The history of Richmond Hill began when the First Nation came and settled in the area. With Toronto Purchase, the city gradually expanded with new greenhouse industry and improved transportation infrastructure.
Video History of Richmond Hill, Ontario
First Nations
The first humans to come to the area were probably Paleo Indians between 9000 and 7000 BC. The first archaeological evidence of their existence to be found is a scraper found on the Mortson site near Leslie Street and Elgin Mills Road. Several artifacts were later found east of Lake Wilcox on the Esox site and in 1988, fourteen sites in Richmond Hill have produced Paleo-Indian artifacts. People in southern Ontario are currently organized in nomadic bands, and will migrate through the area, setting up camps then moving on. The Silver Stream site, located on the creek of the Rouge River to the west of Leslie Street, between Elgin Mills Road and Major Mackenzie Drive, has produced 27 artifacts from people from the Paleo-Indian culture, the only one dated 1800 BC.
Eventually regional culture was diverted from Paleo-India to Archaic, and then from Archaic to Early Iroquoian. The oldest known Iroquoian site on Richmond Hill is the Wilcox Lake Site , on the east side of Lake Wilcox, which dates back to 1300 CE. The site covers 12,000 square meters. Human settlements in the area became a permanent settlement around this time, where it had previously been nomadic. The well-studied ones are the Boyle-Atkinson Sites , the final Iroquoian settlement at the intersection of Yonge Street and Major Mackenzie Drive. This location was first identified as the remnants of the old settlement by David Boyle in the late 1860s. The site is occupied from about 1450 to 1500 CE and is a large village in the area, with at least nine identifiable long houses and two other buildings. Some other sites in Richmond Hill are known to belong to Iroquoian people living in the area between 1300 and 1550 CE, including McGaw , Murphy-Goulding , Orion , Reuben Heise and Watford sites. Site settings suggest they represent one community on a regular basis relocation. Around 1550 tensions between Iroquois in southern Ontario and Five Iroquois States in New York brought their emigration en masse to the Huron Confederation between Lake Simcoe and Georgian Bay, and archaeological evidence shows that Iroquois residents at Richmond Hill left the area. time.
The area was uninhabited at least 100 years after the Iroquois exodus. Sometime in the late 17th or early 18th century, Mississauga Indians moved to the area from the north. The Mississaugas have a nomadic lifestyle, and moved seasonally in many areas now called York Region and Golden Horseshoe.
Maps History of Richmond Hill, Ontario
Toronto Toronto purchase and early settlement
Toronto's purchase took place on 23 September 1787 between the English and Mississauga Indians. The purchase was understood by David Smith, Surveyor General for Upper Canada to enter the Richmond Hill area. Mississauga Indians have a different understanding of the northern boundaries of the purchase. Conflicts arose between Europeans who began to move to the area and Mississaugas. This area was first surveyed by Augustus Jones for Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe in 1794 when he built Yonge Street. In 1797, Mississaugas in the area had gone to the Niagara and Peterborough regions. A meeting between British officials and the heads of Mississauga in 1805 clarified the northern border that placed Richmond Hill within the Toronto Purchase area. At this time, the land that later became Richmond Hill was split between Vaughan townships west of Yonge Street, and Markham township east of Yonge Street.
The first European settlers to arrive at Richmond Hill were Balsar and Katharine Munshaw, accompanied by their children: John, George, Jacob, Betsy, and Polly, who arrived at Richmond Hill in the spring of 1794 from Pennsylvania. They cleared a piece of land in the Elgin Mills area. That summer, their sixth child, a daughter named Susan Munshaw was born. He was the first European settler born in Richmond Hill, and the oldest recorded birth. The Munshaw soon found their location too isolated from other European settlers in the area, and resettled in the southwest corner of Yonge Street and Highway 7, just outside Richmond Hill.
