it runs in a southerly direction until intersecting Regional Road Seven,
(formerly Provincial Highway Seven.) From this point it stretches westward following Langstaff Road until Provincial Highway
Eleven, and travels south until Steeles Avenue East. The Southern border straddles the centre line of Steeles Avenue East until
it reaches the town's southeastern corner at the York-Durham Line. All boundaries and concessions are straight lines at slightly
more than a right angle to each other, forming a geographical area roughly in the shape of two connected parallelograms.
In 1794, William Berczy led 75 German families from New York State to Markham Township. Each was granted 200 acres. Because of hardships, many
returned to York and Niagara. In 1797, because of the revolution in France in 1789, many
nobility fled the country and set off for Canada to take advantage of free land grants in Upper Canada. They were totally
unprepared for survival under such crude conditions and most of them returned to their homeland.
From 1803 to 1812, the largest group of settlers
were Pennsylvania Germans, most of whom were Mennonites. These highly skilled
craftsmen and knowledgeable farmers had the best chance for survival because they had already survived harsh conditions in
Pennsylvania. From 1830 on, many Irish,
Scottish and English emigrated to Upper
Canada to escape the famine and overpopulation of their homeland.
Markham's early years blended the rigours of homesteading with the development of agriculture-based industries. The many
rivers and streams in the Township soon supported water-powered saw and grist mills and, later, woollen mills. With improved
transportation routes, such as Yonge Street and the growing population,
urbanization increased. By 1857 most of the Township had been cleared of timber and was
under cultivation. Villages like Thornhill, Unionville and
Markham greatly expanded and new, specialized industries such as wagon works, tanneries, farm implement and furniture factories
sprang up.
In 1871, the Toronto and Nipissing Railway Company, with stations in Unionville and Markham,
officially opened its line from Scarborough to Uxbridge. Initially, the railway brought renewed prosperity and rapid development.
Farmers and millers had a more convenient means of transporting their products to Toronto. Other merchants had easier access to
supplies and business boomed.
The first form of structured municipal government occurred in 1850 when the Township of
Markham was created. On November 20, 1872, the Warden of York County signed the By-law of
Incorporation, which provided for the election of a Council for the Village of Markham. The Village of Markham grew to a
population of 1100 by 1891.
The increased communication with Toronto brought on by the railway and further enhanced by the development of the telegraph,
the telephone and the automobile, ultimately led to the demise of the villages in the Township after the turn of the century.
Local industries were simply unable to compete with the larger manufacturers and suppliers of Toronto, and Markham soon reverted
to a quiet, rural community.
From 1945 onward, the face of Markham began to change rapidly. It was no longer a
community whose inhabitants worked mainly within the area. It evolved into a fast-growing suburb, where the majority of its residents commuted into Toronto. As a
result, rural Markham disappeared in the face of tremendous urban growth.
By 1969, the Township of Markham consisted of several villages, including Markham,
Unionville, and parts of Thornhill. In 1971, the Regional Municipality of York was
established. Northern portions of Markham Township were annexed to the municipalities of Richmond Hill and Whitchurch-Stouffville, while the balance
of Markham Township was incorporated in the Town of Markham and the present town boundaries set.
In 1976, Markham's population was approximately 56,000. Since that time, the population
has more than tripled.
Law/Government
The Mayor of Markham is Donald Cousens. The Markham Town Council consists of the Mayor, four Regional Councillors and eight
Councillors each representing one of the town's eight wards. The Mayor and four Regional Councillors are elected by the community
to represent the Town of Markham at the regional level.
The members of council, called councillors, are elected by the municipality's voters. Council members are paid by the
municipality for their services, but in many municipalities, members of council usually serve part-time and work at other jobs as
well.
Municipal elections are conducted every three years, and members of council are elected by the residents to a three-year term
of office. The selection of members for the offices of Mayor and Regional Councillors are made Town-wide, while Ward Councillors
are elected by individual ward.
Geography
Markham is bounded by Richmond Hill, Ontario and
Vaughan, Ontario to the west, Whitchurch-Stouffville, Ontario to the
north, Pickering, Ontario to the east and Toronto, Ontario to the south. It is at 43° 53' N, 79° 15' W.
Universities/Colleges
Hospitals
- Markham-Stouffville Hospital
Transportation
- Major highways include Highway 404 (from Toronto to Newmarket, Ontario) and Highway 407
- Rail connects Markham with downtown Toronto through the GO Transit commuter
rail service
- York Region
Transit connects Markham with surrounding municipalities in York Regional Municipality, as well as with the TTC
- Markham houses the Buttonville Municipal Airport, one of Canada's top
ten airports; the airport caters to general aviation and business commuter traffic to Ottawa and Montreal
External Links
|