Whitchurch-Stouffville, Ontario - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Whitchurch–Stouffville (2006 population

Canada 2006 Census

The Canada 2006 Census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. Census day was May 16, 2006. The next census following will be the 2011 Census. Canada's total population enumerated by the 2006 census was 31,612,897...

24,390; June 2011 estimate 38,650) is a municipality in the Greater Toronto Area

Greater Toronto Area

The Greater Toronto Area is the largest metropolitan area in Canada, with a 2006 census population of 5.5 million. The Greater Toronto Area is usually defined as the central city of Toronto, along with four regional municipalities surrounding it: Durham, Halton, Peel, and York...

of Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, approximately 14 kilometres north of the City of Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

. It is 206.74 square kilometers in size, and located in the mid-eastern area of the Regional Municipality of York

Regional Municipality of York, Ontario

The Regional Municipality of York, also called York Region, is a regional municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, between Lake Simcoe and Toronto. It replaced the former York County in 1971, and is part of the Greater Toronto Area and the inner ring of the Golden Horseshoe...

on the ecologically sensitive Oak Ridges Moraine

Oak Ridges Moraine

The Oak Ridges Moraine is an ecologically important geological landform in the Mixedwood Plains of south-central Ontario, Canada. The moraine covers a geographic area of between Caledon and Rice Lake, near Peterborough...

. Its motto is "country close to the city".

The town of Whitchurch–Stouffville consists of several distinct communities and the intermediary countryside. The largest urban area is Stouffville

Stouffville, Ontario

Stouffville is the primary urban area within the Town of Whitchurch–Stouffville, Ontario, Canada. It is centred at the intersection of Main Street, Mill Street and Market Street.-History:...

proper, while other communities in the larger town include Ballantrae

Ballantrae, Ontario

Ballantrae, Ontario is a hamlet in the Town of Whitchurch–Stouffville. Named for the village of Ballantrae in South Ayrshire, Scotland, the community is centred around the intersection of Aurora Road and Highway 48...

, Bethesda

Bethesda, York Regional Municipality, Ontario

Bethesda is a hamlet in York Region, Ontario, Canada, in the town of Whitchurch–Stouffville. The hamlet is centred at the intersection of Warden Avenue and Bethesda Road in the south-eastern region of Whitchurch–Stouffville; it flourished around 1875....

, Bloomington

Bloomington, York Region, Ontario

Bloomington is a hamlet in York Region, Ontario, Canada, in the town of Whitchurch–Stouffville. The hamlet is centred at the intersection of Ninth Line and Bloomington Road near the eastern boundary of the town of Whitchurch–Stouffville...

, Cedar Valley, Gormley

Gormley, Ontario

Gormley is a hamlet in York Region, Ontario, Canada that overlaps parts of Richmond Hill, and Whitchurch–Stouffville, two municipalities within the Greater Toronto Area. It was divided into two parts due to the construction of Highway 404. A portion of Gormley situated within Richmond Hill's...

, Lemonville

Lemonville, Ontario

Lemonville is a hamlet in York Region, Ontario, Canada, in the town of Whitchurch–Stouffville. The hamlet is centred at the intersection of McCowan Road and Bloomington Road, in the geographical centre of Whitchurch-Stouffville....

, Lincolnville

Lincolnville GO Station

Lincolnville GO Station is a train and bus station in the GO Transit network located in Whitchurch–Stouffville, Ontario in Canada. Lincolnville is the northeastern terminus of train service on the Stouffville line....

, Musselman Lake

Musselman Lake, Ontario

Musselman Lake is a community settled adjacent to a kettle lake of the same name in the town of Whitchurch–Stouffville, Ontario, Canada. It is located about 6 km north-northwest of urban Stouffville, and is part of the Greater Toronto Area....

, Pine Orchard

Pine Orchard, Ontario

Pine Orchard is a hamlet in York Region, Ontario, Canada, in the town of Whitchurch–Stouffville. It is centred at the intersection of Warden Avenue and Vivian Road in the north-western region of Whitchurch–Stouffville. The original settlers were Quakers who, like the early Mennonites of Whitchurch...

, Pleasantville

Pleasantville, Ontario

Pleasantville is a community located in the Town of Whitchurch–Stouffville, Ontario, Canada.It is a small hamlet consisting of mainly farms, residential homes and horse ranches...

, Preston Lake

Preston Lake, Ontario

The Community of Preston Lake is located in the Town of Whitchurch–Stouffville in the Regional Municipality of York in Ontario...

, Ringwood

Ringwood, Ontario

Ringwood is a hamlet in York Region, Ontario, Canada, in the town of Whitchurch–Stouffville. The hamlet is centred at the intersection of Stouffville Road and Highway 48, on the Little Rouge River, a tributary of the Rouge River on the Oak Ridges Moraine. The community originally straddled the...

, Vandorf

Vandorf, Ontario

Vandorf is a small hamlet situated in the Town of Whitchurch–Stouffville, Ontario, in Canada. It is the most westerly settlement within the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville. With a population of approximately 722, Vandorf consists mainly of estate residential homes and farms.Vandorf was founded in...

, Vivian, and Wesley Corners

Wesley Corners, Ontario

Wesley Corners is a community situated in the Town of Whitchurch–Stouffville, Ontario, Canada.The hamlet is located at the intersection of Woodbine Avenue and York Regional Road 15/ Aurora Road. It was originally known as Hacking's Corners, after Rev. James Hacking who settled there in 1817...

. The town is bounded by Davis Drive (York Regional Road 31) in the north, York-Durham Line (York Regional Road 30) in the east, and Highway 404 in the west. The southern boundary conforms with a position approximately 200 metres north of 19th Avenue (York Regional Road 29), and is irregular due to the annexation of lands formerly part of Markham Township

Markham, Ontario

Markham is a town in the Regional Municipality of York, located within the Greater Toronto Area of Southern Ontario, Canada. The population was 261,573 at the 2006 Canadian census...

in 1971.

Whitchurch–Stouffville is one of the fastest growing communities in Ontario. In June 2011, the official population estimate was 38,650, which represents a 58% increase since 2006. The town projects a total population of 42,343 in 2013; 55,800 in 2021, and 62,321 in 2026.

Future growth is governed provincially by the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act (2001), the Greenbelt Act (2005) and the Places to Grow Act (2005). The intent of these statutes is to prevent urban sprawl on environmentally sensitive land and to accommodate future growth in approved settlement areas only. Consequently Whitchurch–Stouffville's future growth is planned as "sustainable development," largely within the boundaries of urban Stouffville alone, which reflects the vision of “small town tradition between the country and the city.”

History

The oldest human artifacts found in Whitchurch Township date back to 1500 BC and were found in the hamlet of Ringwood

Ringwood, Ontario

(now part of urban Stouffville). Prior to the arrival of Europeans, two Native trails crossed through what is today Whitchurch–Stouffville. The Vandorf Trail ran from the source waters of the Rouge River

Rouge River (Ontario)

The Rouge River is a two river system. Little Rouge and Rouge River are in the east and the northeast parts of Toronto and begin in the Oak Ridges Moraine in Richmond Hill and Whitchurch-Stouffville...

to Newmarket

Newmarket, Ontario

Newmarket is a town in Southern Ontario located approximately 50 km north of downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area and is connected to Toronto by freeway, and is served by three interchanges along Highway 404. It is also connected to Highway 400 via Highway 9...

, across the heights of the hamlet of Vandorf

Vandorf, Ontario

, and the Rouge Trail ran along the Rouge River and northwest from Musselman Lake; both were part of the aboriginal and Coureur des bois

Coureur des bois

A coureur des bois or coureur de bois was an independent entrepreneurial French-Canadian woodsman who traveled in New France and the interior of North America. They travelled in the woods to trade various things for fur....

trail system leading through dense forests from Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...

to Lake Simcoe

Lake Simcoe

Lake Simcoe is a lake in Southern Ontario, Canada, the fourth-largest lake wholly in the province, after Lake Nipigon, Lac Seul, and Lake Nipissing. At the time of the first European contact in the 17th century the lake was called Ouentironk by the Huron natives...

. The territory was the site of several Native villages, including Iroquois settlements around Preston Lake, Vandorf

Vandorf, Ontario

, and Musselman Lake

Musselman Lake, Ontario

. In 2003, a large 16th century Huron village was discovered in Stouffville during land development; approximately 2000 people once inhabited the site (Mantle Site

Mantle Site, Wendat (Huron) Ancestral Village

The Mantle site in the town of Whitchurch–Stouffville, north-east of Toronto, is the largest and most complex ancestral Wendat-Huron village to be excavated in the Lower Great Lakes region to date....

), which included a palisade

Palisade

A palisade is a steel or wooden fence or wall of variable height, usually used as a defensive structure.- Typical construction :Typical construction consisted of small or mid sized tree trunks aligned vertically, with no spacing in between. The trunks were sharpened or pointed at the top, and were...

and more than 70 longhouse

Native American long house

Longhouses were built by native peoples in various parts of North America, sometimes reaching over but generally around wide. The dominant theory is that walls were made of sharpened and fire-hardened poles driven into the ground and the roof consisted of leaves and grass...

s, yielding tens of thousands of artifacts. Other significant late precontact Huron village sites have been located to the south-east (the Draper Site

Draper Site, Wendat (Huron) Ancestral Village

The Draper Site is a Precontact period Huron-Wendat ancestral village located on a tributary of West Duffins Creek in present-day Pickering, Ontario, approximately 35 kilometres north-east of Toronto....

on the Pickering Airport

Pickering Airport

Pickering Airport is a proposed international airport for the Greater Toronto Area, to be located in the city of Pickering, Ontario, Canada, 50 kilometres north-east of downtown Toronto, and 65 kilometres east of Toronto Pearson International Airport...

lands) and to the north-west of urban Stouffville (the Ratcliff or Baker Hill Site

Ratcliff Site, Wendat (Huron) Ancestral Village

The Ratcliff or Baker Hill site is a 16th-century Huron-Wendat ancestral village located on one of the headwater tributaries of the Rouge River on the south side of the Oak Ridges Moraine in present-day Whitchurch–Stouffville, approximately 25 kilometers north of Toronto...

on Ontario Highway 48

Ontario Highway 48

King's Highway 48, also known as Highway 48, is a provincially-maintained highway in southern Ontario that extends from Major Mackenzie Drive in Markham, through Whitchurch-Stouffville, to Highway 12 south-east of Beaverton, Ontario. Prior to 1998, Highway 48 extended from Highway 401 in Toronto to...