In 1794, now Bayview Avenue and Leslie Street were also laid out and planned, and sometime late in 1794 the first settlers arrived in the area. About two hundred people led by William Berczy arrived in the city of Markham from western New York and Pennsylvania after being promised a land grant in the city of Markham in exchange for working on the construction of Yonge Street, in a Berczy arrangement made with the Upper Canada Executive Board. The surveyor assigned to the area known as the city of Markham was Abraham Iredell, he was able to begin settling Berczy's followers in the city of Markham in November 1794. Some settled in the second and third concessions that are currently part of Richmond Hill, others settled more into east in what would become Markham. Arriving in November, the settlers spend the first winter in miserable conditions, unable to plant any crops before winter. Some supplies are provided to them by the German Land Companies in New York and the Upper Canada government. The harvest failure occurred with these settlers in 1795 and 1796, and soon a third of them left their homes. In 1796 it was decided that the acts for these lots would not be issued to Berczy and his associates, as they were not naturalized British citizens. The German Land Company in New York ceased to support the settlers and Berczy left, but some settlers remained. The presence of these German-speaking settlers in the city of Markham will attract other German speakers in the coming years.
The next settler to try his hand in the Vaughan section of Richmond Hill was John C. Stooks, who arrived there with his wife in June 1797. Arriving in York, Stooks traveled north along Yonge Street and settled in the 47 Vaughan township lot, at west side of Yonge Street, one lot north of Major Mackenzie Drive. The Stooks family also found a difficult life, they cleared small land and built only a modest house before leaving the area and moved on.
The first settlers who came to Richmond Hill and lived there for more than a few years were Hugh and Ann Shaw who arrived in 1798 and occupied the 46th lot in the northeast corner of Yonge Street and Major Mackenzie Drive. Many others along Yonge Street quickly became busy, with Thomas Kinnear in lot 48, William Jarvis in lot 49 and William McLennan in lot 50 east of Yonge Street. West of Yonge street, Abner Miles occupied the lot 46 and Samuel Heron in lot 49. The first settlers in the region received either land grants by the Lieutenant Governor directly or by the Upper Canada Executive Board, usually as gifts for previous military services. to the United Kingdom or because they are believed to be good settlers who will contribute greatly to the development.
Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe developed a special plan for the completion of Yonge Road that does not include nature reserves and ordinary priests reserves and opens many places along Yonge Road towards permanent settlements. Other concessions in the township of Vaughan and Markham city allocated two out of every seven lots as reserves, with one for the crown and one for Protestant ministers. Simcoe felt it was important to develop Yonge Street as a route to Georgian Bay and Upper Great Lakes, which motivated his Yonge Street plan. Every 200-acre (0.81 km 2 ) is open for every settler who arrives on the ground and develops it to meet certain conditions. In 1794, this condition was merely a place of residence erected on a plot of land and would be inhabited within a year. In 1798, this condition increased so that the dwelling should measure at least 16 feet (4.9 m) to 20 feet (6.1 m), and no less than 5 hectares (20,000 m 2 ) cleaned and fenced. Such settlers are also responsible for clearing their parts of the Yonge road. This plan proved ineffective, and many in Yonge Street are slower to occupy than many others in Vaughan township. In 1802, thirteen of the 25 Yonge Street concessions in Vaughan Township were occupied, while in the next concession twenty of the twenty-five lots were occupied at the time. The development of Richmond Hill is also slow due to the lack of factories in the area.
