Thornhill, Ontario

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Thornhill
Neighbourhood
Conley Park, one of the many parks found in Thornhill
Conley Park, one of the many parks found in Thornhill
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Country Canada
Province Ontario
Regional Municipality York Region
City Vaughan
City Markham
Population (2011)
 • Total 110,430[1]
Time zone EST (UTC−5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC−4)
Forward sortation area L3T (Markham)
L4J (Vaughan)
Area code(s) 905 and 289
NTS Map 030M14
GNBC Code FCWAD

Thornhill (2011 population 110,430)[1] is a neighbourhood in the Greater Toronto Area of Southern Ontario, Canada, located on the northern border of the city of Toronto. Once a municipal village, Thornhill is now a community and postal designation geographically split into two municipalities along Yonge Street, the city of Vaughan to the west and the city of Markham to the east. According to the 2001 Census, the population of Thornhill-Vaughan was 56,361,[2] and the population of Thornhill-Markham was 47,333.[3] It is immediately south and south-west of Richmond Hill.

History

The corner of Old Yonge Street and Centre Street
Mason Cogswell Wagonyard and weigh scales
Old Victoria Hall

Early history

Thornhill was founded in 1794.[4] Its first settlers on Yonge Street in Thornhill were Asa Johnson (who settled on the Vaughan side) and Nicholas Miller (c.1760–1810; who settled on the Markham side). Of particular importance was the arrival of Benjamin Thorne (January 4, 1794 – July 2, 1848) in 1820 from Dorset, England,[5] who was operating a gristmill, a sawmill, and a tannery in the community. The settlement came to be known as Thorne's Mills, and later, Thorne's Hill, from which its current name is derived. (Thorne committed suicide in 1848, after a serious wheat market crash.)

Between 1830 and 1848, Thornhill experienced a period of continued growth and prosperity. The business district of Thornhill developed on its portion of Yonge Street, between Centre Street and John Street. Stagecoaches travelled between Holland Landing (Lake Simcoe) and York (Toronto) as Yonge Street's road conditions improved with new stonework. During this prosperous period, several churches, many of which are still standing today, were constructed.

Thornhill's location along Yonge Street, a major transportation route, proved to be beneficial to the community's growth throughout much of the twentieth century. The implementation of an electric street railway along Yonge Street in 1898 towards Kleinburg, Georgina, King and Toronto meant that, for the first time, it was possible for people to reside in Thornhill and work in Toronto. By the 1920s, the prevalence of the automobile further facilitated travel along Yonge Street.

20th century

In 1931, Thornhill became a "Police Village"; before that time, Thornhill had no independent status and was split between the townships of Vaughan and Markham along Yonge Street, since the creation of municipal government in 1850. Before 1931, each township administered its own half of the village. The creation of the Police Village gave Thornhill its own political boundaries. The village was headed by a reeve.

In 1971, York Region was created, part of a wave of municipal re-organization which converted many townships into towns and eliminated many of the municipal forms of organization which had existed within those townships. The establishment of a regional administration effectively eliminated the Police Village of Thornhill. Thornhill's administration reverted to the newly formed towns of Markham and Vaughan at this time.

However, many political and social institutions remained organized around the former municipal entities eliminated in 1971. Like neighbouring communities such as Woodbridge, Maple, and Unionville – as is typical for most urbanized former Greater Toronto Area (GTA) villages outside of the City of Toronto – Thornhill remained the postal designation for addresses within the former village's boundaries, and community organizations such as local newspapers, sports teams, and schools continued to operate under the Thornhill name and designation. As an example, until the mid-1990s residents of Thornhill seeking to play high-level hockey were required to play for a Thornhill team.

While the old village of Thornhill revolved around Yonge Street between Centre and John Streets, the community is typically thought to be located between Dufferin Street to the west, Highway 7 to the north, Steeles Avenue to the south, and Highway 404 to the east.