, and the Old Fort or Aurora Site

Aurora Site, Wendat (Huron) Ancestral Village

The Aurora Site, also known as the "Old Fort," "Old Indian Fort," "Murphy Farm" or "Hill Fort" site, is a sixteenth-century Huron-Wendat ancestral village located on one of the headwater tributaries of the East Holland River on the north side of the Oak Ridges Moraine in present-day...

on Kennedy Road).

The western end of Whitchurch and Markham Townships was purchased by the British crown from the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation in 1787 as part of the Toronto Purchase

Toronto Purchase

The Toronto Purchase was an agreement between the British crown and the Mississaugas of New Credit in 1787. The Mississaugas of New Credit exchanged 250,808 acres of land in what became York County The Toronto Purchase was an agreement between the British crown and the Mississaugas of New Credit...

. Whitchurch Township was created in 1792 as one of ten townships in York County

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 was named in honour of the village of Whitchurch, Herefordshire

Whitchurch, Herefordshire

Whitchurch is a village in Herefordshire named after the church of Saint Dubricius which was originally white in colour.Whitchurch is situated on the A40, connecting nearby Ross-on-Wye to Welsh town Monmouth...

in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, where Elizabeth Simcoe

Elizabeth Simcoe

Elizabeth Simcoe was an artist and diarist in colonial Canada. She was the wife of John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada.-Biography:...

(wife of Upper Canada

Upper Canada

The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...

Lieutenant Governor

Lieutenant governor

A lieutenant governor or lieutenant-governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction, but is often the deputy or lieutenant to or ranking under a governor — a "second-in-command"...

Sir John Graves Simcoe), was born. The first European settlements in Whitchurch Township were established in the 1790s, though Whitchurch and large areas of southern Ontario were only ceded by the south-Central Ontario Mississaugas

Mississaugas

The Mississaugas are a subtribe of the Anishinaabe-speaking First Nations people located in southern Ontario, Canada. They are closely related to the Ojibwa...

in 1923. Between 1800 and 1802, John Stegman completed a survey of the township which created a system of land concessions. This allowed for the organized distribution of land to settlers, with each concession containing five, 200 acre (0.809372 km²) lots. This layout remains visible today, as the road network in the area reflects the locations of the boundaries between concession blocks.

Early settlers of this period included Quakers and Mennonite

Mennonite

The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons , who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders...

s--two pacifist groups from the nearby American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

states of Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, Vermont

Vermont

Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...

and New York. Both groups were seeking religious freedom, and were identified by the Upper Canadian

Upper Canada

government as people with necessary skills and abilities for establishing viable communities that could, in turn, attract others to settle in the region. Mercenary German Hessian soldiers, like Stegman, were also granted land in Upper Canada by Britain

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

in exchange for their service in the American Revolution

American Revolution

The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

against the 13 Colonies.
Many of the first settlements in Whitchurch Township were developed at the intersections of main roads throughout the township and /or near streams where mills

Mill (grinding)

A grinding mill is a unit operation designed to break a solid material into smaller pieces. There are many different types of grinding mills and many types of materials processed in them. Historically mills were powered by hand , working animal , wind or water...

could built to process the timber cleared from the land. Stoufferville was one such hamlet

Hamlet (place)

A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...

that grew around the saw and grist mills of Abraham Stouffer

Abraham Stouffer

thumb|right|Abraham Stoufferthumb|right|Gravestones for Elizabeth Stouffer and Abraham Stouffer, located in Altona, OntarioAbraham Stouffer is the founder of the town of Stouffville, Ontario....

, a Mennonite who with his wife Elizabeth Reesor Stouffer came from Chambersburg, Pennsylvania in 1804, and acquired 600 acres (2.4 km²) of land. Elizabeth's brother Peter Reesor

Peter Reesor

Peter Reesor is the founder of Markham, Ontario.Peter Reesor was born December 25 1775, in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania to Christian Reesor and Veronica Reiff .- Peter's First Visit to Canada :...

established what is today Markham

Markham, Ontario

Markham is a town in the Regional Municipality of York, located within the Greater Toronto Area of Southern Ontario, Canada. The population was 261,573 at the 2006 Canadian census...

, first called Reesorville. Fifty-five more families from Pennsylvania, mostly Mennonite

Mennonite

, arrived in Stoufferville in the next few years. Stouffer's sawmill was in operation by 1817 on Duffin's Creek on the Whitchurch side of Main St., and by 1825 he had a gristmill across the street on the Markham Township side of Main St. as well.

In the early 1830s, the old Stouffville Road was carved through largely virgin forest to connect York (Toronto

Toronto

) with Brock Township; a post office

Post office

A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...

was opened in 1832 and the name Stouffville was standardized. In 1839, a new resident from England noted that Stouffville still had "no church (other than the Mennonite Meeting House in neighbouring Altona

Altona, Ontario

Altona is a ghost town located in Pickering, Ontario, at Sideline 30 and the Pickering-Uxbridge Town Line. It is just east of Whitchurch-Stouffville, and was named after Altona, now a borough of Hamburg, Germany....

), baker, or butcher," though "saddlebag [Methodist circuit] preachers sometimes arrived and held meetings at the schoolhouse." Nonetheless, Stouffville was considered a centre "of Radical opinion," one of the "hotbeds of revolution," and it was here that William Lyon Mackenzie

William Lyon Mackenzie

William Lyon Mackenzie was a Scottish born American and Canadian journalist, politician, and rebellion leader. He served as the first mayor of Toronto, Upper Canada and was an important leader during the 1837 Upper Canada Rebellion.-Background and early years in Scotland, 1795–1820:Mackenzie was...

set forth his plan for the Upper Canada Rebellion

Upper Canada Rebellion

The Upper Canada Rebellion was, along with the Lower Canada Rebellion in Lower Canada, a rebellion against the British colonial government in 1837 and 1838. Collectively they are also known as the Rebellions of 1837.-Issues:...

of 1837-38.

The hamlet of Stouffville grew rapidly in the 1840s, and by 1849, it had "one physician and surgeon, two stores, two taverns, one blacksmith, one waggon maker, one oatmeal mill, one tailor, one shoemaker." The population reached 350 in 1851, 600 in 1866, and 866 in 1881, with a diversity of Mennonite, Methodist, Presbyterian, Episcopal, Baptist and Congregational places of worship. In 1869 Ballantrae

Ballantrae, Ontario

had a populuation of 75, Bloomington

Bloomington, York Region, Ontario

50, Gormley

Gormley, Ontario

80, Lemonville

Lemonville, Ontario

75, and Ringwood 100. In 1876, there was a regular stage coach connection from the hamlet of Stouffville to Ringwood

Ringwood, Ontario

, Ballantrae

Ballantrae, Ontario

, Lemonville

Lemonville, Ontario

, Glasgow

Glasgow, Ontario

Glasgow is a community in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in the Regional Municipality of Durham. It is located on the edge of lands designated for a future international airport , immediately east of the community of Stouffville and north of the ghost-town of Altona. There was a...

, Altona

Altona, Ontario

and Claremont

Claremont, Ontario

Claremont is a Southern Ontario community located in the north part of the City of Pickering, Ontario, Canada.It is one of many rural villages with suburban type housing mixed with older, historic buildings in the Greater Toronto Area. Brock Road, the main north-south Regional road in the area was...

.

In 1877, Stouffville became an incorporated village. Stouffville's growth was aided by the establishment of the Toronto and Nipissing Railway

Toronto and Nipissing Railway

The Toronto and Nipissing Railway was chartered in 1868 to build a narrow gauge railway in Ontario, Canada from Toronto to Lake Nipissing, via York, Ontario, and Victoria Counties. It opened in 1871, with service between Scarborough and Uxbridge. By December 1872 it was extended to Coboconk...

, built in 1871, which connected Stouffville and Uxbridge

Uxbridge, Ontario

Uxbridge is a township in south-central Ontario, Canada, in the Regional Municipality of Durham, in the Greater Toronto Area.The main centre in the township is the namesake community of Uxbridge...

with Toronto

Toronto

. In 1877, a second track was built north to Jackson's Point on Lake Simcoe

Lake Simcoe

. These connections were created in large part to provide a reliable and efficient means of transporting timber harvested and milled in these regions. Soon Stouffville Junction serviced thirty trains per day. During this time of prosperity, Stouffville businessman R.J. Daley built a large music hall, roller-skating rink, and curling rink. In 1911 Stouffville had a public library, two banks, two newspapers, as well as telephone and telegraph connections.

Intensive forestry

Forestry

Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...

in Whitchurch Township led to large-scale deforestation

Deforestation

Deforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a nonforest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use....

, eroding

Erosion

Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...

the thinner soils of northern Whitchurch into sand deserts

Déserts

Déserts is a piece by Edgard Varèse for brass , percussion , piano, and tape. Percussion instruments are exploited for their resonant potential, rather than used solely as accompaniment...

; by 1850 Whitchurch Township was only 35 percent wooded, and that was reduced to 7 percent by 1910. The Lake Simcoe Junction Railway Line was consequently abandoned in 1927. Reforestation

Reforestation

Reforestation is the natural or intentional restocking of existing forests and woodlands that have been depleted, usually through deforestation....

efforts were begun locally, and with the passage of the Reforestation Act (1911), the process of reclaiming these areas began. Vivian Forest, a large conservation area in northern Whitchurch–Stouffville, was established in 1924 for this purpose. This development has helped to restore the water-holding capacity of the soil and to reduce the cycles of flash spring floods and summer drought. In 2008, the town had more than 62²km of protected forest; the forest is considered one of the most successful restorations of a degraded landscape in North America. Yet similar environmental consequences due to increased urbanization were projected in 2007 by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority as probable for southern Whitchurch–Stouffville (headwaters of the Rouge River watershed) if targeted plantings in this area did not begin quickly. Already in 1993, the Whitchurch Historical Committee warned a new generation of "Whitchurch-Stouffville residents" to be ever "vigilant to treat trees and forests with respect ... . In the 1990s care must be taken so that urbanization and concrete road-building do not repeat the destruction to our forest heritage." And in 2009, a similar warning was made by the Lake Simcoe Conservation Authority about water quality: after a major assessment of the Musselman's Lake

Musselman Lake, Ontario

subwatershed, it recognized that the water quality was not only "impaired" and "degraded," but had declined since a previous assessment in 1989.
Though growth in the hamlets of Whitchurch–Stouffville was stagnant after the demise of the forest industry, the population began to grow again in the 1970s, with development in Metropolitan Toronto

Toronto

and the consequent arrival of new commuters. These developments led to a reexamination at the provincial level of municipal governance. On January 1, 1971, Whitchurch Township and the Village of Stouffville were merged to create the Town of Whitchurch–Stouffville; the combined population was 11,487 (see demographics below). In addition to the merger, the southern boundary of the town was moved four farm lots south of the original southern boundary of Main Street. This land was formerly a part of Markham Township, and now residents along the south side of Main Street were legally part of the same town as those on the north (the population of urban Stouffville was 5,036).

