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Unionville, Ontario

Encyclopedia : U : UN : UNI : Unionville, Ontario

 

Unionville is a suburban community that is located within Markham, 33 km NE of downtown Toronto, south of Lake Simcoe and 13 km SE of Richmond Hill. Main Street, which was Kennedy Road in the mid to late 20th century, runs through Unionville while the new Kennedy runs 300 m to the east. Buttonville is located in the westcentral part of Markham.

The population is presently about 110,000 including the area of Denison. Rouge River runs north of the central part of Unionville and to the southeast. The highway (Highway 404) is to the west, the nearest interchange with the 407 ETR is 2 km south on Kennedy Rd. The population lives in almost all parts of Unionville except for the southcentral industrialized area. The railway line which links the area to Toronto via GO Train Service once ran as far as Lindsay, Ontario.

Tourism is a major part of Unionville's economy. The historic villiage or downtown section of Unionville remains virtually unchanged from its founding in the early 1800's. The historic Main Street attracts thousands of visitors each year. Each year, thousands visit Unionville during the Unionville Festival. This festival was organized by Matthew J. Fox to raise awareness of the historical nature of the area, in an effort to avoid major development. As a staunch advocate of smalltown ideals, Matthew Fox was the curator of the Unionville Festival for 30 years, attracting such acts as Frank Zappa, Gloria Estefan and the Miami Soundmachine not to mention the late, great Wesley Willis. Today it serves to showcase local businesses, vendors and as a tribute to the man who held it's hand to becoming the cultural pinnacle of Unionville.

At the time of this entry, Matthew Fox had defected to Chicago in order to spread his philanthrophy via an interpretive breakdancing troupe.

Contents

Geography

Farmlands surround Unionville in all parts. Farmlands between 1980 and 2000 were in the southcentral part and north of 16th Avenue. As of 2003, development has pushed back farmland to the north of Major Mackenzie Drive. Power lines lie to the south of the community.

History

When the community that would come to be known as Unionville was in its infancy, it was located near the cross roads of the 16th Line (16th Ave) and the 6th Concession (Kennedy Rd.).

The earliest settlers in Unionville were Germans who had come with William Berczy from near Hamburg, Germany to the United States, and subsequently into Markham Township. Among the first to arrive in the Unionville area was Philip Eckardt, a Berczy settler, who settled on land at the corner of 16th Ave. and Kennedy Road in 1808. This land had been granted to Frederick Westphalen, also a Berczy settler, in 1803. The log house, still standing behind the Berczy Cemetery on “Cemetery Hill” north of Unionville on Kennedy Road, was built either by Westphalen or Eckardt and is believed to be the oldest surviving house in Markham. In this early image, the original one-storey log structure has been raised above a later frame-clad ground level. In the 20th century, the house was modified yet again, with the lower storey removed, and the log structure returning to ground level.

Philip Eckardt (d. 1845) was a leading figure in the early days of Unionville. His log house on Cemetery Hill was used for Lutheran worship until a church was built on the lot in 1816. Another example of pioneer housing in the Unionville area, this log cabin is believed to have been located on the slope of Hagerman’s Hill, lot 7, Concession 6 (east side of Kennedy Road, north of 14th Avenue). This land was part of the original Crown Grant to Berczy settler Philip Eckardt. The cabin may have been built prior to 1808 on the SW 50 acres of his grant. In the early days of settlement, log structures like this one dotted the landscape, set in small clearings surrounded by dense forest. As soon as settlers could afford it, they replaced the log cabin with a more sophisticated structure in frame, stone or brick, and demoted the cabin to service as a livestock barn or a farmyard storage shed. By the time of the 1851 Census, only 7 log houses remained in Unionville Village, compared to 23 frame homes, 1 board, 2 mud, and one of brick. In this photograph taken circa 1909, the prairie-like landscape visible beyond the cabin is a reminder of the extensive clear-cutting practiced by early settlers.

In the 1840’s Ira White built the Union Mills south of the core of the village along the southeast bank of the Rouge River. The location of the mill in this area had the effect of drawing the centre of activity south from its original location. The laneway to the mill along the 6th concession from the south curved westward to avoid the low ground along the Rouge River. When lots were subdivided along this road, as the community began to centre around the mill, this curve was maintained and remains to this day. The Union Mills was the hub of village life until the coming of the railway in 1871. Even after the railway, it remained in business for many years, latterly as a chopping mill and feed store, until it burnt to the ground in 1934. Likely no other business had such a significant impact on the course and location of the early development of Unionville.

The name of Unionville is believed to have come from the Union Mills owned by Ira White, a miller, in the 1840’s. Mr. White may have taken the name from the Act of Union, which united the provinces of Upper and Lower Canada (now Ontario and Quebec) in 1841.

The name, at least officially, appears to have been given to the village sometime between 1846 and 1851. Smith’s Canadian Gazetteer of 1846 makes no mention of the name, however, The Canada [Ontario] Directory of 1851 refers to Unionville as; “A Village situated in the Township of Markham, County of York, C. W. [Canada West] – distant from Toronto, 19 miles.”

In 1851, Unionville appears to have reached a fair level of prosperity, supporting a mill, a doctor, a general store, a watchmaker, three blacksmiths, three wagon makers, as well as three churches: Methodist, Lutheran, and Church of England.

Sources conflict over the exact date when the Unionville Post Office was established. There is evidence of a short-term establishment beginning c.1832, with E. H. Whitmarsh as postmaster, which had disappeared by 1835. The establishment of a permanent post office in Unionville appears to have occurred in 1851, with Andrew Eckardt, the son of Philip Eckardt, becoming postmaster. The “Canada [Ontario] Directory” of 1851 makes reference to “Eckartd, A., postmaster and general storekeeper.”

The establishment of a post office was a significant development in any community. It symbolized its coming of age and literally put a community on the map. For the residents of the new postal community of Unionville it meant a stronger connection with the outside world had been created, where communication between friends and family would become faster and easier.

In the 1970s, major housing development came to Unionville and the southern part of Unionville and continues through today. Unionville's industrial area began to grow in earnest in the 1980s. This growth continues to this day. In the mid-1990s until the summer of 1999, Highway 407 was under construction. It is Ontario's first toll highway and was first opened the summer of 1998 at McCowan. It was extended to Markham Road a few months later.

Nearest communities

External links


Communities of Markham         [Edit this list]
Angus Glen East Village | Box Grove | Brown's Corners | Buttonville | Cachet | Cashel | Cedar Grove | Cornell | Dickson Hill | German Mills | Hagerman's Corners | Langstaff | Markham | Milliken | Mongolia | Mount Joy | Quantztown | Thornhill | Underwood | Unionville | Victoria Square | Vinegar Hill

 

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