KING, ONTARIO

'King' (2006 population 19,487) Community highlights for King is a township in York Region north of Toronto, within the Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada.
The Township of King is located half-way between Toronto and Barrie, stretching from Bathurst Street to just east of Highway 50. King is approximately 20 minutes north of Toronto Pearson International Airport and accessible by Highways 400, 27, 9 and 11.
King features some of the most picturesque countryside in Ontario. The rolling hills of the Oak Ridges Moraine are King's most prominent geographical features. The Holland Marsh, considered to be Ontario's "vegetable basket," is also located in King Township. King is also known for its prestigious horse farms and cattle farms.
Though King Township is predominantly rural, most of its residents are concentrated in the communities of King City, Nobleton, and Schomberg.

Contents

History

Geography

Demographics

Law and government

Education

Attractions

Public services

References

Footnotes

External links

History

King Township is named for Major John King, an English Under-Secretary of State. The township was created as part of the subdivision of York County, itself a subdivision of the Home District. The lands were originally acquired by the British in an agreement with the Mississaugas, known as the Toronto Purchase; it was enacted in British parliament as the Toronto Purchase Act in 1787. Toronto: Historical background Approximately of land were administered by the township in 1878, according to the ''Historical Atlas of York County'', but by 1973 this had been reduced to 82,000; some of its land has been ceded to what are now known as Newmarket, Aurora and Oak Ridges.
Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe planned Yonge Street, which was built between 1793 and 1796 by the Queen's Rangers. By 1801, Timothy Rogers, a Vermont Loyalist, had travelled the road and found an area on its western boundary immediately southwest of Newmarket very appealing. He applied for and received a grant for land totalling 40 farms, each of , and subsequently returned to Vermont to recruit families to operate those farms. By February 1802, he had set out for King Township with the first group of settlers for those forty farms. A second group followed later that month.
The area would become known as ''Armitage'', the first of King's settlements; it is now part of Newmarket. Soon after the establishment of Armitage, the communities of Kettleby and Lloydtown were established to the west. More settlers arrived from New York, Pennsylvania and other Loyalist enclaves over the subsequent years to populate the region, drawn by the abundant, fertile land being apportioned relatively cheaply to newcomers.
The first survey of King Township, conducted in 1800indicated a population of twenty residents. By 1809, the population had increased sevenfold, to 160.^[1]
There is some evidence of a large Huron encampment at ''Hackett Lake''. Residents in the area in the 1950s and 1960s would discover arrowheads and other archaeological items indicating a Huron presence. This is consistent with the fact that the Toronto Carrying-Place Trail, a major route used in the 1600s and 1700s, passes through the township. The route was used by explorer Étienne Brûlé, who first travelled along the trail with twelve Huron guides in 1615.
Early settlements in the area developed primarily around gristmills and sawmills. These were important economic engines in the region during the 1800s, which resulted in the establishment of other communities and businesses nearby. Some settlements have since been abandoned, or are no longer communities per se, including ''Bell's Lake'', ''Davis Corners'', ''King Ridge''.

Geography

The majority of King is located on the Oak Ridges Moraine, which is the origin for the headwaters of many rivers throughout its extent, including the Humber River in King. Numerous interconnected provincially- and regionally-significant areas are located in the township. The most prominent are seven Areas of Natural and Scientific Interest, and the many wetland complexes adjacent to or within those areas.

Demographics

'Religious Profile'

★ 39.8% Protestant

★ 38.3% Roman Catholic

★ 17.1% atheist, agnostic or other non-theism

★ 2.9% other Christian

★ 0.1% Jewish

★ 1.8% other religion

Law and government

King Township was incorporated in 1850 as 'The Corporation of the Township of King'. Its current mayor is Margaret Black. The Town Council includes the mayor and six Councillors representing the township's six wards.

King Township Council

Position	Councillor	Communities Represented
Mayor	Margaret Black	All King Township
Ward 1	Cleve Mortelliti	'Eastern King City', Eversley, Snowball, Temperanceville
Ward 2	Jeff Laidlaw	'Nobleton', King Creek, Laskay, Strange
Ward 3	Linda Pabst	Hammertown, Happy Valley, Holly Park, Linton, New Scotland
Ward 4	Bill Cober	'Schomberg', Pottageville, Lloydtown
Ward 5	Jane Underhill	'Western King City', Heritage Park, Kettleby, Kinghorn
Ward 6	Jack Rupke	Ansnorveldt, Glenville and northeastern King Township

The township draws revenues from various sources. The most significant in 2007 are municipal taxes (67.9% of revenue), fees and service charges (14.0%), water charges (4.3%), grants (3.5%) and reserves (2.9%). The most significant expenditures for 2007 are general municipal government (27.6%), recreation and culture (21.7%), transportation (17.8%), protection (16.6%) and environmental projects (11.6%).^[2]

Education

Public schools with classes from kindergarten through grade twelve are administered by the York Region District School Board and the York Catholic District School Board. The only public secondary school in King, King City Secondary School, serves students residing in a relatively large geographic area, including some from border towns. King is also home to St. Thomas of Villanova College, a private Catholic high school.

Attractions

In the township, there are eleven sites designated ''Heritage Sites'', including:

★ 'King Station' was built in 1852 along the Northern Railway to serve ''Springhill'' (now King City). It was moved in 1989 to the grounds of the King Township Museum. It is believed to be the oldest surviving railway station in Canada, and was designated a heritage site in 1990.

★ 'King Emmanuel Baptist Church', formerly the ''King Christian Church'' until 1931, it was moved to the grounds of the King Township Museum in 1982, and designated a Heritage Site in 1992.

★ 'King City Cemetery Dead House' built circa 1889 was designated a Heritage Site in 2001. It is an octagonal structure that was used to preserve the dead during the winter, during which grave-digging was not feasible. Octagonal dead houses were unique to the area bordering Yonge Street north of Toronto during the late 1800s and early 1900s. King City Cemetery itself was designated a heritage site in July 2007.

★ 'Eversley Presbyterian Church', a stone structure built in 1848, demonstrates the Scottish influence common in the area's early development. It was designated in 1984.

★ 'Glenville Methodist Church', a small frame structure built in 1859, which remained operational until 1952. It was designated in 1983 as a township Heritage Site.

★ 'King Christian Church Cemetery' was the first burial grounds for Kettleby, built in 1850. It was designated a Heritage Site in 1986.

★ 'Laskay Temperance Hall', built in 1859 by the Sons of Temperance. It had been operated by the ''Laskay Women's Institute'' since 1910, and is now operated by the municipality. It was designated a Heritage Site in 1986.

Public services

The township's municipal tax revenue is divided into three streams. One portion is combined with that from other municipalities for education purposes, a second portion is used to finance regional projects managed by York Region, and the last portion is used for local services.
The most significant cultural service provided via municipal funding is the King Township Public Library, which operates four branches in the township.
Waste management is provided through the region, and is co-ordinated with programs offered in other towns in York Region. Weekly green bin compost collection will begin in September 2007 to complement the weekly collection of recyclable material; collection of all other waste will be reduced to once every two weeks.^[3]

References

Early settlements of King Township, Ontario, , Elizabeth, McClure Gillham, The Hunter Rose Company, 1975, ISBN 0-9690498-6-2

Footnotes

1. http://www.king.ca/files/whatsnew/king%20heritage%20map%20gallery.pdf
2. Data taken from the ''2007 Final Tax Bill Information'' pamphlet
3.

External links

★ King Township website

★ Ontario Plaques - Lloydtown

★ Tourism King (no affiliation to the township)