'Richmond Hill' (
2006 population 162,704) is a town in
York Region north of
Toronto,
Ontario,
Canada. It is part of the
Greater Toronto Area.
History
The area was first surveyed by
Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe in 1794 while he was constructing
Yonge Street. It was first settled by
United Empire Loyalists and
British settlers, and by 1801 it was known as Miles' Hill after Abner Miles, a prominent settler, and was afterwards Mount Pleasant. According to local legend, it was re-named Richmond Hill when
Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond, visited the area in 1820. However, it is more likely that it was re-named after a favourite song of one of the early settlers, ''The Lass of Richmond Hill''. Richmond Hill was incorporated as a village in 1873, and as a town in 1957. It encompassed the other earlier settlements in the area, Oak Ridges, Langstaff, and Elgin Mills.
The town's motto is ''En la rose, je fleuris'' (
French for "Like the rose, I flourish"), reflecting either the motto of the Duke of Richmond, or the fact that the town was a center of rose-growing in the early 20th century. At that time, it was known as the "Rose Capital" of Canada. A more recent motto is ''A little north, a little nicer'', in reference to the smaller, quieter lifestyle there as opposed to the metropolis of Toronto further south.
The
town council consists of six Ward Councillors and two Regional Councillors, plus the Mayor. On
March 21,
2006, Mayor
William F. Bell announced that he would not seek re-election in the
November 2006 municipal election after six terms as Mayor. He was succeeded in early December by
Dave Barrow.
Recent growth and future population projections
Richmond Hill is now one of the fastest growing communities in Canada, with a large and multicultural population. It had 162,704
[ ] residents according to the
2006 Census, representing 23% growth from the previous census. The town's population is projected to exceed 200,000 by the year 2015.
[2]
Affluence
Richmond Hill is a disproportionately upper-middle class to upper-class town, with average family income in Richmond Hill at $102,400, among the highest in Canada.
[ Population and Demographic Charateristics ]. This fact has earned the town the nickname "Rich Man's Hill."
Along with
Oakville, Ontario it ranks as one of the wealthiest suburbs in Ontario.
There was a significant influx of wealthy Chinese from Hong Kong in the early and mid-1990s. These Chinese immigrants were worried about the pending handover of
Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China and Canada was a preferred location, in part because investment visas were significantly easier to obtain than visas to the United States. Many of these wealthy immigrants chose to settle in Richmond Hill and now people of Chinese ancestry make up of about one-fifth of Richmond Hill's population.
Regions
Southern Richmond Hill is home to the town's and industrial region housing most of the town's hotels. The northern part of town is considered to be Old Richmond Hill as it is a historical area. Central Richmond Hill is a very commercial area, housing multiple malls, plazas and entertainment buildings, such as theatres and restaurants. The northern most part of the town is mostly farm land, though it is slowly being developed.
Mill Pond
Mill Pond is a park located in the southern region of Richmond Hill. It is based around an old mill pond, hence the name Mill Pond. The park has numerous trails and is home to a variety of wildlife species such as swans, beavers and snakes. The park is used to host a multitude of town events ranging from a winter carnival to concerts and flower shows. Every year, the pond is home to the Richmond Hill Winter Carnival.
Oak Ridges
Oak Ridges is a largely residential area in northern Richmond Hill, which was amalgamated into the town in 1971.
Yonge Street
"Downtown" Richmond Hill is considered the strip of Yonge Street between Major Mackenzie in the south and Richmond Heights in the north. For years this street was infamous for equal numbers of churches and strip clubs/adults only stores. Directly across from the community centre was the bright pink "Fantasia" strip club. Not far down the street stood Richmond Hill's oldest church. Fantasia burnt under suspicious circumstances although no allegations were ever made by the authorities. Most of the "Adult Only" stores are now closed and are replaced by more civic-oriented structures.
Most recently, the town has approved construction of a new theatre in the downtown core. It will open in the fall of 2008.
Transportation
Road networks
The town of Richmond Hill is very well serviced in terms of transportation facilities for a community of its size. The eastern border of the town is
Highway 404, a major highway which leads directly into the downtown core of the City of Toronto via the
Don Valley Parkway (DVP) followed by the
Gardiner Expressway. It also intersects
Highway 401 which is one of the most traversed highways on the planet and is the principal east/west route in the
Greater Toronto Area (GTA). The town's southern border is defined by the former
Highway 7 and a parallel expressway,
Highway 407. The latter is a toll route (the only currently existing in the province) and was designed as a bypass for the 401. The combined effect of these highways ensures that Richmond Hill is well integrated into Ontario’s road network and has easy access for all road vehicles. It is worth noting that the ease of accessing the town is threatened by increasing traffic due to growth in the region as the resulting exhaustive commutes (sometimes several hours in the winter) greatly diminish the usefulness of the road network.
Public transit
Public transit within the town of Richmond Hill is on buses co-ordinated by
York Region Transit (YRT). In September 2005, YRT unveiled a new
rapid transit initiative entitled
VIVA which provides enhanced bus service on major routes using vehicles capable of speeding up traffic lights to lessen the time they idle. YRT also operates several feeder routes on secondary streets in the town. While reaction to the VIVA program has been very positive and the funding provided considerable, there hasn’t been as large an increase in commuter use as was hoped.
Commuter train service is provided to the town by
GO Transit on the
Richmond Hill line with two stations in the town,
Richmond Hill Station and
Langstaff Station. Langstaff Station is near the new
Richmond Hill Centre bus terminal at Highway 7 and Yonge Street, but is not connected to it. (a pedestrian bridge over the railway tracks is currently being bulit and is expected to be completed by December 2007)
Alternative transportation
Richmond Hill is minimally serviced by other modes of transportation. Its landlocked situation inhibits any water transportation and it lacks an airport of its own, though it does border on Markham's
Buttonville Airport.