Whitchurch–Stouffville adopted its coat of arms in 1973 (see information box right). The dove of peace, the original seal of Whitchurch Township, is at the crest, recalling the pacifist Quaker and Mennonite settlers who founded many of the town's communities, including Stouffville. The British Union banner of 1707 pays tribute to the United Empire Loyalists. The white church symbolizes Whitchurch, and the star and chalice come from the Stouffer family (Swiss) coat of arms.

The growth of Toronto brought serious ecological problems to Whitchurch–Stouffville. Between 1962 and 1969, hundreds of thousands of litres per month of sulphuric acid, calcium hydroxide, and oil waste were poured into unlined Whitchurch–Stouffville dumps never designed as landfill sites and situated directly above the town's main aquifer. This was followed by years of solid waste from Toronto (1,100 tons per day in 1982). In the early 1980s, a group initially named "Concerned Mothers" found that the miscarriage rate in Whitchurch–Stouffville was 26% compared to the provincial average of 15%, and that the town had a high rate of cancer and birth defects. Though the Ministry of Environment was satisfied that the wells tested in 1974 and 1981 had negligible levels of cancer causing agents (mutagens), the town opposed the expansion of the "York Sanitation Site #4". Only after much grass-roots advocacy at the provincial level was the site ordered to close on June 30, 1983. In 1984 it was reported in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario that PCBs

Polychlorinated biphenyl

Polychlorinated biphenyls are a class of organic compounds with 2 to 10 chlorine atoms attached to biphenyl, which is a molecule composed of two benzene rings. The chemical formula for PCBs is C12H10-xClx...

were found in well-water, and that 27,000 gallons of contaminated leachate

Leachate

Leachate is any liquid that, in passing through matter, extracts solutes, suspended solids or any other component of the material through which it has passed....

per day were leaking from the site, threatening ground water quality.

With new commuter rail service on the Stouffville Line in the 1990s, the drilling of two deep aquifer wells to secure safer water for a large, new development in the hamlet of Ballantrae

Ballantrae, Ontario

in 1996, and the controversial expansion of the York-Durham Sewage System Big Pipe with additional water capacity from Lake Ontario, Whitchurch–Stouffville began a major self-transformation. Not unlike the late 19th century, responsible land and water stewardship, as well as the positive integration of many new residents annually into the community, define the challenges and opportunities for Whitchurch–Stouffville in the years to come.

The most significant challenge facing Whitchurch–Stouffville in the coming years, however, is the federal government's proposed development of an international airport immediately south-east of Whitchurch–Stouffville (the Pickering Airport

Pickering Airport

lands). Under the current plan, approaches for two of the three landing strips would be directly above Whitchurch–Stouffville communities: the first over Ballantrae

Ballantrae, Ontario

, Musselman's Lake

Musselman Lake, Ontario

and the north-east corner of urban Stouffville, with planes descending (or ascending) from 535 to 365 metres (with an allowable building height in Stouffville of 43 metres); the second over Gormley

Gormley, Ontario

and the Dickson Hill

Dickson Hill, Ontario

Dickson Hill is a small community in northeast Markham, Ontario and is located near Highway 48 and 19th Avenue, on the border to Whitchurch-Stouffville....

area (near the Walmart and Smart Centre). The 2004 plan anticipates 11.9 million passengers per year (or 32,600 per day) by 2032. Stouffville is the closest urban centre to the proposed airport and would be most directly impacted by noise levels and quality of life; yet because planned roads to the airport are from the south only (Highway 407 and Highway 7

Ontario Highway 7

King's Highway 7, commonly referred to as Highway 7 and historically as the Northern Highway, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario...

), a direct economic benefit, however, would be minimal. The current runway configuration would also block the continuous flow of vehicular traffic south out of Stouffville on the York-Durham Line. In 1998, Whitchurch–Stouffville Council endorsed a resolution by the Town of Pickering requesting the Minister of Transportation not to declare the federal lands in Pickering as an airport site. When public consultations were held in 2003, Whitchurch–Stouffville was one of the few directly affected municipalities that did not submit written representation to Transport Canada. A "Needs Assessment Study" was completed by the Greater Toronto Airports Authority

Greater Toronto Airports Authority

The Greater Toronto Airports Authority operates Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, Ontario, west of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The GTAA operates Canada's largest airport facility with a traffic of 31.0 million passengers in 2006. The authority's headquarters are on the airport...

for the federal government in May 2010. After a "due diligence review," Transport Canada

Transport Canada

Transport Canada is the department within the government of Canada which is responsible for developing regulations, policies and services of transportation in Canada. It is part of the Transportation, Infrastructure and Communities portfolio...

released the report in July 2011.

Municipal

Whitchurch–Stouffville is governed by a mayor and a city council of six councilors, with one councilor representing each of the six municipal wards. The Mayor of Whitchurch–Stouffville also sits on the York Regional Council

York Regional Council

York Regional Council is the political body for the Regional Municipality of York in Ontario, Canada. Created in 1970 it consists of 20 representatives: the mayors of each of its nine municipalities , and an additional eleven councillors from the more populous municipalities—four from...

. On October 25, 2010, Wayne Emmerson was re-elected mayor of Whitchurch–Stouffville.

Two York Region District School Board

York Region District School Board

The York Region District School Board, also known as YRDSB, is the English-language public school board for York Regional Municipality located in Ontario, Canada. The York Region District School Board is currently the province's third largest school board, with an enrollment of over 115,000 students...

trustees are elected to represent Whitchurch–Stouffville and East Gwillimbury (one English language and one French), as well as two trustees for the York Catholic District School Board

York Catholic District School Board

The York Catholic District School Board is the publicly funded English-language Catholic school district authority for the Regional Municipality of York in Ontario, Canada. Its head office is in Aurora....

(one English language and one French). School board trustees are elected at the same time, and on the same ballot, as the mayor and city councilors.

In 2008, 94.4% of Whitchurch–Stouffville residents were either satisfied or very satisfied with the overall quality of life in the
Town of Whitchurch–Stouffville. In a major community survey, close to 30% of the respondents described the town as fine, good, nice, great, or pleasant; more than half of the respondents like the community or small town feel, while 46.3% enjoyed the friendly neighbourhoods. The most important municipal issues indicated by residents in 2008 were the need to improve the road system; traffic issues; increasing urbanization and overcrowding; land use development and sprawl; and the cost of living (including taxes and user fees) in the town. Environmental protection, including environmental assessments for new development and natural preservation measures, was identified as matter of high importance by residents, but low on a scale of satisfaction. In the hamlet of Musselman's Lake, 72% of residents in 2009 were concerned about the environmental health of the lake and the surrounding community. All municipalities in York Region except Whitchurch–Stouffville have an active Environmental Advisory Committee; the town of Whitchurch–Stouffville dismantled its committee after the municipal elections in 2006.

Town Hall is a rented facility on 37 Sandiford Drive in Stouffville. A new building was purchased in 2010 at 111 Sandiford Dr., and the anticipated move-in date is August 3, 2011.

Provincial

At the provincial level Whitchurch–Stouffville is in the Oak Ridges—Markham

Oak Ridges—Markham (provincial electoral district)

Oak Ridges—Markham is a provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario since the 2007 provincial election. Its population in 2006 was 169,645, with 136,755 electors, the highest of any riding in Ontario...

riding. Since 2007 this riding has been represented at the Legislative Assembly of Ontario

Legislative Assembly of Ontario

The Legislative Assembly of Ontario , is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the second largest provincial legislature of Canada...

by Helena Jaczek

Helena Jaczek

Helena Jaczek, is a Canadian politician. She was originally elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 2007 provincial election and was re- elected in the 2011 provincial election representing the riding of Oak Ridges—Markham. She is a member of the Liberal Party.-Background:Jaczek was...

, a member of the governing Ontario Liberal Party

Ontario Liberal Party

The Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and...

Federal

At the federal level Whitchurch–Stouffville is in the Oak Ridges—Markham

Oak Ridges—Markham

Oak Ridges—Markham is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004. Its population in 2006 was 169,645., with 136,755 electors, the highest of any riding in Canada...

riding. Between 2001 and 2006, the number of voters in this riding increased by 52.8%--more than any other riding in Canada, and only slightly behind Brampton West

Brampton West

Brampton West is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004. Its population was 170,422 in 2006- making it the most populous riding in Canada....

for the worst representation by riding population in the country. Since 2008, the Oak Ridges-Markham riding has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada by Paul Calandra

Paul Calandra

Paul Calandra is a Canadian politician. He was elected to represent the electoral district of Oak Ridges—Markham in the 2008 Canadian federal election...

, a member of the governing Conservative Party of Canada

Conservative Party of Canada

The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...

.
In 2009, Calandra introduced Bill C-431, "An Act to change the name of the electoral district of Oak Ridges—Markham"; the proposed new name is Markham—Stouffville—Oak Ridges—King.