Starting with forty-one people in 1798, the French royal settlers led by Joseph-GeneviÃÆ'¨ve Comte de Puisaye, began settling along Yonge Street from Elgin Mills Street today north to Stouffville Road. The Upper Canadian Legislative Council has some doubts about the suitability of these settlers for the land, but the Royal French officers who had left France after the French Revolution granted a land grant comparable to that given to the Royal Loyalists who had come to Upper Canada after the American Revolution. Their community was named Windham in honor of William Windham, the British official who had arranged their settlement there, but locally referred to as the City of Puisaye. De Puisaye and Augustus Jones went to survey the area in December 1798 while other settlers remained in York, backed by government supplies. The settlers de Puisaye immediately went north, and in January 1799 the trees were cleared of many. On 14 February 1799 log cabin 18 was built, but not yet finished. The settlers worked slowly as 1799 dragged on, and individuals began to leave Windham for more advanced areas: Montreal, New York and even Europe. De Puisaye soon moved to the Niagara region, though he continued to work for the improvements of the City of Puisaye. Of all the settlers who came to the city of Markham with de Puisaye, only Le Chevalier Michel Saigeon seemed to stay and prosper. Laurent Quetton St. George, a settler who arrived in Windham in 1799 also lived in Upper Canada and prospered, making a career as a feather trader. Miles 'Hill: The nineteenth century dawned Miles' Hill:
In the early nineteenth century, English speakers and German-speaking settlers dripped into the Vaughan areas and the city of Markham which would later become Richmond Hill. In 1801 the area was known as Miles' Hill after Abner Miles and his son James Miles, who was a prominent settler. Miles arrived in the area in 1800 from York, Canada Top where he runs a general store on King Street. He opened a general store in Lot 45 on the east side of Yonge Street, and started a potash factory in Lot 45 on the west side of Yonge Street. That same year, he was elected as tax assessor and tax collector for the Vaughan cities, Markham, King and Whitchurch. He immediately opened a shop on the southeast corner of Yonge Street and Major Mackenzie Drive. After Abner Miles's death in 1806, his son, James, took over the business and his father's role in society. James Miles matches the role of a community leader. He is the local judge and peace justice. He was also a lieutenant in the York Militia during the War of 1812.
During the War of 1812, General Isaac Brock ordered everyone at Miles Hill to form a company. People gathered at Britain's Royal Loyalist James Fulton, and Brock came to personally examine them. They were formed into a company of the First Regiment of the Militia York. The company spent the autumn and winter of 1812/1813 in York, Upper Canada awaited the attack, but never came.
In 1817, James Miles and his fellow Bukit Miles Robert Marsh invited the Presbyterian cleric William Jenkins to come to Miles Hill and set up a trial. Previously, religious services in this area have been conducted by travel preachers. Jenkins was a popular preacher in the state of New York at the time. He accepted the invitation and set up a trial at Miles' Hill and the township of Scarborough, Ontario. Jenkins preached on Miles land, with a tree stump for the pulpit until 1821, when a church was built on a land donated by James Miles. This small church was built on the western side of Yonge Street which would later be named the Presbyterian Church of Richmond Hill. Miles 'Hill became Richmond Hill
Miles' Hill became Richmond Hill
One time in the 1820s, Miles' Hill was renamed Richmond Hill. The often repeated story is that it was named after a visit to the area by British North American Governor Charles Lennox, Duke of the 4th of Richmond on July 13, 1819. However, another recurring story was the first school teacher in the area, Benjamin Barnard, originally from Richmond Hill in England, and taught all his classes the Lass of Richmond Hill folk song because he was nostalgic for his old home. The popularity of the song with the locals can explain the new name. Most of the authorities, including the Canadian Permanent Committee on Geographical Names report a tribute to Charles Lennox as the origin of the name.
