Scarborough Village

Scarborough Village Scarborough Heights, Markham-Eglinton
—  Neighbourhood  —
Eglinton Avenue East at CN Railway tracks east of Bellamy Road
Coordinates: 43°44′35″N 79°13′08″W / 43.74306°N 79.21889°W / 43.74306; -79.21889Coordinates: 43°44′35″N 79°13′08″W / 43.74306°N 79.21889°W / 43.74306; -79.21889
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
City	Toronto
District	Scarborough
Changed Municipality	1998 Toronto from Scarborough
Government
– MP	John McKay (Scarborough—Guildwood)
– MPP	Margarett Best (Scarborough—Guildwood)
– Councillor	Gary Crawford (Ward 36 Scarborough Southwest)
Elevation	158 m (518 ft)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
– Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Area code(s)	(416) and (647)

Scarborough Village (also known as Scarborough Heights or locally Markham-Eglinton) is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in the south-central part of the district of Scarborough. Historically, it was one of the earliest settlements in the former Township of Scarborough and was the first region of the township to have its own post office. Today, the neighbourhood is composed of private and public housing, apartment complexes, schools, a few condominiums, and strip mall plazas. The neighbourhood lies along the shores of Lake Ontario, specifically the Scarborough Bluffs.

Location

The neighbourhood is located between Highland Creek and Lake Ontario.^[1] The officially-recognized boundaries are the Canadian National Railway tracks to the north, Scarborough Golf Club Road and Bethune Boulevard to the east, Lake Ontario and Bellamy Ravine Creek to the south, and Bellamy Road to the west.^[2] The major intersection and midpoint of the community is Eglinton Avenue East and Markham Road. As a result, many of its residents popularily refer to the community as "Markham and Eglinton" or "M and E" for short. There is a high concentration of low-income public housing projects along Eglinton Ave East from Bellamy Road to Kingston Road.

History

Scarborough Village established as a settlement in the 1800s by Cornell and Secor as a crossroads village. It was centered around Markham Road between Kingston Road to the south and Eglinton Avenue to the north. The area provided settlers with access to the lakeshore and partially served as a through-way for soldiers during the War of 1812.^[3] In 1832, it became the first community in the former Township of Scarborough to have its own post office. By 1856, Scarborough Village became a subdivision and by 1860, the area of Scarborough Village had its first completed brick schoolhouse.^[4] By the 1890s, a general store, a blacksmith shop, a store that sold farm accessories, and a large railway hotel were built in the area. The area only contained about a dozen dwellings.^[5] During the 1930s, Kingston Road had become a major route connecting Old Toronto with the rest of eastern Ontario communities, as well as Montreal. After the construction of the Grand Trunk Railway tracks north of Eglinton Avenue, Kingston Road had decreased in traffic and few businesses began to close.

Transportation

The neighbourhood is served by its heavily used Toronto Transit Commission bus routes 86 Scarborough and 116 Morningside connecting to the TTC's Kennedy Subway Station and 34 Eglinton East which further connects with the Eglinton Subway Station, passing through East York and North York. Other routes which run through the neighbourhood are 102 Markham and 9 Bellamy which both connect to Warden subway station to the south while the latter route connects to the Scarborough Centre RT Station to the north. The neighbourhood houses the Eglinton GO Station for express transit to Downtown Toronto and other destinations along its line.

Kingston Road, which runs along the southern portion of the neighbourhood, provides motorists an alternate access to south-western Scarborough, East York, and Downtown Toronto in the west and extends to Durham Region in the east.

Notable places

• Markington Square - largest plaza in Scarborough Village
• Scarborough Village Alternative School
• Christ Church of Scarborough Village - oldest church in Scarborough Village (though rebuilt several times)
• Scarborough Village Community Centre - a branch of the Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division
• Scarborough Village Theatre - part of the Scarborough Village Community Centre and home to Scarborough music theatre, Scarborough Players, and Scarborough Theatre Guild

Famous residents

• Robert McCowan, for whom McCowan Road is named
• John Muir, father of Alexander Muir, the author of the song "The Maple Leaf Forever"

References

1. ^ http://www.beamccowan.com/historic.htm
2. ^ http://www.toronto.ca/demographics/cns_profiles/cns139.htm
3. ^ http://www.ywcatoronto.org/assets/pdf/employment/0805_svc_analysis.pdf
4. ^ http://www.scarboroughhistorical.com/local_history/scarborough_community_names.htm#Scarborough Village
5. ^ http://www.torontorealestateboard.com/about_TO/Neighbourhood/regions/scarborough/141.html