Physical geography

The greatest portion of Whitchurch–Stouffville is lies on the Oak Ridges Moraine

Oak Ridges Moraine

. The moraine

Origin of the Oak Ridges Moraine

The Oak Ridges Moraine is a geological landform that runs east-west across south central Ontario, Canada. It developed about 12,000 years ago, during the Wisconsin glaciation in North America. A complex ridge of sedimentary material, the moraine is known to have partially developed under water...

consists of knobby hills between 290 to 373 meters above sea level of irregularly bedded layers of unconsolidated sand and gravel (built-up glacial debris) deposited by the meltwater of the Wisconsin glacier

Wisconsin glaciation

The last glacial period was the most recent glacial period within the current ice age occurring during the last years of the Pleistocene, from approximately 110,000 to 10,000 years ago....

some twenty-five thousand to ten thousand years ago. In a few cases the retreating glacier left behind and buried huge blocks of ice which, when melted, created deep, water-filled depressions known as kettle lakes. Preston Lake

Preston Lake, Ontario

The Community of Preston Lake is located in the Town of Whitchurch–Stouffville in the Regional Municipality of York in Ontario...

, Van Nostrand Lake and Musselman Lake

Musselman Lake, Ontario

are three such examples.

The boundaries of Whitchurch–Stouffville contain a watershed divide. Streams and rivers at the top of the Oak Ridges Moraine

Oak Ridges Moraine

flow northward into the Lake Simcoe

Lake Simcoe

basin, part of the Lake Huron

Lake Huron

Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the larger portion of Lake Michigan-Huron. It is bounded on the east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the west by the state of Michigan in the United States...

watershed. The southern sections (south of Bloomington Road

York Regional Road 40

King's Highway 47, also known as Highway 47 and locally as Stouffville Road, Toronto Street and Brock Street was a provincial highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The mostly rural route travelled through the towns of Whitchurch-Stouffville, Goodwood, and Uxbridge on its east–west path...

) make up the headwaters of the Rouge River, and flow into the Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario

basin. These headwaters include many smaller streams and creeks throughout southern Whitchurch–Stouffville. Their identification and protection, plus reforestation in these area, has been identified as urgent for rebuilding water-capacity in the Rouge River watershed which can off-set the worst environmental impacts (e.g., flash flooding, erosion and ground water contamination) of rapid urbanization. The heavily wooded Vivian Infiltration Area

Vivian Infiltration Area

The Vivian Infiltration Area is an environmentally significant hydrological infiltration complex in Whitchurch–Stouffville, Ontario, Canada. It is primarily a heavily wooded forest. The Vivian Infiltration Area "contributes groundwater to the Oak Ridges aquifer complex"....

is an environmentally significant hydrological infiltration

Infiltration

Infiltration may refer to:*Infiltration , a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning term for air leakage into buildings*Infiltration , downward movement of water through soil...

area that contributes groundwater to the Oak Ridges aquifer complex.

The northwestern corner of Whitchurch–Stouffville is outside the moraine and is part of the Schomberg Lake plain, an ancient lake-bed overlain by silts and fine sands. The soil formed over the former lake-bed is well-drained, arable farmland.
The southern-most portion of Whitchurch–Stouffville west of Highway 48

Ontario Highway 48

lies below the moraine and is a clay-loam till plain.

Tree species native to Whitchurch–Stouffville include: American Mountain Ash, Balsam Fir

Balsam Fir

The balsam fir is a North American fir, native to most of eastern and central Canada and the northeastern United States .-Growth:It is a small to medium-size evergreen tree typically tall, rarely to tall, with a narrow conic crown...

, Bitternut Hickory

Bitternut Hickory

Carya cordiformis, the Bitternut Hickory, also called bitternut or swamp hickory, is a large pecan hickory with commercial stands located mostly north of the other pecan hickories. Bitternut hickory is cut and sold in mixture with the true hickories. It is the shortest lived of the hickories,...

, Black Cherry, Black Spruce

Black Spruce

Picea mariana is a species of spruce native to northern North America, from Newfoundland west to Alaska, and south to northern New York, Minnesota and central British Columbia...

, Bur Oak

Bur oak

Quercus macrocarpa, the Bur Oak, sometimes spelled Burr Oak, is a species of oak in the white oak section Quercus sect. Quercus, native to North America in the eastern and midwestern United States and south-central Canada...

, Eastern Hemlock

Eastern Hemlock

Tsuga canadensis, also known as eastern or Canadian hemlock, and in the French-speaking regions of Canada as pruche du Canada, is a coniferous tree native to eastern North America. It ranges from northeastern Minnesota eastward through southern Quebec to Nova Scotia, and south in the Appalachian...

, Eastern White Cedar, Peachleaf Willow

Peachleaf Willow

Salix amygdaloides is a species of willow native to southern Canada and the United States, from Quebec west to western British Columbia, south-east to eastern Kentucky, and south-west and west to Arizona and Nevada, respectively....

, Pin Cherry

Pin cherry

Prunus pensylvanica, also known as bird cherry, fire cherry, pin cherry, and red cherry, is a North American cherry species in the genus Prunus.-Distribution:...

, Red Oak, Red Maple

Red Maple

Acer rubrum , is one of the most common and widespread deciduous trees of eastern North America. It ranges from the Lake of the Woods on the border between Ontario and Minnesota, east to Newfoundland, south to near Miami, Florida, and southwest to east Texas...

, Red Pine

Red Pine

Pinus resinosa, commonly known as the red pine or Norway pine, is pine native to North America. The Red Pine occurs from Newfoundland west to Manitoba, and south to Pennsylvania, with several smaller, disjunct populations occurring in the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia and West Virginia, as well...

, Shagbark Hickory

Shagbark Hickory

Carya ovata, the Shagbark Hickory, is a common hickory in the eastern United States and southeast Canada. It is a large deciduous tree, growing up to 27 m tall, and will live up to 200 years. Mature Shagbarks are easy to recognize because, as their name implies, they have shaggy bark...

, Silver Maple

Silver Maple

The silver maple —also called creek maple, river maple, silverleaf maple, soft maple, water maple, or white maple—is a species of maple native to eastern North America in the eastern United States and Canada...

, Sugar Maple

Sugar Maple

Acer saccharum is a species of maple native to the hardwood forests of northeastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to southern Ontario, and south to Georgia and Texas...

, Tamarack, Trembling Aspen

Populus tremuloides

Populus tremuloides is a deciduous tree native to cooler areas of North America, commonly called quaking aspen, trembling aspen, American aspen, and Quakies,. The trees have tall trunks, up to 25 metres, with smooth pale bark, scarred with black. The glossy green leaves, dull beneath, become golden...

, White Birch, White Oak, White Pine

Eastern White Pine

Pinus strobus, commonly known as the eastern white pine, is a large pine native to eastern North America, occurring from Newfoundland west to Minnesota and southeastern Manitoba, and south along the Appalachian Mountains to the northern edge of Georgia.It is occasionally known as simply white pine,...

and White Spruce

White Spruce

Picea glauca is a species of spruce native to boreal forests in the north of North America, from central Alaska east to Newfoundland, and south to northern Montana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, upstate New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine; there is also an isolated population in the...

Climate

Whitchurch–Stouffville has a continental climate moderated by the Great Lakes

Great Lakes

The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...

and influenced by warm, moist air masses from the south, and cold, dry air from the north. The Oak Ridges Moraine

Oak Ridges Moraine

affects levels of precipitation: as air masses arrive from Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario

and reach the elevated ground surface of the moraine, they rise causing precipitation.
Because of increasing greenhouse gas

Greenhouse gas

A greenhouse gas is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone...

emissions, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources estimates a 1-2 degree increase both in summer and winter average temperatures in the region between 2011 and 2040, and a 0% to 10% decrease in precipitation (compared to averages between 1970 and 2000).

Air quality

Smog producing ground-level ozone is a problem affecting the entire Greater Toronto Area

Greater Toronto Area

. A major pathway for airborne pollutants flows from the upper Midwest United States and the Ohio River Valley and across southern Ontario and Toronto; key sources are coal-burning power-plants and vehicle engines. On episode days (O3 > 82 ppb), Whitchurch–Stouffville reaches its peak about one to two hours later than Toronto. Smog Advisory Alerts are issued by the Ministry of the Environment when smog conditions are expected to reach the poor category in Ontario. The Greater Toronto Area had 13 smog days in 2008, 29 in 2007, 11 in 2006, 48 in 2005.

Demographics

Religion	Population 2001	Percent
Total	21,835
Protestant	11,180	51.2%
Roman Catholic	4,975	22.8%
Christian (not specified)	725	3.3%
Christian Orthodox Eastern Orthodox Church The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...	540	2.4%
Jewish	165	0.75%
Muslim Muslim A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...	160	0.73%
Other Religions (Hindu Hindu Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion... , Buddhist, Sikh Sikh A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"... , Eastern)	90	0.41%
No religious affiliation	3,965	18.15%

Visible Minority Population	Population 2006	Percent
Total	1,775	7.2%
Chinese Chinese people The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....	730	3.0%
South Asians	395	1.6%
Black Black people The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...	260	1.0%
Filipino Filipino people The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....	85	0.35%

Between 2006-2008 Stouffville's population grew 23%, second in the province only to Milton

Milton, Ontario

Milton is a town in Southern Ontario, Canada, and part of the Halton Region in the Greater Toronto Area. Milton received a tremendous amount of awareness following the release of the results of the 2006 Census, which indicated that Milton is the fastest growing municipality in the Greater Golden...

at 24.9%, and far exceeding the provincial average was 2.3%.

In 2006 with a population of 24,390, 18% of residents were immigrants, 80% of whom came to Canada before 1991; the number of visible minorities grew from 4.53% in 2001 to 7.2% in 2006 (and is expected to triple again by 2031). Already by 2010, 34% of the Grade Three children in one of the community's newest school were effectively bi-lingual (i.e., the first language learned at home was other than English). In 2010 the proportion of Whitchurch–Stouffville residents that socialized with people from other cultures on a regular basis was far above the national average.

Of the population 15 years and over in 2006, 58.7% were legally married (and not separated); 26.5% were never married, 6% were divorced, 5.6% were widowed, and 3% were separated (but still legally married). 6% of the population over 15 lived in a common-law relationship. These figures are close to the provincial averages.

As of 2006, Whitchurch–Stouffville's population has been aging faster compared to the larger population of the region or the province. The town anticipates that this trend will change slowly over the next twenty-five years due to an increase of new residents from a broad range of age groups. In 2006, 19.6% of the population (or 5,032 individuals) was children and youth aged five to eighteen; this is expected to decline to 16.4% (or 8,321 individuals) by 2031. Over this same period, the proportion of adults will increase by 115% (19,225 to 41,406 individuals), and the 0-4 age group will increase by 136%.