The Richmond Hill settlement continues to grow and mature as an agricultural community, especially with the improved Yonge Street condition that causes daily stagecoaches to come to Richmond Hill from York and Holland Landing. In 1828, Richmond Hill featured general stores, school buildings, churches, taverns, blacksmiths and carpenters along Yonge Street. The population is currently growing at nine percent per year. On January 6, 1836 James Sinclair was appointed postmaster for Richmond Hill. It establishes the name "Richmond Hill" in a government-approved way, and the name begins to appear on the map. New immigrants and new generations increase the value of land and build larger homes with more complex and better estates. Anna Jameson came through the area in the fall of 1837 and said that the area had "some of the best land and the most prosperous estates in Upper Canada"
Uprising in Canada Top
The political climate of the 1820s and 1830s divided the population of Richmond Hill into two groups: the Reformists and the Tory. Many new immigrants come from British families who are familiar with the upstream Canadian elite community. These settlers are Tory, who is allied with the founding, usually members of the Church of England. The Reformers tend to be settled lower classes, often Royal League Loyalists or American immigrants. The 1828 election to the Upper Canada Legislative Assembly elected two Reformers from York riders, including Richmond Hill. The two selected were William Lyon Mackenzie and Jesse Ketchum. Subsequent elections in 1830, 1834 and 1836 for the Legislative Assembly returned most of the Reformation candidates. The crops of 1836 and 1837 did not go well, and the Upper Canada experienced an economic recession. Farmers suffering under the banks reduce the available credit and call for outstanding loans. The farmers in Richmond Hill and other remote areas around Toronto became increasingly sympathetic to talk about the insurgency. William Lyon Mackenzie issued a letter on December 1, 1837 calling Upstream Canadians to rebel while the militia was in Lower Canada who suppressed the uprising there. On December 4, 1837 they swayed to the cause, and began moving south from the northern neighborhoods to Toronto, where they planned to seize the weapons cache. They came through Richmond Hill in the afternoon, and caught the attention of Captain Hugh Stewart in the tavern north of Richmond Hill. The loyalist population of Richmond Hill began gathering in the fields of "Colonel Moodie", a proud supporter of the Empire whose home was the gathering place for loyalists. Richmond Hill residents, William Crew, traveled to Toronto to alert the government there about the upcoming rebels. When the word reached Colonel Moodie that the Crew had been detained by the rebels, Moodie set out with fellow citizens of Richmond Hill, David Bridgeford and Hugh Stewart to go to Toronto and gave a warning. They suffered a roadblock by the rebels at Montgomery's Tavern. They accused the blockage and Moodie was shot. A men's company less than Bridgeford was imprisoned, and Moodie died that night, the first victim of Upper Upper Rebellion. Bridgeford meets with John Powell and goes to Toronto, where he can alert lieutenant governor Upper Canada Francis Bond Head about the upcoming revolt. Riding north afterwards to secure further volunteers, Bridgeford is captured by the rebels. On December 5, 1837 Mackenzie and about five hundred rebels who did not have good equipment moved south but were quickly rejected by sheriff William Jarvis and about twenty others. They reunited at Montgomery's Tavern, where the final battle of rebellion took place on 7 December. The rebels were defeated and Bridgeford and other loyalists were released. The rebellion left a simmering feud at Richmond Hill between the Tories and Reformers that lasted for a generation. The local meeting on October 15, 1838 to make a statement for the Lord Durham Report ended in a brawl. Ultimately, Tory took over the political and cultural life of Richmond Hill and defended it for years.
Richmond Hill in the mid-nineteenth century
The local clergyman William Jenkins died in 1843. In 1847, the old school school cottage of Richmond Hill Public School was replaced by brick. Reverend James Dick came to Richmond Hill in 1847 and took up the position of minister in the Presbyterian Church of Richmond Hill. That same year Reverend Robert Campbell took the same position in the Methodist Church that was still under construction. The two men are much more moderate than Jenkins, who has been preaching political and religious radicalism. The community began to develop in earnest. The first Richmond Hill Spring Fair was sponsored by the Yonge Street Agricultural Society and was held on May 24, 1849. Unlike most agricultural cities in the region, which evolved around the main intersection, or "four corners", Richmond Hill began to stretch. along Yonge Street with no real downtown area. The town had two to three hundred residents around this time, and in 1851, he boasted eight commercial stores, five inns, three blacksmiths, six carpenters, three wagon makers, refiners and three doctors. Several Mills are located in the creeks and rivers nearby. In 1851, the first high school at Richmond Hill opened, Richmond Hill Grammar School. Beginning in private residence, the school obtained their own building in 1853, adjacent to the elementary school. The Richmond Hill Library Association first met in December 1852, choosing James Dick, Presbyterian Minister as their president.