Suburbanization

Thornhill's growth since the 1960s and 1970s has been largely connected to its location bordering what is now the City of Toronto.

Growth has continued apace. Developments have sprung up across various areas of Thornhill in each of the municipal districts which encompass Thornhill, following the development patterns of the Greater Toronto Area.

Demographics

Ethnicity

Thornhill has a very ethnically diverse population. It is home to significant visible minority communities, particularly Chinese, Korean, and Iranian. Thornhill's traditional population consists of large Italian and Jewish communities[citation needed].

According to 2001 Federal Census data, the electoral district of Thornhill (which is not entirely congruent with the neighbourhood) consists of Chinese, the largest visible minority, accounting for almost 11% of total residents (12,610), followed by South Asian (6,595), Black (2,665), Korean (2,660), Filipino (2,535), and West Asian (2,355).[6]

According to the 2009 Report of Canada's Demographic Task Force, Thornhill-Vaughan is home to more than 33,000 members of the Jewish community.[7]

Politics

Thornhill is a federal and provincial riding. The Member of Parliament for Thornhill is Peter Kent (Conservative), and the Member of Provincial Parliament is Gila Martow (Progressive Conservative).

Municipally, Thornhill is split into Wards 4 and 5 in the City of Vaughan and Ward 1 in the City of Markham. It is represented by Sandra Yeung Racco (Vaughan Ward 4), Alan Shefman (Vaughan Ward 5), and Valerie Burke (Markham Ward 1).

Education

Public schools

Secondary schools

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Elementary schools

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  • Bakersfield Public School, established in 2003
  • Baythorn Public School
  • Bayview Glen Public School
  • Bayview Fairways Public School
  • Brownridge Public School
  • Carrville Mills Public School, established in 2007
  • Charlton Public School
  • Doncrest Public School
  • E.J. Sand Public School
  • German Mills Public School
  • Glen Shields Public School
  • Henderson Avenue Public School
  • Herbert H. Carnegie Public School
  • Johnsview Village Public School
  • Julliard Public School
  • Louis Honoré Fréchette Public School, established in 1991
  • Roberta Bondar Public School, established in 2008
  • Rosedale Heights Public School
  • Stornoway Crescent Public School
  • Thornhill Public School
  • Thornhill Woods Public School, established in 2005
  • Ventura Park Public School, established in 1999
  • Westminster Public School, established in 1983
  • Willowbrook Public School
  • Wilshire Elementary School
  • Woodland Public School
  • Yorkhill Elementary School

Catholic schools

St. Elizabeth Catholic High School.

Private schools

Jewish Schools

Secondary:

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Primary:

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Islamic Schools

Healthcare

There are no general hospitals in the Thornhill area; the nearest are Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital in Richmond Hill and North York General Hospital in Toronto. A private hospital, Shouldice Hernia Centre, is in Thornhill and is one of the world's premiere facilities for the treatment of hernias.

Media

  • Thornhill Post – Monthly publication.
  • Vaughan Today – Monthly publication.
  • Salam Toronto – Bilingual Persian-English weekly paper.
  • Shalom Toronto – Bilingual Hebrew-English weekly paper.

Notable people from Thornhill

Hayden
File:Adam henrich.jpg
Adam Henrich
Michael Henrich
Joshua Ho-Sang
Milos Raonic
Andrew Wiggins

Arts

Film and broadcasting

Literature

Music

Visual arts

Sports

Other personalities

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Statistics Canada. 2012. Thornhill, Ontario (Code 35104) and Ontario (Code 35) (table). Census Profile. 2011 Census. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-316-XWE. Ottawa. Released October 24, 2012. http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E Retrieved October 22, 2014
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  4. ↑ For a fuller account of Thornhill's early history, see Isabel Champion, ed., Markham: 1793–1900 (Markham, ON: Markham Historical Society, 1979), 297–301; 70f., 97f., 140f., 170, 335.
  5. ↑ http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/thorne_benjamin_7E.html
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External links

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