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Markham was first surveyed as a township in 1793 by William Berzy (Johann Albrecht Ulrich Moll 1744-1813), first settled in 1794 and incorporated as a town in 1972. Markham is twinned with Nördlingen, Germany.
Markham is bounded by the Town of Richmond Hill and the City of Vaughan to the west, Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville to the north, Cit of PickeringPickering ( 2003 population approximately 92,000) is (as of 2003) a city located east of Toronto in Durham Region, Ontario, Canada. The town is well known for the Pickering nuclear power plant, and the adjacent OPG 7 commemerative turbine. Several other m to the east and City of Toronto to the south. It is at 43° 53' N, 79° 15' W.
According to the 2001 Statistics Canada census:
| Population: | 208,615 (+20.3% from 1996) |
| Land area: | 212.47 km² |
| Population density: | 981.8 people/km² |
| Median age: | 37.2 (males: 36.2, females: 38.1) |
| Total private dwellings: | 61.618 |
| Median household income: | $77,163 |
When UpperUpper Canada is an early name for the land at the upstream end of the Saint Lawrence River in early North America the territory south of Lake Nipissing and north of the St. Lawrence River and Lakes Ontario and Erie plus the eastern shoreline of Georgian B and Lower CanadaLower Canada was a British colony in North America, at the downstream end of the Saint Lawrence River in the southern portion of the modern-day province of Quebec. It was one of the two colonies of the Canadas. The colony was created by the Constitutional were established in 1791Events January 25 The British Parliament passes the Constitutional Act of 1791, splitting the old province of Quebec into Upper and Lower Canada March 3 The United States Congress passes a resolution calling for the establishment of the United States Mint, Colonel John Graves SimcoeJohn Graves Simcoe ( February 25, 1752 October 26, 1806) was the first lieutenant governor of Upper Canada (modern-day southern Ontario plus the shoreline of Georgian Bay and Lake Superior) from 1791- 1796. He founded York (now Toronto) and was instrument was appointed the first Lieutenant-GovernorThis is a list of Lieutenant Governors of the Canadian province of Ontario. Lieutenant Governors of Upper Canada Upper Canada was created out of the western part of Quebec by the Constitutional Act of 1791. NameTerm John Graves Simcoe 1791- 1796 Peter Rus of Upper CanadaUpper Canada is an early name for the land at the upstream end of the Saint Lawrence River in early North America the territory south of Lake Nipissing and north of the St. Lawrence River and Lakes Ontario and Erie plus the eastern shoreline of Georgian B. Simcoe named the Township of Markham, north of the Town of York (now Toronto), after his friend William MarkhamWilliam Markham ( 1710- 1807), English divine and archbishop of York, was educated at Westminster and at Christ Church College, Oxford. He was one of the best scholars of his day, and attained to the headship of his old school and college in 1753 and 1767, the Archbishop of York.
Markham Township was originally surveyed in 1793-94, but not until 1801 was the township divided into 10 concession road (now numbered line roads) running north and south, with six sideroads running east/west (now numbered avenues).
Here are just some of the concession and sideroads from the survey: [List of concession and sideroads in Markham, Ontario]
Eventually, the boundaries of Markham occupied the area, as follows:
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 King's Highway 7.) From this point it stretches westward following Langstaff Road until King's Highway 11, 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, an area know as German Mills today. Each family was granted 200 acres (0.8 km²). Because of hardships, many returned to York and Niagara and the area became a ghost town. 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.