Richmond Hill, Ontario
Richmond Hill (
2001 population 132,030) is a
town in
York Region north of
Toronto, Ontario,
Canada. It is part of the
Greater Toronto Area.
The area was first surveyed by
Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe in
1794 while he was constructing
Yonge Street. It was first settled by
United Empire Loyalists and
British settlers, and by
1801 it was known as Miles' Hill after Abner Miles, a prominent settler, and was afterwards Mount Pleasant. According to local legend, it was re-named Richmond Hill when
Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond, visited the area in
1820. However, it is more likely that it was re-named after a favourite song of one of the early settlers,
The Lass of Richmond Hill. Richmond Hill was incorporated as a village in
1873, and as a town in
1957. It encompassed the other earlier settlements in the area, Oak Ridges, Langstaff, and Elgin Mills.
The town's motto is
En la rose, je fleuris (
French for "Like the rose, I flourish"), reflecting either the motto of the Duke of Richmond, or the fact that the town was a centre of rose-growing in the early
20th century. A more recent motto is
A little north, a little nicer, in reference to the smaller, quieter lifestyle there as opposed to the metropolis of Toronto further south.
The
David Dunlap Observatory, the largest optical
telescope in Canada, is located in Richmond Hill. It is a research facility of the
University of Toronto.
Famous people from Richmond Hill include world-champion
figure skater Elvis Stojko, figure skater Emmanuel Sandhu, some of the members of the band
Barenaked Ladies, and
World Wrestling Entertainment women's champion
Trish Stratus.
The current mayor (since
1988) is William F. Bell, now serving his sixth term. The town council consists of six councillors and two Regional Councillors, plus the mayor.
Richmond Hill is the "twin city" of
Lakeland, Florida.
External Link
Category:Ontario communities