York County, Ontario

York County is a historic county in Upper Canada, Canada West, and the Canadian province of Ontario.

York County was created in 1792 and was part of the jurisdiction of Home District of Upper Canada. It originally comprised all of what is now York Region, Peel Region, Halton Region, Toronto, parts of the current Durham Regional Municipality and the current city of Hamilton.

In 1816, Wentworth County and Halton County were created from York County. In 1851, Ontario County and Peel County were separated from York.

In 1953, Metropolitan Toronto was separated from York County. At this time, the townships of Etobicoke, York and Scarboro (now Scarborough) seceded from York County, and the county office was moved to Newmarket from Toronto (The York County Court house in Toronto is the only reminder of the former county seat in Toronto).

In 1971, the remaining portion of York County was replaced by the York Regional Municipality.

Historic Townships

*East Gwillimbury - now the Town of East Gwillimbury. Area: convert|59064|acre|km2|0. Organized in 1798 and named in honour of Mrs. John Graves Simcoe, whose maiden name was Gwillim. Community centres: Roche's Point, Keswick, Sharon, Mount Albert.
*East York - now in the City of Toronto
*Etobicoke - now in the City of Toronto. Etobicoke Township (area: convert|27976|acre|km2|0) was organized in 1792. It was occupied by Mississauga Indians until it was purchased by Lieutenant-Governor Gore for £1,700. Etobicoke is a corruption of the Indian Wah-do-be-kaung, "the place where alder grow." Historical community centers were Mimico, New Toronto, Islington and Long Branch.
*Georgina - merged with North Gwillimbury to form the Town of Georgina. Area: convert|36770|acre|km2|0. Named in honour of King George III. The township was opened for settlement in 1815. Historical Community centres were Sutton, Pefferlaw, Udora, Cedarbrae, Vachell and Jackson's Point.
*King - still exists. Area: convert|88742|acre|km2|0. Opened in 1798 and was likely named for John King, Under-Secretary of State in the Portland administration. Community centres: King, Schomberg, Lloydtown, Kettleby and Strange.
*Markham - now the Town of Markham. Historically the Township was convert|67696|acre|km2|0 and opened in 1792. It was named in honour of Rt.-Rev. William Markham, Archbishop of York, England, who died in 1807. The Township once included Markham Village, Richmond Hill and Stouffville within its borders. Community centres also included were Unionville, Hagerman's Victoria Square and Mount Joy.
*North Gwillimbury - merged with Georgina to form the Town of Georgina.
*North York - now in the City of Toronto
*Scarborough - now in the City of Toronto. Historically the township was convert|40785|acre|km2|0. Oganized in 1792. It was named by Lady Simcoe for the English watering place by the same name. Lady Simcoe thought the clay banks of the Lake front resemble the Scarborough cliffs in England. Historical community centres were Agincourt, Scarborough Junction, highland Creek, Wexford.
*Vaughan - now the City of Vaughan The historical township was area convert|67007|acre|km2|0 and opened in 1792. It was named for Benjamin Vaughan, one of the British commissioners who signed the peace treaty of 1783 with the United States. The township included the town of Weston. Other community centres were: Maple, Kleinburg, Thornhill, Concord. A colony of Pennsylvania Quakers were among the earliest settlers.
*Whitchurch - now the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville. Historic township of Whitchurch was convert|60235|acre|km2|0. Opened in 1798, the first settlers were Loyalist Quakers from Pennsylvania. A number of towns and villages in England are named Whitchurch.
*York - now in the City of Toronto. Historically York, East York and North York Townships. (Areas 6,235, 3,700 and convert|43965|acre|km2|0 respectively). Organized in 1792.

Source: "Province of Ontario -- A History 1615 to 1927" by Jesse Edgar Middleton & Fred Landon, copyright 1927, Dominion Publishing Company, Toronto

ee also

* List of Ontario census divisions.

References

*cite book|last=Boylen|first=J.C.|title=York Township: An Historical Summary 1850-1954|year=1954|publisher=Municipal Corporation of the Township of York and the Board of Education of the Township of York|location=Toronto
*cite book|last=Sawdon|first=Herb H.|title=The Woodbridge Story|year=1961|pages=13-14,

External links

* [http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/english/exhibits/maps/counties/york.htm 1951 map of York County]