Holland Marsh

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The Holland Marsh is a flat market gardening region which historically was wetlands. The area is located northwest of Toronto and southwest of Lake Simcoe. Professor William Day laid the groundwork for drainage of the wetlands in 1923 to prepare them for their current agricultural use. The marsh's length is about 15 km and its width about 4 km. The location runs from 44 to 44.15 N and from 73.8 to about 73.65 W. The swamplands are presently to the northeast and are a protected area. The Holland River's west and east branches flow in the middle of the marsh. Holland Landing is located to the east. The Holland Marsh is flanked by East Gwillimbury to the east and Bradford-West Gwillimbury to the west (then West Gwillimbury) and King is south of the Holland River, extending east to Bathurst Street. Bradford is located northeast of the swamp. The Holland Canal which runs in the northern portion lies near the hills and runs within Canal Road to near Bradford. The Holland Marsh is irrigated throughout with roadside ditches. The main crops of the area are fruits and vegetables. The expressway (Highway 400) crosses the west-central portion of the Holland Marsh. Yonge Street and the CN rail (Toronto - Barrie) are situated to the northeast.

Geography

The marsh extends from southwest of Canal Road and Highway 9 (Orangeville - Newmarket), south to Highway 9 and Jane Street, near Bradford and northeast into Lake Simcoe. The marsh is surrounded by hills scattered to the north and the south with plentiful pine forests and to the east. The forests also lie to the west.

History

In October 1954, Hurricane Hazel overwhelmed the marsh's drainage system with heavy rains, and the whole marsh was flooded.

Around the spring of 2000, a tornado plundered the central portion of the marsh ruining a carrot crop which had already been planted. The funnel cloud almost formed a tornado but was short-lived.