Everything about Thornhill Ontario totally explained
Thornhill (
2006 population 106,394) is an upscale community in southern
Ontario, directly north of
Toronto. It is the name of a historic village now governed by two municipalities, and considered one of the more affluent Toronto suburbs. It straddles the city of
Vaughan, west of
Yonge Street, and the town of
Markham, east of Yonge. According to the
2001 Census, the population of the City of Vaughan's half of the former village is 56,361. The population in the other half in the Town of Markham is 47,333.
History
Thornhill was founded in
1794, and its first settlers on Yonge Street in Thornhill were Asa Johnson (who settled on the Vaughan side) and Nicholas Miller (who settled on the Markham side). Of particular importance was the arrival of Benjamin Thorne in
1820, who was operating a gristmill, a sawmill, and a tannery in the community. The settlement came to be known as Thorne's Mills, and later, Thorne's Hill, from which its current name is derived. (Thorne would later commit suicide in
1848, after a serious wheat market crash.)
Between
1830 and
1848, Thornhill experienced a period of continued growth and prosperity. The business district of Thornhill developed on its portion of Yonge Street, between Centre Street and John Street. Stagecoaches travelled between
Holland Landing (
Lake Simcoe) and York (Toronto) as Yonge Street's road conditions improved with new stonework. During this prosperous period, several churches, many of which are still standing today, were constructed.
Thornhill's location along
Yonge Street, a major transportation route, proved to be beneficial to the community's growth throughout much of the twentieth century. The implementation of an electric street railway along Yonge Street in
1898 towards Kleinburg, Georgina, King as well as Toronto meant that, for the first time, it was possible for people to reside in Thornhill and work in Toronto. By the 1920s, the prevalence of the automobile further facilitated travel along Yonge Street.
20th century
In
1931, Thornhill became a "
Police Village"; before that time, Thornhill had no independent status and was split between the townships of Vaughan and Markham along Yonge Street, since the creation of municipal government in
1850. Before
1931, each township administered its own half of the village. The creation of the Police Village gave Thornhill its own political boundaries.
In
1971 however,
York Region was created and the establishment of a regional government administration effectively eliminated the Police Village of Thornhill. Its administration was reverted back to the newly-formed towns of Markham and Vaughan.
However, many residents still remain loyal to their community (as is typical for most urbanized former
GTA villages outside of the City of Toronto) and still refer to the area as Thornhill, and not as Vaughan or Markham. While the old village of Thornhill is centered around Yonge Street between Centre and John Streets, it's typically said to be bounded by
Dufferin Street to the west,
Highway 7 to the north,
Steeles Avenue to the south, and
Highway 404 to the east.
But these boundaries seem to be expanding northward along the west side of
Bathurst, into areas that were never considered Thornhill, thanks to home-builder marketing. A new area called "Thornhill Woods" has recently been developed between Highway 7, Rutherford, Bathurst, and Dufferin, while another planned development, "Upper Thornhill Estates", extends well to the north of
Major Mackenzie. However, it should be noted that the area being labelled as "Upper Thornhill" should be more appropriately considered part of
Maple (another community of Vaughan), rather than Thornhill. Other developments taking place in the Thornhill area are Eagle Hills/Mackenzie Chase/Thornberry Woods at Dufferin and Major Mackenzie. Coronation and Roxborough is being developed at Upper Bathurst between
Rutherford Road and Major Mackenzie. Another large builder was the Tannenbaum family, who built the Spring Farm area, near Bathurst and Clark. There is a large synagogue named after them. It is more commonly known as
Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto.
The Vaughan planning area that includes Block 18 (East Maple), Block 11 (Thornhill/Maple), Block 12 (Upper Thornhill/Maple) and Block 10 (Thornhill Woods) is expected to grow substantially over the next few years. This area is known as the "Carrville District"
An "uptown" village denoted as
Thornhill Town Centre
is being developed at the corner of Bathurst and Centre Street.
Other information
Thornhill is home to
Shouldice Hernia Centre, one of the world's premiere
hernia facilities.
The
Member of Parliament for Thornhill is
Susan Kadis, and the
Member of Provincial Parliament is
Peter Shurman.
Thornhill has a very ethnically diverse population. Approximately 40% of the population are Jews.. Jews constitute the majority of the population on the Vaughan side and about nearly one-quarter on the Markham side. It is home to one of the largest
Orthodox Jewish Synagogues in North America, the
Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto. There are also significant Italian and Chinese communities in Thornhill.
Demographics
The median household income in Thornhill is over $87,000, while the mean household income is in excess of $100,000 compared with $50,500 across the Greater Toronto Area. As a political riding, Thornhill consistently appears in the top three ridings across Canada in terms of household income. Of all households, 60 per cent of the community earns an income in excess of $70,000 and approximately 89 per cent of Thornhill residents own their home.
Public Schools
Secondary Schools
Elementary Schools
Bakersfield Public School
Baythorn Public School
Bayview Glen Public School
Bayview Fairways Public School
Brownridge Public School
Carrville Mills Public School, established in 2007
Charlton Public School
E.J. Sand Public School
German Mills Public School
Henderson Avenue Public School
Johnsview Village Public School
Louis Honoré Fréchette Public School, established in 1991
Roberta Bondar Public School Opening 2008
Rosedale Heights Public School
Stornoway Cresent Public School
Thornhill Public School
Thornhill Woods Public School, established in 2005
Ventura Park Public School, established in 1999
Westminster Public School
Willowbrook Public School
Woodland Public School
Yorkhill Elementary School
Separate Schools
Bishop Scalabrini Catholic Elementary School
St. Elizabeth Catholic High School, established in 1987
St. Joseph the Worker
St. Robert Catholic High School
St. Anthony Catholic Elementary School
St. Michael Catholic Academy
St. Luke Catholic Elementary School
Private Schools
Associated Hebrew Schools of Toronto
Netivot HaTorah Day School
Leo Baeck Day School
Greenhill Village Academy (formerly Pushkin Private School)
Discovery Academy
Media
Thornhill Liberal
Notable People from Thornhill
Hayden Christensen - Actor, most notable for playing Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars prequel trilogy.
Lauren Collins - Actress, notable role of Paige on .
Gillian Ferrari – Won Gold Medal for Canada playing defense for the Canadian women's Hockey team in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.
Michael Henrich - Edmonton Oilers 1998 first round draft choice. First Jewish Hockey player to be a NHL first round draft choice.
Simcha Jacobovici- Known as "The Naked Archaeologist".
Craig Kielburger - Creator and founder of Free The Children, the largest child-run campaign against child labour and injustice.
Daniel Magder - Actor, notable for playing the role of Edwin Venturi in Life With Derek
Dominic Moore - Professional ice hockey player.
Sue Rodriguez-Shipley - Advocate of the right to die with dignity. Her story was the topic of the 1988 feature film .
Paul Rosen - Won Gold Medal for Canada playing goalie for the Canadian men's paralympic hockey team in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin
Dan Shulman - Sports broadcaster who works for ESPN.
Stu Stone - Actor and voiceover performer.
Michael Wise- Guitar player for The Midway State.
Moxy Früvous- Musical group of the 1990s whose songs featured satirical themes.
Hayden (musician)- Folk rock musician and songwriter.
John Beck (politician) -Heir to the Beck Taxi Company, and Ran for MP for the Reform Party in 1993.
Corey Haim-Movie and TV actor.
Gordon Korman-AuthorFurther Information
Get more info on 'Thornhill Ontario'.
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