WHY ARE WE CALLED EAST GWILLIMBURY?
Overview of the Settling of East Gwillimbury

By Janet Russell (1986)

John Graves Simcoe was the first Governor of Upper Canada, here for 5 years 1791-1796 and, with his surveyors and militia, laid out Ontario as we know it today. His name crops up frequently - Lake Simcoe (named after his father), Simcoe County, Town of Simcoe and Simcoe Streets; Gwillim was Mrs. Simcoe’s maiden name - hence East Gwillimbury, West Gwillimbury. Tiny, Floss, Tay townships in Simcoe County are named after Mrs. Simcoe’s dogs!

Governor Simcoe had the “grid system” laid out, with each concession road and each side road 1 1/4 miles apart. Then 200 acre land grants could be distributed. Land went to people (patentees) friendly to the Family Compact: some had been in “service to country”, many people were teachers, others were United Empire Loyalists and Latter Loyalists coming from the States of New York and Pennsylvania. Our government encouraged Quakers - with their strong reliable qualities and skills.

In Sharon, David Willson broke away from the Quakers and established his own religious sect, “Children of Peace”. Most of Sharon’s history is found at the Sharon Temple. The Doan family who were master builders - Ebenezer being the builder of the temple - have left a number of dwellings in the area. In the 1840s brick homes came into being; the clay deposit for the bricks was found in the north end of Sharon.

The communities of Holland Landing, Mount Albert, Queensville, as well as Holt, Ravenshoe, Brown’s Hill, all developed independently, usually around a church.

Transportation, especially the railways, changed the significance of these villages and towns and left them static.
 

Cited from the publication STORIES OF EAST GWILLIMBURY’S PAST, a compilation by the East Gwillimbury Historical Society to celebrate the 150th anniversary of East Gwillimbury and the Millennium in 1999.

Thank you to the East Gwillimbury Historical Society for their permission to reprint this story.

Read more about John Graves Simcoe on Wikipedia

More about the East Gwillimbury Historical Society

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