Text from the plaque:
THE FOUNDING OF MARKHAM
The earliest settlers in this part of Markham Township, including several "Pennsylvania Dutch", arrived on the Rouge River shortly after 1800. Within ten years Nicholas Miller had erected mills around which a community known as Markham Mills had developed by about 1820. A village plot (Reesorville) was laid out north of the mills in 1826 by Joseph Reesor. Two years later a post office named Markham was opened. By 1850 the village had a population of 650 and contained such industries as a woollen mill, a foundry and a distillery. Markham was incorporated as a village under a by-law of November 20, 1872, some eighteen months after the arrival of the Toronto and Nipissing Railway.
From Wikipedia
Markham is a town in the Regional Municipality of York, located in the Greater Toronto Area of Southern Ontario, Canada. Markham is the largest town in Canada, and one of its fastest growing municipalities, having doubled its population since 1990. The population of Markham according to the Canada 2006 Census is 261,573. Within the Greater Toronto Area, Markham is the fourth-most populous municipality after Toronto, Mississauga, and Brampton. Markham is home to many high-tech companies, and is also home to the Canadian head offices of various high-tech companies such as Avaya, IBM, Motorola, Toshiba, Lucent, Sun Microsystems, Apple, AMEX and ATI, which is now part of AMD.
History
Markham was first surveyed as a township in 1793 by William Berczy, who in 1794 led 75 German families from Upstate New York to an area of Markham now known as German Mills. Each family was granted 200 acres (0.8 km²) of land, however due to hardships, many opted to return to York (now Toronto) and Niagara. The area was remote and the lack of roads through the region made travel difficult. German Mills soon became a ghost town. Between 1803 to 1812, another attempt at settling in the region was made. The largest group of settlers were Pennsylvania Germans, most of whom were Mennonites. These highly skilled craftsmen and knowledgeable farmers had the best chance for survival because they had already survived harsh conditions in Pennsylvania. By 1830, many Irish, Scottish and English families immigrated to Upper Canada, many settling in Markham.
Markham's early years blended the rigours of homesteading with the development of agriculture-based industries. The many rivers and streams in the Township soon supported water-powered saw and gristmills 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. By 1857, most of the Township had been cleared of timber and was under cultivation. Villages like Thornhill, Unionville and Markham greatly expanded. In 1871, the Toronto and Nipissing Railway company built the first rail line to Markham, which is still used today by the GO Train commuter services. The first form of structured municipal government occurred in 1850 when the Township of Markham was created.
When Markham was incorporated as a town in 1972, its population quickly grew 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 farmland has now disappeared, but is still found north of Major MacKenzie Drive. Controversy over the development of the environmentally sensitive Oak Ridges Moraine will likely curb development north of Major MacKenzie Drive.
At present, Markham comprises six major communities, which include Buttonville, Cornell, Markham Village, Milliken, Thornhill, and Unionville. Since the 1980s, the town has been recognized as a suburb of Toronto. Many high-tech companies have head offices located in Markham for the relative abundance of land, low tax rates and good transportation routes. ATI Technologies (now known as AMD), IBM Canada, Apple Computer Canada, Motorola Canada and many other well-known companies have chosen Markham as their home in Canada. Hence, the town has been branding itself as Canada's "High-Tech Capital".
An Ontario Historical Plaque was erected in front of the Markham Museum by the province to commemorate the founding of Markham's role in Ontario's heritage.