Editing Markham, Ontario (section)

==History==
[[File:Old Town Hall-96 Main-Markham-Ontario-HPC15343-20201017 (1).jpg|thumb|left|[[Markham Village Town Hall|The Old Town Hall of Markham]]]]
{{Main|History of Markham, Ontario}}Indigenous people lived in the area of present-day Markham since the end of the last Ice Age and the city is situated on the traditional territory of the [[Iroquois|Haudenosaunee]] ([[Iroquois]]), [[Huron-Wendat Nation|Huron Wendat]], [[Petun]] and [[Neutral Nation|Neutral]] people.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url= https://www.markham.ca/wps/portal/Markham/AboutMarkham/Heritage/Markham-Village-Heritage-Tour/Aboriginal-Presence-in-the-Rouge-Valley/!ut/p/a1/hZDBboMwEES_hqs9tnEwvTkQUZO0KZVIqC8ViShBChABLb9fEuVSqaV7W-k9zexSSzNqm_yrKvOhapv8fN3t4j02CJheI47ESkBzE6iliJVcsQl4m4Ag0o-utwGQRiGMlyzT7dNawCxuvruNgmCzUwl_dQFjwp18DhOmJL_7-GM0_svfUzsbkcg7MFfxBsx0iKmtDjUZjzUBYb4vBAPjHrgvJVfXG3RzEKqktis-iq7oyGc3_e40DJf-wYGDcRxJ2bbluSDH3MFvxqntB5r9AOmlTjNUL_Ve9fobJ_uauA!!/dl5/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/|title= Aboriginal Presence in the Rouge Valley|last= City of Markham|date= 2014|website= City of Markham Tourism|access-date= 2018-03-14|archive-date= 2018-03-13|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180313235947/https://www.markham.ca/wps/portal/Markham/AboutMarkham/Heritage/Markham-Village-Heritage-Tour/Aboriginal-Presence-in-the-Rouge-Valley/!ut/p/a1/hZDBboMwEES_hqs9tnEwvTkQUZO0KZVIqC8ViShBChABLb9fEuVSqaV7W-k9zexSSzNqm_yrKvOhapv8fN3t4j02CJheI47ESkBzE6iliJVcsQl4m4Ag0o-utwGQRiGMlyzT7dNawCxuvruNgmCzUwl_dQFjwp18DhOmJL_7-GM0_svfUzsbkcg7MFfxBsx0iKmtDjUZjzUBYb4vBAPjHrgvJVfXG3RzEKqktis-iq7oyGc3_e40DJf-wYGDcRxJ2bbluSDH3MFvxqntB5r9AOmlTjNUL_Ve9fobJ_uauA!!/dl5/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/|url-status= live}}</ref> In the early 1600s, when explorers from France arrived, they encountered the Huron-Wendat First Nation.<ref name=":3" /> The southwest corner of Markham is included in Treaty 13, known as the [[Toronto Purchase]] of 1787, which transferred roughly 250,800 acres of land from the Mississauga people to the British Crown for 10 shillings and fishing rights on the Etobicoke river.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web|date=2013-04-15|title=Fact Sheet - The Brant tract and the Toronto Purchase specific claims|url=http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1100100016064/1100100016065|access-date=2021-06-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130415004921/http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1100100016064/1100100016065|archive-date=2013-04-15}}</ref> The remainder of Markham's land (roughly east of Woodbine Avenue/Highway 404) is covered by the Johnson-Butler Purchase of 1787-88 (aka Gunshot Treaty) and formally by the [[Williams Treaties]], signed in 1923.<ref name=":3" />
[[File:Farmers lined up to sell cream at Albert Reesor's Locust Hill Creamery - Markham, Ontario, Canada.jpg|thumb|left|Farmers lined up to sell cream at Albert Reesor's Locust Hill Creamery, {{circa| 1900}} in [[Locust Hill, Ontario]]]]

Objects recovered by local mill-owners, the Milne family, in the 1870s give evidence of a village within the boundaries of the present Milne Conservation Area.<ref name=":0" />