Transportation

Motor traffic

Automobile

An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...

is served primarily by Ontario provincial Highway 48

Highway 48 (Ontario)

, Highway 407, and Highway 404, which are in turn complemented by a network of regional roads that form a grid pattern across the town. In 1994, a plan to connect urban Stouffville directly to Highway 401 via the proposed East Metro Freeway was canceled in large part due to the concerns of residents and the work of the Rouge River activist groups.

Whitchurch–Stouffville is traversed by two railway lines: One is Canadian National Railway

Canadian National Railway

The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....

's primary freight corridor connecting Greater Toronto to Northern Ontario and Western Canada, which is being considered for future GO Transit

GO Transit

GO Transit is an inter-regional public transit system in Southern Ontario, Canada. It primarily serves the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area conurbation, with operations extending to several communities beyond the GTHA proper in the Greater Golden Horseshoe...

train service with stations in the communities of Vandorf

Vandorf, Ontario

and Gormley

Gormley, Ontario

(West). The other railway line, formerly the Toronto and Nipissing Railway

Toronto and Nipissing Railway

, is now owned by GO Transit

GO Transit

and hosts Stouffville line passenger service to and from Toronto

Toronto

. This line includes two stations in Whitchurch–Stouffville: the Stouffville GO Station in urban Stouffville, and the line's terminus, Lincolnville GO Station

Lincolnville GO Station

, located to Stouffville's northeast. The York-Durham Heritage Railway also runs historical trains between the station and Uxbridge

Uxbridge, Ontario

Uxbridge is a township in south-central Ontario, Canada, in the Regional Municipality of Durham, in the Greater Toronto Area.The main centre in the township is the namesake community of Uxbridge...

on summer weekends.

York Region Transit (YRT)

York Region Transit

York Region Transit is the public transit operator in York Region, Ontario, Canada. Its headquarters are in Richmond Hill, at 50 High Tech Road....

operates two routes within urban Stouffville, with connection to the Markham-Stouffville Hospital and other Markham routes. GO Transit operates bus services in Stouffville, with buses traveling south into Markham

Markham, Ontario

Markham is a town in the Regional Municipality of York, located within the Greater Toronto Area of Southern Ontario, Canada. The population was 261,573 at the 2006 Canadian census...

and to Union Station

Union Station (Toronto)

Union Station is the major inter-city rail station and a major commuter rail hub in Toronto, located on Front Street West and occupying the south side of the block bounded by Bay Street and York Street in the central business district. The station building is owned by the City of Toronto, while the...

, Toronto, as well as services north to the Town of Uxbridge

Uxbridge, Ontario

Uxbridge is a township in south-central Ontario, Canada, in the Regional Municipality of Durham, in the Greater Toronto Area.The main centre in the township is the namesake community of Uxbridge...

.

Despite excellent access to the GO Transit and York Region Transit systems, the two systems are not integrated. In 2006, only 4.0% of working Whitchurch–Stouffville residents used public transit to get to work (compare 12.9% for Ontario)--up slightly from 3.4% in 2001, and only 3.6% walked or bicycled to work (compare 6.8% for Ontario)--no percentage change from 2001. Excellent public transportation options will become an increasingly urgent issue for Whitchurch–Stouffville as the town continues to grow with residents who commute daily to Toronto (see Economy below).

Health care

The Markham Stouffville Hospital is a multi-site hospital that serves the communities of Markham

Markham, Ontario

Markham is a town in the Regional Municipality of York, located within the Greater Toronto Area of Southern Ontario, Canada. The population was 261,573 at the 2006 Canadian census...

, Uxbridge

Uxbridge, Ontario

Uxbridge is a township in south-central Ontario, Canada, in the Regional Municipality of Durham, in the Greater Toronto Area.The main centre in the township is the namesake community of Uxbridge...

, and Whitchurch–Stouffville. The hospital employs 275 physicians and 1,700 staff. The main hospital site is in Markham, 10 minutes south of urban Stouffville on Ninth Line, and linked by public transportation from Stouffville. The hospital opened in 1990 and, though designed for municipal population of 110,000, was providing care for a population of 300,000 in 2010; plans are underway to double the size of the facility. Residents in northern Whitchurch–Stouffville live in close proximity to the Southlake Regional Health Centre

Southlake Regional Health Centre

Southlake Regional Health Centre is a hospital located in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada.A private hospital was founded in 1932 and on August 22 the province granted a Charter of Incorporation for the York County Hospital Corporation. In 1924, it became a public hospital. In 1946, the Margaret...

in neighbouring Newmarket

Newmarket, Ontario

.

The York-Durham Aphasia Centre is located in Stouffville's Parkview Village, and is a program of March of Dimes Canada

March of Dimes Canada

March of Dimes Canada , officially the Rehabilitation Foundation for Disabled Persons, Canada) is a registered national charity established in 2005 by Ontario March of Dimes, to provide community-based rehabilitation services and resources across the country to people with physical...

Policing

The Town of Whitchurch–Stouffville is policed by York Regional Police

York Regional Police

York Regional Police is a law enforcement organization that serves over 1.1 million residents in the York Region, Ontario, Canada, located north of Toronto...

and is located within Number Five District. The Stouffville Community Policing Centre was opened in October 2000 and is located at the Stouffville Train Station. In August 2010 York Regional Police reported to Whitchurch–Stouffville Town Council that the crime rate in the region was down 7% making it "one of Canada's safest communities."

Amenities

Historic downtown Stouffville offers casual eateries, cafes, pubs, fine dining restaurants, and a variety of boutique stores. Urban Stouffville also has a large-scale format, unenclosed shopping centre anchored by Walmart and Canadian Tire

Canadian Tire

Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited is one of Canada's 60 largest publicly traded companies. The firm operates an inter-related network of businesses engaged in retailing hardgoods, apparel and petroleum as well as financial and automotive services, employing more than 58,000 people across Canada...

. Stouffville has no regular cinema, however Canadian and international films are shown on the second Wednesday of every month at The Lebovic Centre for Arts & Entertainment – Nineteen on the Park.

Outside of urban Stouffville, the town operates community centres in the hamlets of Ballantrae

Ballantrae, Ontario

, Lemonville

Lemonville, Ontario

, and Vandorf

Vandorf, Ontario

.

Accommodations in Whitchurch–Stouffville include one hotel ( Stouffville Inn), spa and retreat centres (Mysthaven Country Retreat & Spa; Shadow Lake Centre), and a number of bed & breakfasts (Linden-on-the-Lake; Musselman Lake B & B; Freckles Bed and Breakfast). Overnight tenting, recreational vehicle camping, and seasonal stay trailer camping are available at Cedar Beach Park on the shores of Musselman's Lake

Musselman Lake, Ontario

Education

The first schoolhouse in Stouffville was on Church St., just north of Main St., where the United Church building stands. In 1865, the schoolhouse was purchased by the Methodist congregation and moved across the street; the building still exists as a two-family dwelling. Today Whitchurch–Stouffville is home to several public, Catholic, and private educational institutions.

The York Region District School Board

York Region District School Board

has one public secondary institution in Whitchurch–Stouffville--Stouffville District Secondary School

Stouffville District Secondary School

Stouffville District Secondary School is a public High school, and is the only high school currently located in the Town of Whitchurch–Stouffville...

--and six public elementary institutions: Ballantrae Public School, Glad Park Public School, Summitview Public School, Whitchurch Highlands Public School

Whitchurch Highlands Public School

Whitchurch Highlands is a public Elementary school of the York Region District School Board. It is located on Warden Avenue in the Town of Whitchurch–Stouffville, Ontario, Canada, and is situated on of land, or more fondly called the Woods, a play on words from the children's books...

, Harry Bowes Public School, and Oscar Peterson Public School. Another elementary school is planned for 2012.

The York Catholic District School Board

York Catholic District School Board

has two Catholic elementary institutions in Whitchurch–Stouffville: Saint Mark's Elementary (1965) and Saint Brigid Elementary. A third elementary school is planned for a location south of Main Street. Catholic school students graduating from Grade Eight are either bused to Brother André Catholic High School

Brother André Catholic High School

St. Brother André Catholic High School is a secondary school in Markham, Ontario, Canada. Grades 9 to 12 are taught, with religious studies included in the curriculum. It is named after Blessed Saint André Bessette , a 20th century Catholic Brother in Montreal responsible for the construction of...

in Markham, or transfer to the public system and attend Stouffville District Secondary School

Stouffville District Secondary School

Stouffville District Secondary School is a public High school, and is the only high school currently located in the Town of Whitchurch–Stouffville...

.

Stouffville also has four private schools: The Progressive Montessori Academy, Stouffville Christian School, Mindtech Montessori School, and Willowgrove Primary School. In 2009, there were 38 licensed child care centres registered in York, but none were located in Whitchurch–Stouffville; eight child care facilities in Whitchurch–Stouffville have subsidized spaces, and four do not.

As the town continues to expand, new facilities are being constructed to accommodate the increasing number of school-aged children in the community. In 2006, construction was begun on a new facility to replace the aging Stouffville District Secondary School. Located near the intersection of Weldon and Hoover Park Drive (part of a major suburban expansion project), the new high school accommodates approximately 1,500 students.

Not all programs have kept pace with the rapid change. The Education Quality and Accountability school reports for 2009 show 28% of the Grade Three students in one of Stouffville's newest schools first spoke a language other than English at home, but for 2010-11 the school board planned to offer none of its 81 international language programs for elementary pupils in Whitchurch–Stouffville.

Both the proportion of youth participating in higher education, as well as the proportion of adults in Whitchurch–Stouffville who have completed a university program is growing annually and far exceeds the national average. However there are no post-secondary education campuses located in Whitchurch–Stouffville. In 1877, the village of Stouffville established a Mechanics' Institute

Mechanics' Institutes

Historically, Mechanics' Institutes were educational establishments formed to provide adult education, particularly in technical subjects, to working men...

, which later became the Whitchurch-Stouffville Public Library

Whitchurch-Stouffville Public Library

The Whitchurch-Stouffville Public Library is the public library of Whitchurch–Stouffville, Ontario, Canada, and is located in Stouffville.-Mission statement:...

