Thornhill is a suburban district in the Regional Municipality of York in Ontario, Canada. The western portion of Thornhill is within the City of Vaughan and its eastern portion is within the City of Markham, with Yonge Street forming the boundary between Vaughan and Markham. Thornhill is situated along the northern border of Toronto, centred on Yonge, and is also immediately south of the City of Richmond Hill. Once a police village, Thornhill is still a postal designation. As of 2016, its total population, including both its Vaughan and Markham sections, was 112,719.[2]
History
The corner of Old Yonge Street and Centre Street
Early history
Thornhill was founded in 1794. [1] The original boundaries were the northern bounds of the Ladies Golf Club on the east side of Yonge and further north on the west side of Yonge; southern end between John Street and Arnold Avenue/Elgin Street. Its first settlers on Yonge Street in Thornhill were Asa Johnson (who settled on the Vaughan side) and Nicholas Miller (c. 1760–1810; who settled on the Markham side). Of particular importance was the arrival of Benjamin Thorne (January 4, 1794 – July 2, 1848) in 1820 from Dorset, England,[3] 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 committed 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 beneficial to the community's growth throughout much of the twentieth century. The implementation of the electric radial Metropolitan line along Yonge Street in 1898 running north to Sutton and south to Toronto meant that, for the first time, people could reside in Thornhill and work in Toronto. By the 1920s, automobiles also facilitated travel along Yonge Street.
20th and 21st centuries
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 half of the village. The creation of the Police Village gave Thornhill its own political boundaries. The village was headed by a reeve.
In 1971, York Region was created, part of a wave of municipal re-organization which converted many townships into towns and eliminated many of the municipal forms of organization which had existed within those townships. The establishment of a regional administration effectively eliminated the Police Village of Thornhill. Thornhill's administration reverted to Markham and Vaughan, which were enlarged in territory and upgraded to Town status at this time.
However, many social institutions remained organized around the former municipal entities eliminated in 1971. Like neighbouring communities such as Woodbridge, Maple, and Unionville – and more so than was the case for historic suburban communities within the City of Toronto – community organizations such as local newspapers, and sports teams continued to operate under a Thornhill administrative structure. As an example, until the mid-1990s residents of Thornhill who wanted to play high-level hockey were required to play for a Thornhill team.
While the old village of Thornhill revolved around Yonge Street between Centre and John Streets, the neighbourhood is typically thought to be between Dufferin Street to the west, Highway 7 to the north, Steeles Avenue to the south, and Highway 404 to the east.
Suburbanization
Thornhill's growth since the 1960s and 1970s has been largely connected to its location bordering what is now the City of Toronto.
Growth has continued apace. Developments have sprung up across various areas of Thornhill in each of the municipal districts which encompass Thornhill, following the development patterns of the Greater Toronto Area.
Coyote problem
In the summer of 2020, after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the area around Hefhill Park, near Bathurst and Centre Streets, began experiencing a problem with its coyote population.[4] As reported by the Toronto Star, Thornhill residents' "daily routines have been completely altered after a pack of coyotes living nearby appears to have lost its fear of humans".[5] The issue exacerbated when dogs began mysteriously disappearing and a 14-year-old girl was chased by one of the coyotes.[5]
As stated by the Toronto Star "the coyotes’ behaviour has changed [in 2020]. Before 2020 the animals were not aggressive and usually only seen by those living directly next to them. Now they are frequently spotted in people’s yards, residential streets and on major intersections, the residents said".[5] Residents of Thornhill continue to report sightings and attacks by coyotes to their local and regional governments as the issue remains unresolved.[4]
Thornhill, 2023
Demographics
Ethnicity
Thornhill has a very ethnically diverse population. It is home to a significant number of Jewish, Chinese, Korean, Iranian, Indian, and Italian people.
According to 2001 Federal Census data, the electoral district of Thornhill (which is not entirely congruent with the neighbourhood) consists of Chinese, the largest visible minority, accounting for almost 11% of total residents (12,610), followed by South Asian (6,595), Black (2,665), Korean (2,660), Filipino (2,535), and West Asian (2,355).[6]
According to the 2009 Report of Canada's Demographic Task Force, Thornhill-Vaughan was in 2001 home to more than 33,000 members of the Jewish community out of 55,000 in this area.[7][needs update]
Government
Thornhill is split into Wards 4 and 5 in the City of Vaughan and Ward 1 in the City of Markham. It is represented by Chris Ainsworth (Vaughan Ward 4), Gila Martow (Vaughan Ward 5), and Keith Irish (Markham Ward 1).
There are no general hospitals in Thornhill, but a private hospital, Shouldice Hernia Centre, is located there.[8]
Thornhill Community Centre
Located at Bayview and John Street (on the Markham side), the community centre features a double arena (home to the Thornhill Skating Club, Markham Majors and Islanders hockey clubs (with an east rink named for Bib Sherwood in 1999), therapy pool, gym room, running track, multi-purpose rooms and Markham Public Library branch. The complex was opened in 1975.[9]
Thornhill Community Centre is home to the Markham Cat Adoption Centre & Education Centre, which was launched in 2016 and is partnered with the Ontario SPCA. It was the first cat adoption and education centre in the Greater Toronto Area, and the first cat adoption centre to be municipally funded in Ontario. The centre has housing for 18 cats and provides an accessible space for education in the area. [10]
The Thornhill Seniors Club, also located in the community centre, was established in 2004 following expansions to the centre that began in 2003. [11] It features a variety of activities for seniors in a space that boasts a TV lounge with a fireplace, full kitchen, activity rooms, and more.[12]
The Thornhill Club (also as Thornhill Golf Club) opened in 1922 and designed by Stanley Thompson is a 18 hole course located on the west side of Yonge Street with Uplands Golf Course located on the northside and Ladies Golf Club of Toronto on the opposite side of Yonge.[14] It hosted the 1945 Canadian Open.
Uplands Golf Course opened in 1922 and also designed by Stanley Thompson as a 18 hole course. In the 1980s it lost half to development, the land is now owned by city but lease to the club.[15]Uplands Ski Centre was opened in 1989 from part of the former course not used for housing.
Ladies Golf Club of Toronto opened in 1924 is also a Stanley Thompson designed course.[16]
Salam Toronto – Bilingual Persian–English weekly paper
Farmer's market
York Farmers Market has existed on Yonge Street since 1953. Unlike many of York Region's farmers markets that are outdoor, it is housed in a permanent building structure.[18]
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