European settlement in Markham first began in 1794.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 22, 2023 |title=Markham History |url=https://www.markham.ca/wps/portal/home/about/markham-heritage/markham-history/01-markham-history |website=The City of Markham Official Website}}</ref> The [[Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada]], [[John Graves Simcoe]] (in office 1791–1796), named the [[Township (Canada)|township]] of Markham, north of the town of [[York, Upper Canada|York]] (now [[Toronto]]), after his friend [[William Markham (archbishop)|William Markham]], then [[Archbishop of York]]. [[William Berczy]] first surveyed Markham as a township in 1793, and in 1794 led 75 German families (including the Ramers, Reesors, Wheters, Burkholders, Bunkers, Wicks and Lewis) from [[Upstate New York]] to an area of Markham now known as [[German Mills, Ontario|German Mills]].<ref>For a complete history, cf. Isabel Champion, ed., ''[http://www.ourroots.ca/toc.aspx?id=12398&amp;qryID=e75521c2-aba3-47a9-a263-e19a495bd7c8 Markham: 1793–1900]{{Dead link|date=March 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}'' (Markham, ON: Markham Historical Society, 1979).</ref> Each family was granted {{cvt|200|acre|order=flip}} of land; however the lack of roads in the region led many to settle in [[York, Upper Canada|York]] (present-day Toronto) and [[Regional Municipality of Niagara|Niagara]]. German Mills later became a [[ghost town]]. Between 1803 and 1812 another attempt at settling the region was made. The largest group of settlers were [[Pennsylvania Dutch]], most of them [[Mennonite]]s. These highly skilled craftsmen and knowledgeable farmers settled the region and founded Reesorville, named after the Mennonite settler Joseph Reesor.<ref>See I. Champion, ''[http://www.ourroots.ca/page.aspx?id=4109311&amp;qryID=452c21d6-b399-42e9-b82b-f550010c41f3 Markham: 1793–1900] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120908132900/http://www.ourroots.ca/page.aspx?id=4109311&qryID=452c21d6-b399-42e9-b82b-f550010c41f3 |date=2012-09-08 }}'' (Markham, ON: Markham Historical Society, 1979), p. 248; also [http://www.markham.ca/mpl/subjguides/HotTopics/Heritage_Week.asp Markham Village – A Brief History 1800–1919] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610013627/http://www.markham.ca/mpl/subjguides/HotTopics/Heritage_Week.asp |date=2011-06-10 }}, Markham Public Library (website).</ref> In 1825 Reesorville was renamed to Markham and took the name of the unincorporated [[village]] (see [[Markham Village, Ontario]]).

By 1830, many [[Irish people|Irish]], [[Scottish people|Scottish]] and [[English people|English]] families began immigrating to [[Upper Canada]] and settling in Markham.<ref>For a complete history of Markham's early years, cf. Isabel Champion, ed., [http://ourroots.ca/toc.aspx?id=12398&amp;qryID=3b7002e4-9e96-4390-9f5c-37df98653025 Markham: 1793–1900]{{Dead link|date=March 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} {{cite web |url= http://ourroots.ca/toc.aspx?id=12398&amp;qryID=3b7002e4-9e96-4390-9f5c-37df98653025 |title= Markham: 1793–1900 |access-date= 2018-01-18 }}{{Dead link|date=March 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} (Markham, ON: Markham Historical Society, 1979).</ref> Markham's early years blended the rigours of the [[frontier]] with the development of agriculture-based industries.{{citation needed|date=November 2019}} The township's many rivers and streams soon supported water-powered saws and [[gristmill]]s and later wooden mills. With improved transportation routes, such as the construction of [[Yonge Street]] in the 1800s, along with the growing population, urbanization increased. In 1842 the township population had reached 5,698; {{cvt|29,005|acre|order=flip}} were under cultivation (second highest in the [[Province of Canada|province]]), and the township had eleven gristmills and twenty-four sawmills.<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/smithscanadianga00smit#page/110/mode/2up Markham], ''Canadian Gazetteer'' (Toronto: Roswell, 1849), 111.</ref>