During this time, the ride up and down Yonge Street is becoming increasingly important for the Richmond Hill business. The inn and bar opened and closed with some regularity. Richmond Hill finds itself the ideal distance from Toronto, with the condition of Yonge Street which means that travelers departing from Toronto in the morning usually arrive at Richmond Hill hungry and looking for a break. Continued efforts to improve Yonge Street's condition through the area met with little success. Estimates collected on the road proved to be inadequate to even serve the accumulated debt in his building. On May 16, 1853, Ontario, Simcoe and Huron Railway opened a channel from Toronto to Collingwood, which provided an alternative means of traveling north out of Toronto. Although it stops at Richmond Hill, the station is located about six miles east of Yonge Street on Major Mackenzie Drive, a long journey from the Richmond Hill waking area along unpaved roads. The ease of train travel also impacts traffic on Yonge Street. Between 1852 and 1854, the toll collected at Yonge Street was down twenty-six percent. Although this is detrimental to business in the city, there remains a need for stagecoaches, especially among locals, and the post office in town gives an excuse to travel to Richmond Hill. Neighboring communities such as Langstaff Corners, Dollar, Headford, Oak Ridges, North Gormley, and Temperanceville threatened to pass through Richmond Hill, but nothing worked.
As the city continues to grow more and more businesses and institutions emerge. A Roman Catholic church was opened in 1857. 1857 also saw the establishment of the city's first newspaper, the York Ridings Gazette and Richmond Hill Advertiser that published its first edition on June 12, 1857. The newspaper was reformed as the York Herald on March 25, 1859 because of financial pressure. An Anglican church was opened in 1871.
Richmond Hill joined
In 1872, a movement to incorporate Richmond Hill as a village began to take steam, led by the York Herald . Previous attempts in 1853 and 1857 have failed, the first being that Richmond Hill has less than half that required 1000 people to qualify for inclusion under provincial law, and the latter due to their inclusion from the Elgin Mills area to meet the required 750 in Under the newer law is feeling "too expansionist". The community was then divided between Vaughan townships west of Yonge Street, and Markham township east of Yonge Street. This division of the community makes it difficult for municipalities to effectively meet the needs of the community. The village of Richmond Hill was established by the actions of the District Council of York on 18 June 1872 to take effect January 1, 1873. The new village boundaries are set at Markham-Vaughan Road (today's Major Mackenzie Drive) in the south, around today Levendale Road in the north, outside Mill Pond in the east and CNR tracks in the west. The election was held on 6 January 1873 to elect reeve and four council members. Abraham's law was chosen as the first reeve of Richmond Hill, in a campaign centered on the need for a new high school. A new secondary school was built, and opened for students in November 1873.
The city continues to grow slowly after incorporation. One of the first services offered by the newly incorporated city is firefighting. On April 15, 1866, a major fire destroyed four buildings on Richmond Hill and seriously damaged the other two. After two less serious fires that year, a volunteer fire department was organized. The city recognizes volunteer firefighters, but tries not to interfere in their affairs. Volunteer firefighters broke up in 1877 when city council refused to buy them a new fire engine. Richmond Hill established its own fire brigade in 1880 which was founded in 1881. The village bought a used fire truck for the department that year.
The nineteenth century will end
In the 1880s, churches replaced the stalls as the center of the social scene at Richmond Hill. The August 1881 edition of The Liberal states "Some villages of similar size or importance in the Province have manifested so much activity and energy in church companies like ours." Richmond Hill in 1881 had a large Presbyterian church, adjacent to the St Mary's Anglican Church. Across Yonge Street stands the Methodist church and the smaller Roman Catholic church is also found in Richmond Hill. Investigations by The Liberal found that over $ 25 000 had been spent on church projects in 1880 while the Richmond Hill population stood less than a thousand inhabitants.
On December 21, 1879 the Methodist church was burned. The Congregation immediately funded a new building that opened in October 1881. The construction of the new church spurred the Presbyterians to also commission a new church to replace their old church dated 1821. Their new church was opened May 24, 1881. New churches have high towers dominates Richmond Hill's skyline. The Anglican people responded to this by building their own towers to gain prestige for the church. "Town Bell" was officially moved from Robin Hood Hotel to the new Methodist church in 1883, a reflection of the city's changing influence. Parish at St. Roman Catholic Church The simpler Mary Immaculate built a larger new building on Yonge Street and Dunlop Street in 1894. With this, four large churches in Richmond Hill are the four largest buildings on Richmond Hill, which define the horizon..