. Emmanuel Bible College

Emmanuel Bible College

For the Methodist theology school affiliated with the University of Toronto, go to Emmanuel College, Toronto.Emmanuel Bible College is a small Bible college located in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada...

in Kitchener, Ontario

Kitchener, Ontario

The City of Kitchener is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. The city had a population of 204,668 in the Canada 2006 Census...

had its beginnings in Stouffville in 1940. In 1991 the town came close to securing an agreement with Seneca College

Seneca College

Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology is a Canadian public college in the greater Toronto area. Seneca College is currently Canada's largest college with approximately 108,000 students.-History:...

to open a new campus in Stouffville. In 2010, the Markham Stouffville Hospital (located in Markham) became a teaching site for residents practicing family medicine at the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine

University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine

The Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto is the medical school of the University of Toronto. The faculty is based in the Discovery District of Downtown Toronto along with most of its teaching hospitals and research institutes. Founded in 1843, it is one of Canada's oldest institutions of...

Media

The town is currently served by two local community newspapers: the Stouffville Free Press and the Stouffville Sun-Tribune. SNAP Stouffville/Uxbridge is a print publication which specializes in a photographic view of life in the community. Stouffville Connects is an online publication focussed on community contributed journalism. A community radio

Community radio

Community radio is a type of radio service, that offers a third model of radio broadcasting beyond commercial broadcasting and public broadcasting. Community stations can serve geographic communities and communities of interest...

station, WhiStle Radio (CIWS-FM

CIWS-FM

CIWS-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts a community radio format on 102.7 FM in Whitchurch–Stouffville, Ontario.The station was founded by Jim Priebe, a former teacher and computer programmer. Priebe started research for the station while studying Radio Broadcasting at Humber College...

) 102.7 FM, was launched in 2008.

Economy

Stouffville's economy prior to 1900 flourished because of its position on juncture of the Markham-Uxbridge Road and the Town Line, and the coming of the railway in 1871. In recent years the town of Whitchurch–Stouffville has increasingly become a bedroom community for commuters working in Toronto

Toronto

and its environs: in 2006, only 30% of the total employed labour force living in Whitchurch–Stouffville (4,025 of 13,100 people) worked locally or at home, compared to the Ontario average of 56.6%.

*Industries of employment, from the 2006 Census*
Industry	People employed
Agriculture and other resource-based industries	410
Construction	1,400
Manufacturing	1,385
Wholesale trade	890
Retail trade	1,165
Finance and real estate	1,215
Health and Social Services	895
Educational Services	965
Business services	2,950
Other services	2,295

The greatest proportion of employment in Whitchurch–Stouffville is concentrated in service-producing industries (72.7%), which includes personal services (27%) and retail trade. Golf-related employment accounts for the 34.9% of jobs within the personal services sector. 27.0% of local employment is in the goods-producing sector.

The top private sector employers in Whitchurch–Stouffville are:

Teva Canada, pharmaceutical manufacturing: 300 employees
Southwire, cable manufacturing: 225 employees
K-Line Group, electrical power generation: 120 employees
Strategic Information Technology
Strategic Information Technology
Strategic Information Technology Limited develops and sells banking software to banks, trust companies, credit unions, building societies, manufacturers and franchisors...

, software development: 115 employees
Hanson, concrete pipe manufacturing: 105 employees
Wal-Mart Supercentre
Stock Transport
Tam-Kal
Parkview Home
Ontario OSPA, 120 employees

Whitchurch–Stouffville is York Region's largest "mineral aggregate

Construction Aggregate

Construction aggregate, or simply "aggregate", is a broad category of coarse particulate material used in construction, including sand, gravel, crushed stone, slag, recycled concrete and geosynthetic aggregates. Aggregates are the most mined material in the world...

resource area;" these gravel sites and designated resource areas are located north and south of Bloomington Road

York Regional Road 40

, and all lie within the boundaries of the Oak Ridges Moraine

Oak Ridges Moraine

. Under the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act (2001), future aggregate resource operations must meet stringent review and approval standards.

In 2001, 20,406 acres (8,258 hectares) of land in Whitchurch–Stouffville was dedicated to farming; 45% of the farms were between 10 and 69 acres (279,233.3 m²) in size; 25% focused on "other animal production," (792 horses and ponies on 50 farms) and 24% in greenhouse, nursery and floriculture production. Gross farm receipts for 2000 were $27,182,691; gross forestry receipts (once the backbone of Whitchurch Township's wealth) were $59,098.

Based on the 2006 Census data, the median household income of Whitchurch–Stouffville residents was $95,007, which is 37% higher than the Ontario median household income of $69,156. The unemployment rate in 2006 was 4.8%, well below the Ontario average of 6.8%

New housing starts in Whitchurch–Stouffville jumped from 242 in 2005 to 1,159 in 2007. In the first six months of 2009, Whitchurch–Stouffville's population grew by 4.6% (1,500 people), far out-pacing the York Region average of 1.3% change. In 2010, the Town of Whitchurch–Stouffville planned for a more manageable and sustainable pace of 650 new housing starts, though 967 building permits for new residential development were issued by the end of the year. The Town is planning for 450 new housing starts in 2011. In 2009, there were 3,527 residential units within the built boundaries of urban Stouffville; the city is planning to increase this number by 43% (or 1,500 units, including second suites) by 2031 to meet provincial intensification guidelines, with a total population of 67,289.

The relative prosperity of the town has made it difficult for those with low income; a high proportion of recent immigrants experience housing affordability problems in certain census tracts in Whitchurch–Stouffville. The ratio of owned dwellings to rented dwellings in Whitchurch–Stouffville is almost 6 to 1, whereas for Ontario as a whole it is 2.5 to 1. Between 1994 and 2009, 84% of the new residential units in Whitchurch–Stouffville were low-density dwellings. In 2006, the median monthly payments for rented dwellings in Whitchurch–Stouffville was $924.00, or 15% higher than the Ontario median; the average value of homes in Whitchurch-Stoufville was 66% higher than the provincial average in 2006, and 52.6% higher than in 2001. Soaring housing costs in the region have resulted in a 28% rise in Food Bank use between January 2008 and January 2010. The Community and Health Services Department of York Region has no resources in Stouffville for the homeless; there are two group homes in Whitchurch–Stouffville, as well as 51 units of public social housing and 124 not-for-profit units for the elderly (including a long-term care facility). In 2006, 4% of residents were in a low-income bracket, compared to the provincial average of 11%. Social services in Whitchurch–Stouffville include the Whitchurch–Stouffville Food Bank, located at the Churchill Community Church (Baptist) between the communities of Musselman Lake and Ballantrae

Ballantrae, Ontario

and the Care and Share Thrift Store (Mennonite Central Committee

Mennonite Central Committee

The Mennonite Central Committee is a relief, service, and peace agency representing 15 Mennonite, Brethren in Christ and Amish bodies in North America. The U.S. headquarters are in Akron, Pennsylvania, the Canadian in Winnipeg, Manitoba.-History:...

) located on Main Street in urban Stouffville on the original settlement site of Abraham Stouffer. The YMCA

YMCA

The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...

also operates an employment resource centre in Stouffville.

Whitchurch–Stouffville is also home to internationally respected, church-based non-governmental service organizations: Emmanuel International Canada

Emmanuel International Canada

Emmanuel International Canada is a non-governmental, non-profit, evangelical Christian relief organization whose purpose is to strengthen and assist local churches in developing countries to holistically meet the social, physical, emotional and spiritual needs of their communities.- History...

, EMAS Canada and Christian Blind Mission
Christian Blind Mission
The Christian Blind Mission is a Christian humanitarian organization aiming to improve the lives of people with disabilities. It considered one of the world's oldest and largest religious organization serving the blind and disabled...

- Canada (CBM), all located on Stouffville Road near Kennedy Avenue.

History and facilities

The first organized sport in Stouffville was curling in 1890 on the Mill Pond (today site of the Latcham Art Gallery and the Mennonite Care and Share Thrift Store). Lacrosse was also played at this time, and in 1897, Stouffville won the Ontario championships. The first hockey team was organized about 1900, and at the turn of the century the Stouffville rink below Burkholder Street was considered "the largest and best arranged rink in Canada." Lawnbowling has also been played in Stouffville since the early 1900s as well as organized men's and women's baseball.

The most important recreational facilities in Whitchurch–Stouffville are the Stouffville Clippers Sports Complex, with two NHL size ice pads (completed 2010); the Stouffville Arena, with two ice pads; the Lebovic Leisure Centre, with a 25 meter pool, hot tub, gym and fitness centre, and Bethesda Park, with two ball diamonds, a senior soccer pitch and four mini sports fields (completed 2010). In 2008, 47% of residents noted that had they used the town's Department of Leisure Services in the past twelve month period with a high rate of satisfaction. A 2010 survey of residents identified the need for accommodations for desired activities like curling, indoor soccer, racquetball, squash, and indoor tennis.

Whitchurch–Stouffville's residents are increasingly concerned about the connection between health and the recreational options available in the town. A 2008 survey on Parks, Recreation and Culture services indicated a large gap between the level of importance of walking/bike trails and children/youth recreation programs to residents on the one side, and their level of satisfaction with these services on the other. Whitchurch–Stouffville's children have become increasingly inactive: for senior Kindergarten children in those areas of Whitchurch–Stouffville experiencing the most growth, the average score in "physical health and wellbeing" decreased 8.1% between 2003 and 2006 (in comparison, York Region's average was a drop of 3.5%).

Hockey and skating

Whitchurch–Stouffville is home to the Stouffville Spirit

Stouffville Spirit

The Stouffville Spirit are a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Stouffville, Ontario, Canada. The Stouffville Spirit are members of the Central Canadian Hockey League of the Ontario Hockey Association.-History:...

Junior "A" ice hockey team. The Stouffville Amateur Hockey League (men's and women's leagues), the Stouffville-Markham Girls Hockey Association, Whitchurch–Stouffville Minor Hockey Association, the Whitchurch–Stouffville Skating Club, and the Stouffville Adult Skating Club offer programs in the town's arenas.

Recreational trails

1,142 hectares of the twenty York Regional Forest tracts (or slightly more than half of the total) are found within the borders of Whitchurch–Stouffville.