In 1846 Smith's ''Canadian Gazetteer'' indicated a population of about 300, mostly Canadians, Pennsylvanian Dutch (actually Pennsylvania Deitsch or German), other Germans, Americans, Irish and a few from Britain. There were two churches with a third being built. There were tradesmen of various types, a grist mill, an oatmill mill, five stores, a distillery and a threshing-machine maker. There were eleven grist and twenty-four saw mills in the surrounding township.<ref>{{cite book |last= Smith |first= Wm. H. |date= 1846 |title= Smith's Canadian Gazetteer – Statistical and General Information Respecting All Parts of the Upper Province, or Canada West|url= https://archive.org/details/smithscanadianga00smit |location= Toronto |publisher= H. & W. ROWSELL |page= [https://archive.org/details/smithscanadianga00smit/page/111 111]}}</ref> In 1850 the first form of structured municipal government formed in Markham.<ref>Cf. C.P. Mulvany ''et al.'', [https://archive.org/stream/historyoftoronto01mulvuoft#page/114/mode/2up The Township of Markham], ''History of Toronto and County of York, Ontario'' (Toronto: C.B. Robinson, 1885), 114ff.</ref>
[[File:Main Street Unionville 2.jpg|thumb|left|Main Street Unionville]]
By 1857 most of the township had been cleared of timber and was under cultivation. Villages like [[Thornhill, Ontario|Thornhill]], [[Unionville, Ontario|Unionville]] and Markham greatly expanded.<ref>Cf. the detailed 1878 map, [http://digital.library.mcgill.ca/countyatlas/images/maps/townshipmaps/yor-m-markham.jpg Township of Markham] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200817120822/http://digital.library.mcgill.ca/countyatlas/Images/Maps/TownshipMaps/yor-m-markham.jpg |date=2020-08-17 }}, ''Illustrated historical atlas of the county of York and the township of West Gwillimbury & town of Bradford in the county of Simcoe, Ont.'' (Toronto : Miles & Co., 1878).</ref> In 1851 Markham Village "was a considerable village, containing between eight and nine hundred inhabitants, pleasantly situated on the Rouge River. It contains two grist mills ... a woollen factory, oatmeal mill, barley mill and distillery, foundry, two tanneries, brewery, etc., a temperance hall and four churches... ."<ref>C.P. Mulvany, et al., "[https://archive.org/stream/historyoftoronto01mulvuoft#page/198/mode/2up The Village of Markham]," ''History of Toronto and County of York, Ontario'' (Toronto: C.B. Robinson, 1885), p. 198.</ref> In 1871, with a township population of 8,152,<ref>C.P. Mulvany, et al., "[https://archive.org/stream/historyoftoronto01mulvuoft#page/120/mode/2up The Township of Markham]," ''History of Toronto and County of York, Ontario'' (Toronto: C.B. Robinson, 1885), p. 121.</ref> the [[Toronto and Nipissing Railway]] built the first rail line to Markham Village and Unionville, which is still used today by the [[GO Transit]] commuter services.

In 1971 Markham was incorporated as a town, as its population skyrocketed due to [[urban sprawl]] from Toronto. In 1976 Markham's population was approximately 56,000. Since that time, the population has more than quintupled, with explosive growth in new subdivisions. Much of Markham's [[arable land|farmland]] has disappeared, but some still remains north of [[York Regional Road 25|Major Mackenzie Drive]]. Controversy over the development of the environmentally-sensitive [[Oak Ridges Moraine]] will likely{{original research inline|date=November 2019}} curb development north of Major Mackenzie Drive and by [[Rouge National Urban Park]] east of Reesor Road between Major Mackenzie Drive to Steeles Avenue East to the south.
[[File:Markham-suburbs id.jpg|thumb|left|Suburban [[tract housing]] in southeastern Markham]]
[[File:RachelandBates.JPG|thumb|left|Public housing in [[Cachet, Markham|Cachet]]]]
Since the 1980s Markham has been recognized{{by whom|date=November 2019}} as a suburb of Toronto. {{As of | 2006}} the city comprises six major communities: [[Berczy Village, Ontario|Berczy Village]], [[Cornell, Ontario|Cornell]], Markham Village, [[Milliken, Ontario|Milliken]], Thornhill and Unionville. Many high-tech companies have established [[head office]]s in Markham, attracted by the relative abundance of land, low tax-rates and good transportation routes. [[Broadcom]] Canada, ATI Technologies (now known as AMD Graphics Product Group), [[IBM Canada Head Office Building|IBM Canada]], Motorola Canada, Honeywell Canada and many other well-known companies have chosen Markham as their home in Canada. The city has accordingly started branding itself as Canada's "High-Tech Capital". The province of Ontario has erected a historical plaque in front of the [[Markham Museum]] to commemorate the founding of Markham's role{{clarify|date=November 2019}} in Ontario's heritage.<ref>{{cite web
 |url= http://www.ontarioplaques.com/Plaques_VWZ/Plaque_York11.html
 |title= Ontario Plaque
 |publisher= Ontarioplaques.com
 |date= 2009-09-22
 |access-date= 2011-03-10
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120325212638/http://www.ontarioplaques.com/Plaques_VWZ/Plaque_York11.html
 |archive-date= 2012-03-25
 |url-status= dead
 }}</ref>

Town council voted on May 29, 2012, to change Markham's legal designation from "town" to "city"; according to Councillor Alex Chiu, who introduced the motion, the change of designation merely reflects the fact that many people already think of Markham as a city.<ref name=city /> Some residents objected to the change because it will involve unknown costs without any demonstrated benefits. The designation officially took effect on July 1.<ref name=city />