Geography
The predominant feature of the town's geography, as its name suggests, is its elevation above surrounding regions. Thousands of years ago during the last
ice-age,
glaciers moving in a southerly direction amassed a considerable amount of earth in front of them which they carried forward as they grew. Gradually, as the temperature increased the growth of the glaciers lessened and eventually they began to recede to what is now the polar ice cap. The earth that had been collected by the glacier's movement however was left in place and the elevated region that remained comprises modern day Richmond Hill.
The town itself is at a much greater elevation than other communities within the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and with exclusion of areas closely alongside its borders, the constituent of York region with the greatest height above sea level. The uneven melting of the glacier that formed the town has led to an extremely varied geography within the town's own borders, leading to such features as
kettle lakes, minor tributaries and most notably the
Oak Ridges Moraine.
Kettle lakes are the result of glacier water getting caught in water-tight depressions in the land and are sustained by only rainfall in the immediate area. The Town of Richmond Hill has many of these water bodies and its three largest in order of decreasing size are Lake Wilcox, Bond Lake and Philips Lake. The kettle lakes are predominantly confined to the northern fringes of the town.
Being elevated above the surrounding region, precipitation in the town tends to flow outwards via the multitude of streams and rivers that flow through the town. Principally water flow is in one of two directions, south to
Lake Ontario or north to
Lake Simcoe where they join up with larger tributaries that feed into the water bodies. Of note, are the
Rouge and
Don rivers which receive some of their flow from sources in the town.
Perhaps the most important geographical feature of the Town of Richmond Hill is the
Oak Ridges Moraine. The moraine is a further elevated region of loose soil and comprises a significant portion (roughly the northern third) of the land area of the town. Its porous nature allows the collection and natural filtering of waters that flow through it which are then fed into multiple underground
aquifers. While the town receives its water from the City of Toronto, these aquifers are an important source for those with their own wells in addition to surrounding communities. The ability of the soil to hold so much water means that despite Richmond Hill's comparatively high elevation, it has a very high water table which poses some problems to construction. The moraine is also host to a staggering amount of biodiversity and in recent years there has been a considerable amount of pressure applied to government to shield the area from development. Consequently, a considerable portion of Richmond Hill is subject to the Ontario Government's
Greenbelt (Golden Horseshoe) legislation.
Recreation
Sport clubs
★ Richmond Hill Aquatic Club
★ Richmond Hill Curling Club
[3]
★ Richmond Senators - Soccer
★ Richmond Hill Soccer Club
[4]
★ Richmond Hill Baseball Club
[5]
★ Richmond Hill Stars - Hockey Club
[6]
★ Richmond Hill Rowing Club
★ Richmond Hill Raiders - Basketball Club
★ Richmond Hill Gymnastics Club
★ Richmond Training Centre - Figure Skating
★ Richmond Hill Rams - Junior A Hockey Club
★ Richmond Hill Lightning - Ringette Club
★ Richmond Hill Squash Club
Hobby clubs
★ Richmond Hill Model Airplane Club
[7]
Trivia
Richmond Hill was a winner in the 2003 National Communities in Bloom competition, with a special mention about the town's floral displays.
The
David Dunlap Observatory is home to the largest
reflecting telescope in Canada. The 74 inch telescope was the second largest in the world upon its construction in 1935. The observatory is a research facility of the
University of Toronto.
Richmond Hill is the only municipal Canadian government to have
light pollution laws in place.
Famous people from Richmond Hill include world-champion
figure skater Elvis Stojko, figure skater
Emmanuel Sandhu, actor
Mag Ruffman, actor
R.H. Thomson, author and professor
Craig Walker, wrestler
Trish Stratus, professional
ice hockey players
Jeff O'Neill and
Michael Cammalleri, and popular children's author
Gordon Korman.
The
Royal Canadian Air Farce was recorded at the Curtain Club Theatre in Richmond Hill for its first 5 seasons on radio, beginning in 1973.
[8] The Air Farce returned for an anniversary recording in the 1990s.
Emerald Isle Motel
A motel on Yonge Street is known to display rhymes and provoking quotes on their sign. These quotes usually relate to current events.
The film, Man of the Year, starring
Robin Williams was filmed at Emerald Isle Motel in late 2005. This motel also was featured in the film
The Wrong Guy.
Demographics
Racial groups
★ 59.6%
Caucasian (Including
Persians)
★ 21.8%
Chinese
★ 6.2%
Other East, South Asians
★ 3.3%
West Asian
★ 9.1% Other
Religious groups
★ 30.2%
Roman Catholic
★ 19.1%
Protestant
★ 10.0% other Christian
★ 7.8%
Muslim
★ 7.4%
Jewish
★ 27.5% none, other
Sister cities
★
Lakeland,
Florida[9]
References
1. Community highlights for Richmond Hill
2. http://www.richmondhillonline.com/Business_Information/demographics_statistics.asp
3. http://www.richmondhillcurlingclub.com
4. http://www.richmondhillsoccer.com
5. http://www.richmondhillbaseball.com
6. http://www.richmondhillstars.com
7. http://www.rhmac.ca
8. http://www.airfarce.com/history.html
9. http://www.sister-cities.org/icrc/directory/Americas/Canada
External links
★
Town of Richmond Hill
★
Early Days in Richmond Hill: A History of the Community to 1930
★
Communities in Bloom
★
R. Soccer club
★
Ontario Plaques - de Puisaye Settlement
★
Ontario Plaques - Founding of Richmond Hill
★
Ontario Plaques - Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Moodie
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