Citizendia
Your Ad Here

Driving down Yonge Street toward Churchill Avenue in Willowdale in 1976
Driving down Yonge Street toward Churchill Avenue in Willowdale in 1976
Driving down Yonge Street toward Churchill Avenue in Willowdale in 2008
Driving down Yonge Street toward Churchill Avenue in Willowdale in 2008

Willowdale is an established community in the former City of North York, now part of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. North York forms the central part of the northern half of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Toronto (təˈrɒntoʊ colloquially pronounced or) is the largest city in Canada and is the provincial capital of Ontario Ontario (ɒnˈtɛrioʊ is a province located in the central part of Canada, the largest by population and second largest after Quebec Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page It was originally called "Lansing". North York was merged with five other municipalities and a regional government to form the new "City of Toronto" in 1998.

Willowdale was originally a village centred at the intersection of Willowdale Avenue and Sheppard Avenue East, where a number of small business and commercial buildings still remain. The boundaries of the current neighbourhood extend as far east as Leslie St. , west to Senlac Avenue, south to the 401, and north to Steeles Ave. The neighbourhoods abuts Bayview Village to the east and Newtonbrook to the north (sometimes Newtonbrook considered part of Willowdale, as territories of neighborhoods significantly overlap). Bayview Village is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, formerly in North York before it was amalgamated into Toronto in 1998 Newtonbrook is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In the nineteenth century it was a separate municipality Newtonbrook is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In the nineteenth century it was a separate municipality North York Centre is centred at the intersection of Yonge Street and Empress Avenue and is commonly thought to be a part of Willowdale, though its high-rise residential and commercial development sets it apart from much of the rest of Willowdale in recent years. North York Centre is the name of the district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, surrounding the Toronto Transit Commission subway

The Willowdale neighbourhood consists of single family homes, condominium townhouses and high-rise condominium towers. The high density development is restricted along Yonge Street while the single family homes range in age from the original 1910 to 1950 construction (one and two-storey pre-war houses and modest one-and-half storey postwar houses) to very large replacement two-storey luxury homes constructed by tearing down the original houses. It is in this neighbourhood that the term "monster homes" was first applied by Torontonians.

Contents

History

Willowdale was originally settled by Jacob Cummer, who immigrated to Canada from the United States in 1797. Cummer was a mill owner on the nearby Don River, a proprietor of a tinsmith shop on Yonge Street and a self trained doctor and veterinarian. This article is about the river in Toronto Canada For other rivers with the same name see Don River (disambiguation. Yonge Street (pronounced "young" is a major arterial street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and its northern Suburbs It was formerly Cummer was held in such high esteem by his neighbours that this area was originally known as Kummer's Settlement.

David Gibson, a distinguished land surveyor, was another leader in this community. David Gibson, ( March 9 1804 &ndash January 25 1864) was a surveyor farmer and political figure in Upper Canada. Like most of his neighbours, Gibson participated in the ill-fated Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837. The Upper Canada Rebellion was along with the Lower Canada Rebellion in Lower Canada, a rebellion against the British colonial government in 1837 and 1838 Year 1837 ( MDCCCXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common He was thus charged with high treason and escaped to the United States were he found employment as the First Assistant Engineer on the building of the Erie Canal. The Erie Canal is a popular canal in New York state from the Hudson River to Lake Erie, approximately 360 miles connecting the Great Lakes

Gibson returned to his Yonge Street farm in 1851, after being pardoned for his role in the Rebellion. He then helped to establish the "Willow Dale" post office, named after the many willow trees that once graced this district. Members of the Gibson family were still living in Gibson House in the 1920's when the residential subdivision of Willowdale began to take place. DavidGibsonPlaquejpg|thumb|A provincial plaque tells of David Gibson's storied life The Gibson House, circa 1851, is still standing in its original location at 5172 Yonge Street and is now a historic museum.

Demographics

Population

Home to 61,580 people, Willowdale is an ethnically diverse community, with 59% of all Willowdale residents being immigrants as of 2003. Major ethnic groups in Willowdale include: Chinese: 19. The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following A person who resides in and holds citizenship of the People's Republic of China (including Hong 5%, Korean: 6. The Korean people are an East Asian Ethnic group. Most Koreans speak the Korean language. 1%, and Jewish: 5. Judaism (from the Greek Ioudaïsmos, derived from the Hebrew יהודה Yehudah, " Judah " in Hebrew יַהֲדוּת Yahedut 8%. While English is the mother tongue for 43. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States 7% of the population, other languages with large numbers of speakers include: Chinese: 16%, Korean: 5. This article is mainly about the spoken Korean language See Hangul for details on the native Korean writing system 4%, and Russian: 5. Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages 1%. [1]

Religion

THE CHURCHES OF NORTH YORK--beginning in 1796.

The story is told that the first "church" in Willowdale was called the Cummer Chapel. It was located at Yonge and Church, just south of Finch and Yonge, North York, including Willowdale. Now (2007) it is part of North Toronto.

The Cummers, who were the first German loyalists and farmers from Pennsylvania, had Lutheran roots. However, they readily mixed in with and married into people with Methodist and other roots. Thus the chapel was designated as non-denominational. Today--that is, since Centennial Year, 1967, it is part of our heritage as a pioneer cemetery. It is part of the history of this area.

A brick building replaced the log building, in 1856. It was called the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1925 it became part of the the new United Church of Canada.

Willowdale was then part of what, later, became North York Township. Now it is part of North Toronto. Cummer Chapel was built of logs and located at the north west corner of what is now Yonge and Church. Then it was located on a part of the farm belonging to Jacob Cummer. He and the early members of Willowdale, North Toronto, are buried there.

Following WW 2, many veterans and their families began to settle in Willowdale. In 1946, the Rev. Welburn Jones became the minister of Willowdale United Church. He initiated a building program. A substantial building was built in 1954. However, he left much which needed to be done. In 1966, his successor--The Rev. Lindsay G. King, who retired and moved to Thornhill, in 1994--replaced him and completed the program. Dynamic changes, involving other churches in the area continues.

Amenities

People

People born in Willowdale include:

See Also

External links

  1. ^ [1]Profile of City of Toronto Ward 23

Other References

Highland Junior High School is an intermediate school for students in Grade 7 to Grade 9 in the Don Mills Road and Cliffwood Road area of Toronto, Ontario Zion Heights Junior High School is an Intermediate school for students in Grade 7 to Grade 9 in the north end of Toronto, Ontario, Canada Ice hockey, often referred to simply as hockey, is a team Sport played on Ice. Kirk Alan McLean (born June 26, 1966 is a retired Canadian professional Ice hockey Goaltender most known for his long and successful stint with Ice hockey, often referred to simply as hockey, is a team Sport played on Ice. Mark Napier (born January 28, 1957 in Toronto Ontario) is a retired former professional Ice hockey player who played over a thousand professional Ice hockey, often referred to simply as hockey, is a team Sport played on Ice. Steve Shutt (born July 1 1952 is an Ice hockey player from Canada. Rock music is a genre of Popular music often though not necessarily employing Electric guitar, Bass guitar, and Drums. The lead vocalist (or lead singer) is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song Geddy Lee OC (born Gary Lee Weinrib on July 29, 1953 in Willowdale Toronto) is a Canadian musician best known as the lead vocalist Rush is a Canadian rock band originally formed in August 1968 in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, currently comprised of Willowdale is a federal and provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons
© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
 Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic