The Settlement Of Aurora - Aurora, Ontario, Canada
N 44° 00.097 W 079° 28.071
17T E 622835 N 4873193
This sign is located at Aurora Lions Parkette on the corner of Yonge Street and Catherine Avenue in Aurora, Ontario.
Waymark Code: WM7QYZ
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 11/24/2009
Views: 7
Text from the plaque:
THE SETTLEMENT OF AURORA
Yonge Street was opened between 1794 and 1796 under the direction of lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe. Settlement along Yonge was encouraged as settlers were responsible for road maintenance. In 1797, the first patents, or Crown deeds, were granted in this area. One of the three deeds was for a 200-acre lot across Yonge Street from this plaque. East of Yonge, a log house a few metres fromthis site was one of about fourteen in the settlement by 1801. The hamlet was divided by Yonge Street until Aurora was incorporated as a village, straddling the highway, in 1863.
Town of Aurora 1985 Aurora Heritage Committee
From wikipedia:
Aurora, Ontario
Aurora (2006 Population 47,629, 2008 estimate 52,000) is an affluent Canadian town in York Region, approximately 40 km north of Toronto. It is situated on the Oak Ridges Moraine in a part of the Golden Horseshoe of Southern Ontario.
Many Aurora residents commute to Toronto, and the town is part of the Greater Toronto Area.
In the Canada 2006 Census, the national rank of population of Aurora rose above 100th for the first time, reaching 97th in Canada's list of largest municipalities in terms of population, compared to 113th in the 2001 Census.
Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe gave the order for Yonge Street to be extended to Holland Landing in 1793, the way was paved for the establishment of a community where Aurora now stands.
In 1804, Richard Machell became the first merchant at the cross roads of Yonge and Wellington and the hamlet soon became known as Machell's Corners.
Charles Doan was another early businessman at Machell's Corners and became the first postmaster and later the first reeve. As postmaster, he was influential in renaming the village Aurora.
With the coming of the railway in 1853, Aurora emerged as an important centre north of Toronto. The Fleury plow works was established soon after and Aurora was on its way to becoming a flourishing industrial town.
The population of Aurora in 1863 was 700, and by 1888 it had grown to become a town of 2,107 residents. With some ups and downs in growth over the years, Aurora is now a flourishing town with a strong commercial and industrial base.
Worthy of note is the fact that Aurora was the childhood home of Lester B. Pearson, Prime Minister of Canada from 1963-1968, when his father, Rev. Edwin Pearson, was the Methodist minister.
Aurora is twinned with Leksand, Sweden.
Group that erected the marker: Aurora Heritage Committee
URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link]
Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary:
Yonge Street
Aurora, Ontario Canada
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