The 1880s and 1890s were economically bad for Richmond Hill. The Patterson sisters, agricultural equipment manufacturers and large companies in Richmond Hill moved their operations to Woodstock after the city council there offered a $ 35,000 bonus if they wished, allowing their growing operations to build much needed rail impulse. Patterson's sister's factory moved to Stratford in the winter of 1886/1887. Society experienced economic downturn that occurred throughout Ontario at the time, although it may not be strong. The Trench Carriage Works and Newton Tanning Company remain a large company. The population declined, from 850 in 1890 to 650 in 1900. But many of the major shops along Yonge Street remained open.
Electric rail arrives
On November 19, 1896, the first electric train from the Metropolitan Highway Railway Company arrived at Richmond Hill from Toronto. The line follows Yonge Street from Toronto to Richmond Hill. The electric cars shortened the time to travel from Toronto's northern boundary to Richmond Hill to forty-five minutes from the previous three hours' journey through the postal trains. The electric train brought a direct change to Richmond Hill. John Thompson's stagecoach line soon went out of business. Other businesses fared much better, with general trading up thirty-five percent from 1896 to 1898. The electric rail line quickly expanded to the north, reaching Newmarket in 1899, but Richmond Hill is now connected to Toronto, with World of Toronto predicts Richmond Hill will become a suburb of Toronto, and The Liberal repeats their thinking. The Metropolitan Railway Company bought some land adjacent to Bond Lake, then a short drive north of Richmond Hill. Bond Lake is the first electric park (a park illuminated by electric lights) built in Ontario. The park features a baseball diamond, a display pavilion and a lake for swimming, fishing and boating. It attracts tourists to the area by stopping itself on the Metropolitan Street Trainway line.
In 1904, the Metropolitan Highway Railway Company was acquired by the Toronto Railway Company and York Radial, which caused more trails to pass through southern Ontario, and more trains passing through Richmond Hill. 1904 also saw the construction of a second railway line through Richmond Hill. The James Bay Railway builds a railway station in Richmond Hill on its way from Toronto to Sudbury. The new station Center Street East is closer to the center of Richmond Hill. It opened in November 1906 and soon became the main route for freight, although the electric lines along Yonge Street remained the dominant method of passenger travel.
Richmond Hill made a deal with Toronto and the York Radial Railway Company in 1912 to buy electricity from them because they produced a surplus from their Bond Lake generators. This system was established and on 30 December 1912 the electric streetlight at Richmond Hill was lit for the first time. Some commercial stores start using electric lighting the same day and next. Other stores, factories and homes are starting to connect to the network.
Industrial greenhouses arrive
The development of the Richmond Hill core industry did not develop during the first decade of the 20th century. The remote areas of Lake Wilcox and Gormley thrived and welcomed new industries, and the Richmond Hill council established a committee to encourage industries to search on Richmond Hill. The first to do so was William Lawrence's greenhouse, built in the summer of 1912. Harold Mills built a greenhouse that same year. Lawrence is a florist in Toronto and president of the Canadian Horticultural Society. Lawrence also persuaded the Toronto florist and former president of the John Dunlap Canadian Horticultural Society to build a greenhouse in Richmond Hill. Dunlop started a big flower-planting operation at Richmond Hill. In August 1913 he had two operating greenhouses and six more planned. The Dunlop Rose quickly won praise. In March 1914, his roses were awarded the first prize at the International Rose Show in New York City. In April 1916, the flowers collected the first three places and two second places at the National Flower Show in Philadelphia.
The greenhouse industry at Richmind Hill is very competitive but friendly. Various greenhouses often work together to fulfill large orders. Together with interested locals, they founded Richmond Hill Horticultural Society in April 1914. The people worked to increase local people's interest in growing fruits, vegetables and flowers, and to improve the aesthetics of the city. They plant trees on the village property and give gifts to the locals for their flower gardens.
The Great War
The Richmond Hill Women's Institute was formed on 27 January 1913 to hold their first meeting in the masonic hall. Their meetings usually focus on domestic issues, but they support the "Voice for Women" campaign run by national and provincial women's agencies, and help shape local women in more prominent places in the community. Their efforts placed two women in the Village Customary Council in 1917. The first woman chosen for any position at Richmond Hill was Mrs. O.L. Wright, a member of the Women's Institute was elected to the Richmond Hill School Board as guardian in 1932.