The Whitchurch Conservation Area covers ten hectares, and is accessed on Aurora Sideroad, three kilometers east of Woodbine Ave. It is connected to a larger York Region Forest Tract and to trails of the Oak Ridges Trail Association

Oak Ridges Trail Association

The Oak Ridges Trail Association is an incorporated charitable organisation whose purpose is to develop, maintain, promote and expand the hiking trail system across the Oak Ridges Moraine in south-central Ontario, Canada. ORTA has ten chapters, each of which maintains a section of the...

.

The Pangman Springs Conservation Area is accessed from Kennedy Road between Davis Drive and Aurora Road or from the Porritt tract of the York Region Forest using an Oak Ridges Trail Association

Oak Ridges Trail Association

side trail.

Bruce's Mill Conservation Area in Whitchurch–Stouffville is the northern gateway to Rouge Park

Rouge Park

Rouge Park will become an urban national park located along the border of Toronto and Pickering, Ontario, Canada. It will be Canada's first national park within a municipality....

. The Master Plan for the conservation area includes not only a trail system within the park, but also future trail connections to inter-regional trails.

An extensive trail system within urban Stouffville is being developed that connects to the larger forested areas of the Whitchurch–Stouffville. The most significant trail begins in town along the Stouffville Creek and leads through a mature forest around the Stouffville Reservoir.

In 2011, Whitchurch-Stouffville had 0.8 kilometers of trails per 1000 residents, an increase from 0.3 kilometers in 2006.

Golf

Whitchurch–Stouffville is home to many golf courses, including Emerald Hills, Rolling Hills, Spring Lakes, Maples of Ballantrae, Ballantrae Golf & Country Club, St. Andrews East Golf & Country Club, Timber Creek Mini Golf & Family Fun Centre, Sleepy Hollow, Meadowbrook and Station Creek.

Soccer

The Whitchurch–Stouffville Soccer Club was established in 1977 and had 1,250 members in 2010. The club uses fields at Bethesda Park, the Stouffville Arena, Bruce's Mill Conservation Area, and fields owned by Teva Canada.

Baseball

The Whitchurch–Stouffville Softball Association is a volunteer run house-league organization. The association uses eleven ball diamonds in town plus five in the neighbouring villages of Goodwood

Uxbridge, Ontario

Uxbridge is a township in south-central Ontario, Canada, in the Regional Municipality of Durham, in the Greater Toronto Area.The main centre in the township is the namesake community of Uxbridge...

and Claremont

Claremont, Ontario

Outdoor water recreation

Whitchurch–Stouffville is home to a number of kettle lakes, which are ideal for outdoor water recreation.

Musselman's Lake

Musselman Lake, Ontario

provides public access for swimming, boating and fishing through Cedar Beach Trailer Park. Public access to Preston Lake

Preston Lake, Ontario

The Community of Preston Lake is located in the Town of Whitchurch–Stouffville in the Regional Municipality of York in Ontario...

was lost in the 1990s, when Landford Development purchased the west-shore beach and trailer park and built a subdivision of estate properties with a shared private beach. The town failed to secure a public access point. Though this glacier-formed kettle lake is crown property and regulated by all levels of government, it is encompassed by private property and access is restricted to circa seven hundred residents with private/deeded access rights. In 2008 the town's development plans included a trail system with access to the lake, but this was met with opposition from Preston Lake residents who desired to protect their exclusive access. Interest and support for the purchase or expropriation of land for public access to the town's natural lakes has grown with the town's development.

The Town of Whitchurch–Stouffville operated an outdoor public swimming pool until 2010.

Arts and culture

In 2006, the town of Whitchurch–Stouffville developed and adopted Municipal Cultural Policy as a framework for planning and delivering cultural services. Whitchurch–Stouffville's investment in the arts has been slow, and consequently residents have not only fallen below the national average on exposure to the performing arts, museums and galleries, but the average exposure has decreased from 2006 to 2010.

Arts and entertainment centre

Whitchurch–Stouffville's deficit in the performing arts has been addressed in part by the recent rehabilitation of the former Stouffville Town Hall (constructed in 1896), creating a multifaceted arts, culture and entertainment centre in downtown Stouffville; The Lebovic Centre for Arts & Entertainment – Nineteen on the Park opened its doors to the public in May 2009.

Art gallery

The Latcham Gallery is a community art gallery established in 1979, by a group of local artists and visionaries who saw the need for an arts facility in Whitchurch–Stouffville. The gallery was named after Arthur Latcham, a local philanthropist who donated money for the gallery building on 6240 Main Street. Its exhibitions feature traditional and contemporary work by local and provincial artists. The gallery is a member of the Ontario Association of Art Galleries

Ontario Association of Art Galleries

The Ontario Association of Art Galleries was established in 1968 to encourage development of public art galleries, art museums, community galleries and related visual arts organizations in Ontario, Canada. It was incorporated in Ontario in 1970, and registered as a charitable organization...

and its operations are supported by the Town of Whitchurch–Stouffville.

Since 2000, artists in Whitchurch–Stouffville have organized a Fall Stouffville Studio Tour, featuring more than two dozen artists in eighteen venues across Whitchurch–Stouffville. In 2008, the Tour was nominated for “The Premier’s award for excellence in art.”

There is also an annual exhibition held in the winter by the grade 12 art class of Stouffville District Secondary School

Library

The Whitchurch-Stouffville Public Library

Whitchurch-Stouffville Public Library

The Whitchurch-Stouffville Public Library is the public library of Whitchurch–Stouffville, Ontario, Canada, and is located in Stouffville.-Mission statement:...

is located in the Lebovic Leisure Centre (constructed in 2001), a facility occupied jointly by the department of Leisure Services and the library. Circulation of materials increased 14.4% from 2007 to 2008; 54% of the town's residents had a library membership in 2008. While the total membership and circulation has increased with the population growth, the town's library expenditures have not kept pace. Expenditures for books and periodicals dropped 25% between 2003 and 2005; the total budget dropped from 5.1% of town operating expenses in 2004 to 3.0% in 2007, and to 2% in the 2011 budget. In 2010, Stouffville was ranked last of eleven Ontario towns in its population category for per capita library spending. In the same year, the Maclean's "Third Annual Smart Cities Rankings" showed that for residents in Whitchurch–Stouffville, "exposure to reading" had declined annually from 2006 to 2010, and fell significantly below the national average. In June 2011 local book clubs and individuals began a grass-roots campaign to petition for greater municipal funding for the public library.

Festivals and fairs

The Stouffville Strawberry Festival is a traditional community fair on the Canada Day

Canada Day

Canada Day , formerly Dominion Day , is the national day of Canada, a federal statutory holiday celebrating the anniversary of the July 1, 1867, enactment of the British North America Act , which united three British colonies into a single country, called Canada, within the British Empire...

weekend, which celebrates Stouffville's agricultural heritage.
The Markham Fair

Markham Fair

Markham Fair is one of Canada's oldest country fairs, an annual event established in 1844 and hosted by the Markham, Ontario and East York agricultural society...

is hosted by the Markham and East York Agricultural Society, and supported by both the City of Markham and the Town of Whitchurch–Stouffville (Stouffville south of Main Street was part of Markham Township prior to 1971). The Markham Fair dates back to 1844 and is one of Canada's oldest and largest fairs, hosting upwards of 80,000 visitors. The fair is held on the weekend before Thanksgiving. It is held at the Markham fairgrounds, directly south of the Stouffville town border.

Bruce's Mill Conservation Area hosts an annual Sugarbush Maple Syrup Festival over four weeks in March and April.

Over the Family Day weekend in February, the Musselman Lake

Musselman Lake, Ontario

community hosts an annual Winter Carnival at Cedar Beach.

York Region's Spring Forest Festival is held annually during Earth Week (April) in the York Regional Forest, Eldred King Tract, Highway 48 (just south of Vivian Road).

The annual Wine and Food Festival (June) is organized by the Ballantrae

Ballantrae, Ontario

Golf and Country Club.

Museum

The Whitchurch–Stouffville Museum was established in 1971 and is located in the historic hamlet of Vandorf

Vandorf, Ontario

. The museum site covers about 2 acres (8,093.7 m²) and includes five historic structures from the former Township of Whitchurch: the Bogarttown Schoolhouse (1857), a pioneer log cabin (c. 1850),the Brown House (1857), a barn (c. 1830) and Vandorf Public School (1870). The museum also hosts an Annual Antique & Classic Car Show in August. Museum attendance has dropped in recent years from a high of 6,278 visitors in 2004 to 5,383 in 2008. A new Visitor and Community Centre at the museum was completed in 2011.

The Christian K. Hoover House, a Pennsylvania Mennonite

Mennonite Church Canada

Mennonite Church Canada is the conference of Mennonites in Canada, with head offices in Winnipeg, Manitoba.The first Mennonites in Canada arrived from Pennsylvania in 1786. The majority of the Mennonites that migrated to Canada over the next 150 years came directly from Europe...

family home built in 1824 at the corner of McCowan and Stouffville Roads (then part of Markham Township), is a featured building at the Markham Museum in Markham.

Film and TV

Movies partially shot on location in the community of Stouffville include: The Russell Girl (2008), Stir of Echoes: The Homecoming (2007), Who Killed Atlanta's Children?

Who Killed Atlanta's Children?

Who Killed Atlanta's Children? is a TV movie about the Atlanta child murders...

(2000), On Hostile Ground (2000), Strike!

The Hairy Bird

The Hairy Bird , also released under the titles Strike! and All I Wanna Do , is a 1998 comedy film written and directed by Sarah Kernochan...

(1998), The Sweet Hereafter

The Sweet Hereafter (film)

The Sweet Hereafter is a 1997 Canadian film written and directed by Atom Egoyan. It is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Russell Banks.-Plot:...

(1997), Bad Day on the Block

Bad Day on the Block

Bad Day on the Block is a 1997 psychological thriller film directed by Craig R. Baxley. It stars Charlie Sheen, Sarah Jessica Parker, Albert Brooks, Pete Postlethwaite and Mare Winningham. Although intended to be released in theaters, it was ultimately distributed direct-to-video...

(1997), Martin's Day (1984), and The Dead Zone

The Dead Zone (film)

The Dead Zone is a 1983 horror-thriller film based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. Directed by David Cronenberg, the film stars Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, and Tom Skerritt...

