Cedar Grove, Ontario
Encyclopedia
Cedar Grove is a community in Markham, Ontario
on the Little Rouge River
. It is centred around 14th Avenue and Reesor Road (10th Line) and within the boundaries of the future national Rouge Park
.
settlers from Pennsylvania (sometimes called the Pennsylvania Dutch
) arrived in Cedar Grove, headed by Peter Reesor
, who first scouted the area for his community in the 1790s. Reesor bought the Osborne lot (lot 4, conc. 9) and performed the settlement duties for the original grantee in 1804; he then acquired lot 5 in 1805. The stone house on the Reesor homestead was built in 1832.
By 1820, John Eby Reesor helped to construct a log building at the corner of Steeles Ave. and 11th Line to serve as both a school and a church, for Mennonites and Presbyterians. About 1850, a frame school building was constructed on the north side of 14th Ave., east of 10th Line to accommodate the growing community. In 1869, this building was replaced by a red brick school across the south side of 14th Ave. "Cedar Grove school was unique ... in having a gallery where in winter any adult could come and get a bit of learning by listening to the classes below."
By 1878 the hamlet also had four mills, a post office and general store, tavern and inn, and blacksmith shop (now at the Markham Museum and Historical Village). A Mennonite Meeting House was built on lot 4, conc. 9 in 1867, although the grounds were used as a cemetery as early as 1824. The Zion Presbyterian Church constructed a frame-building on the 11th Line near Steeles in 1856, which was replaced by a stone building in 1890.
Today Cedar Grove is best known as the home of Cedarena, an outdoor skating facility built in 1927. Once one of the largest rinks in the province (olympic size), the historical rink is still in use.
. The park will completely encompass the community of Cedar Grove.
The Little Rouge River which flows through Cedar Grove is a tributary of the Rouge River
, with water flowing south from the Oak Ridges Moraine
to Lake Ontario
.
Markham, Ontario
Markham is a town in the Regional Municipality of York, located within the Greater Toronto Area of Southern Ontario, Canada. The population was 261,573 at the 2006 Canadian census...
on the Little Rouge River
Rouge River (Ontario)
The Rouge River is a two river system. Little Rouge and Rouge River are in the east and the northeast parts of Toronto and begin in the Oak Ridges Moraine in Richmond Hill and Whitchurch-Stouffville...
. It is centred around 14th Avenue and Reesor Road (10th Line) and within the boundaries of the future national Rouge Park
Rouge Park
Rouge Park will become an urban national park located along the border of Toronto and Pickering, Ontario, Canada. It will be Canada's first national park within a municipality....
.
History
James Osborne of North Carolina, with wife and children, first settled in the Cedar Grove area in the late eighteenth century. In 1804 MennoniteMennonite
The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons , who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders...
settlers from Pennsylvania (sometimes called the Pennsylvania Dutch
Pennsylvania Dutch
Pennsylvania Dutch refers to immigrants and their descendants from southwestern Germany and Switzerland who settled in Pennsylvania in the 17th and 18th centuries...
) arrived in Cedar Grove, headed by Peter Reesor
Peter Reesor
Peter Reesor is the founder of Markham, Ontario.Peter Reesor was born December 25 1775, in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania to Christian Reesor and Veronica Reiff .- Peter's First Visit to Canada :...
, who first scouted the area for his community in the 1790s. Reesor bought the Osborne lot (lot 4, conc. 9) and performed the settlement duties for the original grantee in 1804; he then acquired lot 5 in 1805. The stone house on the Reesor homestead was built in 1832.
By 1820, John Eby Reesor helped to construct a log building at the corner of Steeles Ave. and 11th Line to serve as both a school and a church, for Mennonites and Presbyterians. About 1850, a frame school building was constructed on the north side of 14th Ave., east of 10th Line to accommodate the growing community. In 1869, this building was replaced by a red brick school across the south side of 14th Ave. "Cedar Grove school was unique ... in having a gallery where in winter any adult could come and get a bit of learning by listening to the classes below."
By 1878 the hamlet also had four mills, a post office and general store, tavern and inn, and blacksmith shop (now at the Markham Museum and Historical Village). A Mennonite Meeting House was built on lot 4, conc. 9 in 1867, although the grounds were used as a cemetery as early as 1824. The Zion Presbyterian Church constructed a frame-building on the 11th Line near Steeles in 1856, which was replaced by a stone building in 1890.
Today Cedar Grove is best known as the home of Cedarena, an outdoor skating facility built in 1927. Once one of the largest rinks in the province (olympic size), the historical rink is still in use.
Future: Rouge National Park
While much of the Town of Markham immediately east of Cedar Grove has become residential, the land immediately around Cedar Grove is still in agricultural use. In 2011 the Canadian Federal Government announced plans to create a national Rouge ParkRouge Park
Rouge Park will become an urban national park located along the border of Toronto and Pickering, Ontario, Canada. It will be Canada's first national park within a municipality....
. The park will completely encompass the community of Cedar Grove.
The Little Rouge River which flows through Cedar Grove is a tributary of the Rouge River
Rouge River (Ontario)
The Rouge River is a two river system. Little Rouge and Rouge River are in the east and the northeast parts of Toronto and begin in the Oak Ridges Moraine in Richmond Hill and Whitchurch-Stouffville...
, with water flowing south from the Oak Ridges Moraine
Oak Ridges Moraine
The Oak Ridges Moraine is an ecologically important geological landform in the Mixedwood Plains of south-central Ontario, Canada. The moraine covers a geographic area of between Caledon and Rice Lake, near Peterborough...
to Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
.