The beginning of World War I also encouraged women to be leaders in the community. Eight nine nine men from Richmond Hill serve in the Canadian armed forces. Six men from Richmond Hill will be killed. The absentees open up many opportunities for women in the world of work, volunteer institutions and the field of public services.
With the flower industry flourishing, the city's population began to rise rapidly. New houses are under construction, with The Liberal counting 27 new homes in 1918. Williams Lawrence sells unused parts of many greenhouse properties and begins to expand the distribution of Roseview Gardens, around Roseview Avenue and Major Mackenzie Pushing.
The village council hired local wagon maker William Ashford Wright to design the symbol for Richmond Hill in 1919. Wright motivated his design after the 4th Duke of Richmond, and included his motto: "En la Rose Je Fleuris", French for "Like Rose , I flourish ", which is defended by the city.
The Roaring 20s
The year 1920 was a time of growth and prosperity in Richmond Hill. In 1921, Richmond Hill built a pumping station and water tower at Mill Pond to supply the city with public water. The Orange Home, boarding school, opened at Yonge Street on July 2, 1923. Run by the Orange hut, the building contains dormitory rooms, chapels, health rooms, dining rooms, sitting rooms and three classrooms. The school will soon accommodate 150 children. The growing population, combined with the abolition of tuition fees in 1920 led to an increase in enrollment at Richmond Hill High School, which moved into a new building on December 5, 1924, at the site of a modern building.
In 1924, volunteer firefighters were replaced by semi-professional troops, led by Harold Mills. The city bought a fire truck for the brigade, and Mills hired many men in the greenhouse to become firefighters.
The Great Depression
The collapse of the stock market in 1929 and the subsequent depression changed the economic and social direction of Richmond Hill. The construction of new homes and workplaces has ceased and municipal affairs have become very powerful in the face of the unemployed and the homeless. Make work projects begin, such as the main extension of water along Benson Avenue. The salaries of civil servants were cut ten percent in January 1932. Teachers from the Richmond Hill Education Council saw their salaries cut by five percent in May 1932, and principals eight percent.
The village of Richmond Hill, along with North York, Markham, and Vaughan bought radial trains run by the Toronto Transit Commission along Yonge Street in 1930, after the transit commission planned to close the line because of declining passengers. The service was renamed North Yonge Railways.
Rose's business remained successful throughout the 1930s. Four large greenhouse companies were operating in Richmond Hill during the 1930s: H.J. greenhouses Mills', the Richmond Roses greenhouse of John H. Dunlop and the green homes of Bedford Park. The growing greenhouse business is labor intensive, but sales are also high through depression. The greenhouse of John H. Dunlop was purchased by H.J. Mills in April 1934, consolidated the rose business in three companies.
The David Dunlap Observatory opened in May 1935. The observatory had the second largest telescope in the world at the time, only surpassed by the Mount Wilson Observatory in the collection area. The cost of the observatory is $ 500,000 and is funded by Jessie Donalda Dunlap, widow of David A. Dunlap. The telescope was run by the University of Toronto, and was used for spectra until the mid-1980s, but due to light pollution, its ability has been reduced and is no longer used for scientific research. It is now operated by Royal Astronomical Society Of Canada for educational purposes.
Richmond Hill Lions Club was formed in April 1938. Their main activity was serving the needs of the poor. They provide food with the help of food and clothing, such as milk and cod liver oil for poor children. They organize annual street dances to raise funds for the medical needs of poor children.
World War II
The local chapter of the Red Cross had been dissolved after World War I, but reformed on September 8, 1939, two days before Canada declared war on Germany. About 150 men from Richmond Hill served in Canadian armed forces during World War II. The first citizen of Richmond Hill who was killed in battle was Sgt Gunner Don Graham, whose flags at Richmond Hill were flown half-mast on 10 July 1941. With many people abroad, the shortage of labor in agriculture became so severe that local businessmen and professionals formed. groups know everyday language as "Commandos" and volunteer time to work at the farm.
