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• Holland's Landing Depot
  The Royal Navy Depot Holland Landing, constructed during the War of 1812, stood just north of this site on the east bank of Soldiers' Bay. Its buildings and other facilities served as an administrative and transshipment centre within a network of roads, waterways, portages and posts that connected Lake Ontario to the upper Great Lakes. To avoid American forces in the Niagara-Lake Erie-Detroit River corridor, British authorities moved vital supplies from York (Toronto) through this...

• Aurora Armoury
  Built in 1874 as a drill shed for the 12th Battalion of Infantry or York Rangers, the Aurora Armoury was part of a network of defence training facilities for citizen soldiers. It evokes the larger stories and traditions of the province's militia regiments, recruited regionally, and possessing close affiliations with their communities of origin. The armoury was also the site of Edward Blake's famous "Aurora speech" of 1874, in which the prominent politician and former...

• Jean-Baptiste Lainé Site
  In the 16th century, prior to the arrival of Europeans, a village was founded on this site by the Huron-Wendat, a Nation of agriculturalists and fisher-hunter-gatherers. In response to increased conflict in the region, many smaller villages merged to form a three-hectare settlement of 1,700 people, with more than 50 longhouses arranged around a central plaza, surrounded by a palisade, a ditch and an embankment as protection. The economic and political functions of the Huron-Wendat...

• Aurora Public School
  Constructed in 1886, the Aurora Public School is one of the finest remaining examples in Ontario of a public school designed in the High Victorian manner. The building features a picturesque or irregular silhouette, a mixture of styles and an abundance of decoration. Its prominent architectural details include a belvedere atop a hipped roof, parapet gables with bold finials and an ornamented belfry. These elements are enhanced by the use of elaborate brickwork for the...

• Berczy Settlement 1794, The
  In November 1794, William von Moll Berczy (1744-1813), colonizer, road builder, architect and painter, brought the first settlers to Markham Township. This group had originally emigrated from Germany to New York State, but moved to Upper Canada in 1794 and acquired extensive lands in this area. In 1795-96, sickness and famine reduced their numbers, but those who remained or returned to their holdings laid the foundation for the rapid development of Markham Township after 1800...

• Bethesda Church and Burying Ground
  When the first German settlers led by William Berczy arrived in this area in 1794, they were accompanied by the Rev. S. Liebrich who established here one of Upper Canada's earliest Lutheran congregations. Services were held at first in the house of Phillip Eckardt, but under the guidance of the Rev. Johan D. Petersen, who was pastor 1819-29, a church named St. Philip's was constructed on this site in 1820. Eckardt donated the land for...

• De Puisaye Settlement 1799, The
  In the fall of 1798, some 40 exiled French Royalists under the leadership of Joseph-Genevieve, Comte de Puisaye (1754-1827), emigrated from England to Upper Canada. The following year, they were given rations and agricultural implements and settled along Yonge Street in the townships of Markham and Vaughan. However, these members of the nobility and their servants were unable to adapt themselves to a pioneer existence and, by 1806, their settlement, known as Windham, was abandoned. De Puisaye lived for a time on an estate near Niagara, but returned to England in 1802.

• Dutch Settlement of Holland Marsh, The
  The Holland Marsh consists of 7,000 acres of reclaimed land in the Schomberg River Valley. Named after an early provincial official, this fertile area was drained between 1925 and 1930. John Snor, Canadian Representative of the Netherlands Emigration Foundation, visited the sparsely settled Marsh and proposed the relocation here of recent Dutch immigrants in Ontario. Assisted by grants from the Netherlands, Canada and Ontario, fifteen Dutch families, many from Friesland and Groningen originally, settled on...

• Eildon Hall
  One of the oldest structures in the area, this interesting house was the first Canadian residence of Susan Mein Sibbald (1783-1866), a gentlewoman pioneer whose memoirs were published posthumously in 1926. The building was erected in stages and revealed much about the changing needs and aspirations of its various owners. Initially a small Regency style cottage, it was begun in 1830 by William Kingdom Rains, an early settler, and acquired around 1835 by Susan Sibbald...

• First Steam Train 1853, The
  On May 16, 1853, the Ontario Simcoe and Huron Union Railroad Company operated the first steam train in Canada West from Toronto to Machell's Corners (Aurora). The train, consisting of four passenger and freight cars was drawn by the steam engine "Toronto," the first locomotive constructed in what is now Ontario. The arrival of the railway accelerated the development of this community, which was incorporated as a village in 1863 and a town in 1888...

• Founding of Markham, The
  The earliest settlers in this part of Markham Township, including several "Pennsylvania Dutch," arrived on the Rouge River shortly after 1800. Within ten years, Nicholas Miller had erected mills around which a community known as Markham Mills had developed by about 1820. A village plot (Reesorville) was laid out north of the mills in 1826 by Joseph Reesor. Two years later, a post office named Markham was opened. By 1850, the village had a population...

• Founding of Newmarket, The
  In 1801, Joseph Hill, attracted by the water-power potential of the Holland River, built a grist-mill on the site of present-day Newmarket and opened a general store. The settlement here in 1803-1804 of Elisha Beman, a major local landowner and entrepreneur, provided a strong stimulus for the community's growth and, within a few years, the village had emerged as the market centre for the rich, surrounding agricultural region. The arrival of the Ontario, Simcoe and...

• Founding of Richmond Hill, The
  Settlers came to this district about 1794 after the construction of Yonge Street north from York (Toronto). The settlement prospered as a way station for travellers. Known as Mount Pleasant, the community was renamed, following a visit in 1819 by the Governor-in-chief of British North America, the Duke of Richmond. Mills along the Don River preceded the establishment of tanneries and carriage works. The first church, erected by Presbyterians, opened in 1821, the post office...