(1983). Television shows shot in Stouffville include episodes from Warehouse 13

Warehouse 13

Warehouse 13 is an American fantasy television series that premiered on July 7, 2009 on the Syfy network.Executive-produced by Jack Kenny and David Simkins, the dramatic comedy from Universal Media Studios has been described as borrowing much from 1980s television series Friday the 13th: The...

(2010), The West Wing, Degrassi: The Next Generation

Degrassi: The Next Generation

Degrassi: The Next Generation is a Canadian teen drama television series set in the Degrassi universe, which was created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood in 1979. Degrassi is the fourth fictional series in the Degrassi franchise, and follows The Kids of Degrassi Street, Degrassi Junior High, and...

and Nikita

Nikita (2010 TV series)

Nikita is an American television drama that has aired on The CW Television Network since September 9, 2010 in the United States. Based on the French film Nikita , the remake Point of No Return , and a previous series La Femme Nikita , the series focuses on Nikita , a woman who escaped from a...

.

Films and television shows shot at Shadow Lake Centre in Whitchurch–Stouffville (Musselman Lake

Musselman Lake, Ontario

) include 1-8oo-Missing, Tarzan & Jane

Tarzan & Jane

Tarzan & Jane is a Disney direct-to-video film released on July 23, 2002, sequel to the 1999 animated feature Tarzan, and uses three unaired episodes of the film's corresponding television series, The Legend of Tarzan. Tarzan II, a midquel to the original film, was released in 2005...

, The Crossing

The Crossing (film)

The Crossing is a 2000 A&E film directed by Robert Harmon. Based on the novel of the same name by Howard Fast, it stars Jeff Daniels as George Washington. Also appearing in the film are Roger Rees as Hugh Mercer, Sebastian Roche as John Glover and Steven McCarthy as Alexander Hamilton...

, Run the Wild Fields, Ice Men

Ice Men

Ice Men is a 2004 film written by Michael MacLennan and directed by Thom Best. The film stars David Hewlett as Bryan, Martin Cummings as Vaughn, Greg Spottiswood as Jon, James Thomas as Steve and Ian Tracey as Trevor...

, Top Cops

Top Cops

Top Cops was a documetary program broadcast in the United States on the CBS television network from 1990 to 1993.Each episode of Top Cops consisted of two to three segments featuring commended police officers and dramatic recreations of the events leading to their having been honored.One episode...

, The Loretta Claiborne

Loretta Claiborne

Loretta Claiborne is an American global speaker who competes in the Special Olympics. She has been honored with the 1996 Arthur Ashe ESPY Courage Award presented to her by Denzel Washington...

Story, True Romance

True Romance

True Romance is a 1993 American romance crime film written by Quentin Tarantino and directed by Tony Scott. The film stars Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette with an ensemble cast consisting of Christopher Walken, Dennis Hopper, Gary Oldman, Chris Penn, Tom Sizemore, Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin...

, Ready or Not, and The White Dog Sacrifice.

Attractions

Applewood Farm Winery^{http://www.applewoodfarmwinery.com/}
Bruce's Mill Conservation Area,^{http://www.trca.on.ca/enjoy/locations/bruces-mill-conservation-area.dot} the northern gateway to Rouge Park
Rouge Park
Rouge Park will become an urban national park located along the border of Toronto and Pickering, Ontario, Canada. It will be Canada's first national park within a municipality....

with trails, and Community Safety Village.^{http://www.yrp.ca/csv.aspx}
Burd's Family Fishing^{http://www.burdsfamilyfishing.com/}
Downtown Stouffville Farmers' Market^{http://www.townofws.com/farmersmarket.asp} (Thursdays, June–October)
Latcham Gallery^{http://www.latchamgallery.ca/}
Lionel's Farm^{http://www.lionelsfarm.com} (Petting zoo, pony farm, horse centre and wagon collection)
Magic Hill Farms^{http://www.magichill.com/}
Oak Ridges Trail and York Demonstration Forest
RHLS Narrow Gauge Railway^{http://richmond-hill-live-steamers.tripod.com/}
Ringwood Fish Culture Station^{http://www.ringwoodhatchery.ca/index.cfm}
Stouffville Country Market^{http://www.stouffvillemarket.com/} (flea market; Saturdays)
Timber Creek Mini Golf & Family Fun Centre^{http://www.timbercreekgolf.ca/}
Whitchurch–Stouffville Museum^{http://www.townofws.com/museum.asp}
Willow Springs Winery^{http://www.willowspringswinery.com/}
York-Durham Heritage Railway^{http://www.ydhr.on.ca/Schedule.html}

Notable residents

Acton, Keith
Keith Acton
Keith Edward Acton is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey centre who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League with the Montreal Canadiens, Minnesota North Stars, Edmonton Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers, Washington Capitals and New York Islanders between 1980 and 1994...

- National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

player and Stanley Cup winner, current owner of the local Boston Pizza franchise
Bessey, James - Canadian watercolour artist
Bowser, John W.
John W. Bowser
John W. Bowser was a Canadian construction engineer most notably the project construction superintendent for the Empire State Building.Bowser was born in Whitchurch township, Ontario, Canada, present day Aurora in 1892...

- Construction Superintendent of the Empire State Building
Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story landmark skyscraper and American cultural icon in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. It has a roof height of 1,250 feet , and with its antenna spire included, it stands a total of 1,454 ft high. Its name is derived...

and Royal Ontario Museum
Royal Ontario Museum
The Royal Ontario Museum is a museum of world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. With its main entrance facing Bloor Street in Downtown Toronto, the museum is situated north of Queen's Park and east of Philosopher's Walk in the University of Toronto...

.
Brock, Nathan - Assistant Conductor of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra
Montreal Symphony Orchestra
Orchestre symphonique de Montréal is a symphony orchestra based in Montréal, Québec, Canada, with Montréal's Place des Arts as its home.-History:...
Brown, Roy - Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

officer and World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

flying ace
Flying ace
A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...

, credited with downing the Red Baron (Manfred von Richthofen
Manfred von Richthofen
Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen , also widely known as the Red Baron, was a German fighter pilot with the Imperial German Army Air Service during World War I...

)
Cockburn, Karen
Karen Cockburn
Karen Cockburn is a Canadian trampoline gymnast.Cockburn was born in Toronto and grew up in North York, Ontario. She began trampolining at age 11, and is a student at York University. She won a bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in the individual event...

- Canadian Olympic medalist (trampoline gymnast)
Cook, Earl D.
Earl Cook
Earl Davis Cook was a relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played briefly for the Detroit Tigers during the 1941 season. Listed at 6' 0", 195 lb., Cook batted and threw right-handed...

- Major League Baseball Player (Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...

)
Del Zotto, Michael
Michael Del Zotto
Michael Del Zotto is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for the New York Rangers.-Early career:...

- National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

player
Harris, Mike
Mike Harris (curler)
Mike Harris is a Canadian curler. Mike Harris is the golf professional at The Donalda Golf and Country Club in Toronto, Ontario....

- Canadian Olympic medalist (curler)
Hassard, Bob
Bob Hassard
Robert Harry Hassard was an NHL centre in the 1950s, and a long-time resident and coach in Stouffville, Ontario....

- National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

player and Stanley Cup winner
MacMillan, Harvey Reginald (H.R.) - forester, forestry industrialist, wartime administrator, and philanthropist
May, Brad
Brad May
Brad S. May is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played in the National Hockey League . He grew up in Stouffville, Ontario, but played his rep minor hockey in Markham, Ontario. A veteran of over 1,000 NHL games, May was known more for his enforcing skills than his scoring...

- National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

player
Parsons, Jason - Member of Canadian band Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker
Pearce, John - Canadian Olympic equestrian show jumper
Pierson, Sean
Sean Pierson
Sean Pierson is a Canadian professional mixed martial arts fighter. He is currently signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.-Bellator Fighting Championship:...

- Canadian professional mixed martial arts fighter
Powe, B. W
B. W. Powe
Bruce William Powe is a Canadian writer poet, novelist, essayist, philosopher, and teacher. Lived in Toronto from 1959 until 1996; he attended York University for English studies where in 1977 graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree...

- Canadian author
Underhill, Frank
Frank Underhill
Frank Hawkins Underhill, was a Canadian historian, social critic and political thinker.Frank Underhill, born in Stouffville, Ontario, was educated at the University of Toronto and the University of Oxford where he was a member of the Fabian Society...

- Founder of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation was a Canadian political party founded in 1932 in Calgary, Alberta, by a number of socialist, farm, co-operative and labour groups, and the League for Social Reconstruction...

(CCF) Party; co-writer of the Regina Manifesto
Regina Manifesto
The Regina Manifesto was the programme of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and was adopted at the first national convention of the CCF held in Regina, Saskatchewan in 1933. The primary goal of the "Regina Manifesto" was to eradicate the system of capitalism and replace it with a planned...

(1933) and Officer of the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...

.
Veltman, Jim
Jim Veltman
Jim "Scoop" Veltman is a former lacrosse player who played for the Toronto Rock, the Ontario Raiders, and the Buffalo Bandits in the National Lacrosse League...

- National Lacrosse League Hall of Fame
National Lacrosse League Hall of Fame
The National Lacrosse League Hall of Fame was established on June 16, 2005. The National Lacrosse League has 7 teams in the United States and 3 in Canada...

player

Sister city

Igoma, Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...

(Stouffville-Igoma Partnership).

External links

Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville official website
Ontario Plaques - Founding of Stouffville
Ontario Plaques - Whitchurch Quaker Settlement
Ontario Places of Worship Inventory: Stouffville
Whitchurch-Stouffville Chamber of Commerce
York Info, Community Information and Volunteer Database: Whitchurch-Stouffville
Town of Whitchurch–Stouffville, 2010 Final Business Plan, Capital & Operating Budgets and Five Year Capital Forecast, January 26, 2010.

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

History

Municipal

Provincial

Federal

Physical geography

Climate

Air quality

Demographics

Transportation

Health care

Policing

Amenities

Education

Media

Economy

History and facilities

Hockey and skating

Recreational trails

Golf

Soccer

Baseball

Outdoor water recreation

Arts and culture

Arts and entertainment centre

Art gallery

Library

Festivals and fairs

Museum

Film and TV

Attractions

Notable residents

Sister city

See also

External links