Support for war effort is rising at Richmond Hill. On April 27, 1942, a plebiscite on conscript of six hundred and eighteen voters supported conscription, while only twenty-three opposed. Social organizations in Richmond Hill collect donations for the war effort. School children trick or treat on Halloween collect change for war effort, rather than candy.
Postwar growth
A six hundred-man movie theater was opened at Richmond Hill in 1948, named The Richmond . In the same year a drastic hydroelectric shortage in Ontario forced the allotment of power into the municipality. North Yonge's train consumed a large amount of electricity, so the trains were temporarily replaced with diesel-burning buses, starting October 10, 1948. Despite local protests appearing on the bus, once in their operation proved popular and profitable, with passengers in the quarter first in 1949 up 128,000 riders compared to the previous year. Voting in September 1949 rid of old trains, which were sold. Richmond Hill's first Catholic school opened in 1948, adjacent to St. Roman Catholic Church. Mary. About sixty students attended during the first year of operation.
The Association of Richmond Hill Business Associations was formed, and held its first meeting in February 1950. The village grew rapidly during the 1950s. On 1 January 1953, Richmond Hill annexed 1,000 acres (4Ã, km 2 ) land of Markham Township, three times the size of the village, and increased the population from 2300 to 3300. The newly expanded village boundaries to Bayview Avenue. in the east, Elgin Mills Road to the north and Harding Boulevard to the south. In 1954, the village council took an important step towards the growth of Richmond Hill. The Board approved the construction of a subdivision, where the homebuilder would be responsible for paving the way, providing sewerage and water and paying a municipality of $ 300 for the construction of a new school for each built house. This allows the construction of new homes quickly. In the summer and fall of 1954 four new subdivisions were built in Richmond Hill, in Richmond Acre, Pleasantville, Tyndall, and Glenbrae. This growth triggered the construction of a new municipal structure, and the establishment of a separate police force for Richmond Hill. During the 1950s, about five new elementary schools were opened in Richmond Hill in response to population growth.
Richmond Hill annexed a second piece of land in 1956, 35 acres (140,000 m 2 ) from Vaughan Township that included Richmond Heights. Richmond Hill was established as a city on January 1, 1957. 1957 also saw the opening of Richmond Hill's first radio station, CJRH. In 1958, a branch of the Victorian Order of Nurses was established at Richmond Hill to provide home care services. In the same year, Senior Club Citizen Richmond Hill was formed. An additional 30 acres (120,000 m 2 ) from Vaughan Township, just north of Richmond Heights, was annexed in February 1959.
Community in bloom
The first woman serving at Richmond Hill Town Council, Margaret Southwell, began her tenure in 1960. Bayview Middle School opened in 1960, providing Richmond Hill with a secondary school. Construction began at Richmond Hill's first hospital, named York Central Hospital in 1961. The hospital opened on 28 November 1963 under the post of director James Langstaff. The 1960s also saw the opening of many Richmond Hill recreational facilities that were lacking after the rapid growth of the 1950s. Several public parks opened in the 1960s, and Richmond's first public swimming pool, dubbed Centennial Pool after Centennial Canada, opened in June 1965. In 1968, the city expanded its borders again, annexing 310 acres (1.3 km 2 ) just north of Elgin Mills Road. However, the lack of a troubled recreation facility continues. The city's Social Planning Council gathered in April 1968 and blamed the rising youth vandalism, drug use and truancy at the lack of city recreation facilities. Member of the Social Planning Council Pierre Burton was quoted as saying: "All that we insist on is paved roads and ditches... no one cares about the village hall or swimming pool or other recreational type for adults or children." In the same year, a large ice rink was just opened. The following year the city opened its first day care facility at the urging of the Social Planning Council and local women such as Helen Sawyer Hogg who publicly spoke of the lack of facilities such as holding professional women. 1969 also saw the city's first winter carnival, held at Mill Pond.
References
See also
- Richmond Hill, Ontario
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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