• Founding of Stouffville, The
  In 1805-06, Abraham Stouffer (1780-1851), a Pennsylvania Mennonite, acquired 400 acres of land in this area. By 1824, he had built a saw and grist-mill on Duffin's Creek, near which a hamlet developed and, in 1832, a post office named Stouffville was established. The community grew steadily and, in 1852, a village plot was laid out. By 1864, Stouffville, with a population of about 700 inhabitants, contained several prosperous industries, including carriage-works, harness works and...

• Founding of Thornhill, The
  Settlement began here after the opening of Yonge Street in the mid-1790s and, by 1802, a grist mill and sawmill were operating on the Don River. The community developed slowly until 1829 when Benjamin Thorne built a large flour mill, tannery and store. Within a year, the village also contained a post office named "Thornhill," a church, school and tavern. Thornhill's growth as a milling and agricultural centre suffered after 1846 when the loss of...

• Robert Alexander Laidlaw 1886-1976
  A prominent Ontario businessman and philanthropist, Laidlaw, who is buried here, was born in Barrie and raised and educated in Toronto. He joined his father's firm, the R. Laidlaw Lumber Company Limited, following his graduation in 1908, and during a long and successful business career, served it and other important Canadian corporations. Laidlaw is best remembered, however, for his philanthropic work. He made major contributions to leading health-care, educational and cultural institutions, including the Hospital...

• J.E.H. MacDonald 1873-1932
  MacDonald, one of Canada's outstanding artists, lived here 1913-1932. Born in Durham, England, of Canadian parents, he came with his family to Hamilton in 1887. Though his formal art training was limited, he became one of the founders of the "Group of Seven" and participated in most of its exhibitions. MacDonald's impressive painting, "A Tangled Garden", shown in the 1916 Ontario Society of Artists exhibition, strongly indicated the development of his later style. In 1929...

• Lloydtown
  In 1832, Jesse Lloyd, a Quaker who had come from Pennsylvania to Upper Canada about 1812, purchased 60 acres of land in this vicinity. During the following years he sold portions of his property to incoming settlers. The erection of a grist-mill, sawmill and woolen mill, two tanneries, stores and a number of pioneer industries hastened Lloydtown's growth. By 1851 the community contained a post-office and two churches and had a population of about 350...

• Lord Beaverbrook 1879-1964
  One of the Commonwealth's best-known publishers, politicians and philanthropists, William Maxwell Aitken, was born in Maple. The son of the Reverend William Aitken, a Presbyterian minister, he was educated in Newcastle, New Brunswick, to which his family moved in 1880. After a highly successful career in Canada as a financier he entered the British House of Commons in 1910 as a strong advocate of Imperial Preferences and was raised to the peerage in 1917 as...

• Mazo de la Roche 1879-1961
  Born Mazo Louise Roche in Newmarket, this celebrated Canadian writer attended the Ontario School of Art and the University of Toronto. She established an international literary reputation when her book "Jalna" won the Atlantic Monthly competition of 1927. It was the first of 16 novels narrating the history of the Whiteoak family and set in the Clarkson, Ontario, area. The books provide a comprehensive picture of life in the province from the mid-19th to mid-20th...

• Meeting House of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) 1810, The
  In 1800, an extensive grant of land in this vicinity was made to Timothy Rogers and Samuel Lundy who, with other members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), settled here in 1801 - 1803. Originally under the religious jurisdiction of the Philadelphia and New York Yearly Meetings, the settlers were organized in 1806 as the Yonge Street Monthly Meeting of Friends. In 1807 Asa Rogers deeded two acres of land for a burial ground...

• Samuel Lount 1791-1838
  Born in Pennsylvania, Lount came to Upper Canada in 1811 and eventually settled near Holland Landing, where he became a prosperous farmer, blacksmith and surveyor. A Reformer, he served as a member of the Legislative Assembly for Simcoe, 1834-36, and the following year took an active part in William Lyon MacKenzie's uprising. Lount was in joint command of the rebel forces assembled at Montgomery's Tavern north of Toronto and became a fugitive after their defeat...

• Sharon Temple
  Erected 1825-32, its architecture symbolizes the religious beliefs of its builder, David Willson, born in New York State 1778. Disowned by the Society of Friends (Quakers), he established hereabouts the Children of Peace (Davidites) in 1812, a small sect which retained some Quaker mysticism while placing great emphasis on ceremony, music and practical education. Most Davidites were strong political reformers and several joined Mackenzie's force in the Rebellion of 1837. Following Willson's death 1866, the strength of the sect diminished and its last service was held here 1886.

• St. Andrew's Church
  A superb example of "carpenter's Gothic" architecture, this building was constructed to serve a Church of Scotland congregation organized about 1829. It was built during the rectorship of the Rev. Donald Ross by John McDonald, a local contractor, and opened for service on November 11, 1862. St. Andrew's tall, pointed openings and central, projecting tower demonstrate how strongly its design was influenced by early Victorian architecture of the Gothic Revival. It is distinguished by its...

• Stephen Butler Leacock 1869-1944
  This internationally-known author and humorist is buried in the churchyard. Born in Swanmore, Hampshire, England, Leacock came with his family to this township in 1876. Graduating from the University of Toronto in 1891, he taught at Upper Canada College and, in 1901, began lecturing in political science at McGill University, heading that department, 1908-1936. Though Leacock wrote extensively on political science, economics and history, he achieved his greatest distinction as a humorist. Some of his...

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