Mongolia is an historical community in

Markham, Ontario Markham () is a city in the Regional Municipality of York, Ontario, Canada. It is approximately northeast of Downtown Toronto. In the 2021 Census, Markham had a population of 338,503, which ranked it the largest in York Region, fourth largest ...

centred on 10th Line (Reesor Road) and Elgin Mills Rd. East, immediately south of the Town of

Whitchurch-Stouffville Whitchurch-Stouffville ( 2021 population 49,864) is a town in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada, approximately north of downtown Toronto, and north-east of Toronto Pearson International Airport. It is in area, and located in the ...

. The hamlet lies completely within the expropriated federal

Pickering Airport The Pickering Airport Lands were expropriated in 1972 by the Government of Canada with the intention of building a second international airport to serve the city of Toronto, its metropolitan area, and the surrounding region known as the Golden H ...

lands and also within the proposed boundaries of a future national

Rouge Park Rouge National Urban Park is a national urban park in Ontario, Canada. The park is centred around the Rouge River and its tributaries in the Greater Toronto Area. The southern portion of the park is situated around the mouth of river in Toron ...

History

The first settler at Mongolia was Peter de Guerre (Degeer), 1772–1827, a French

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

, who acquired lot 26,

concession Concession may refer to: General * Concession (contract) (sometimes called a concession agreement), a contractual right to carry on a certain kind of business or activity in an area, such as to explore or develop its natural resources or to opera ...

9 in 1801 and lot 25, concession 9 in 1803.

Pennsylvania Dutch The Pennsylvania Dutch ( Pennsylvania Dutch: ), also known as Pennsylvania Germans, are a cultural group formed by German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. They emigrated primarily from German-spe ...

(

Mennonite Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...

) families began to settle in the area in the 1820s. In 1824, a tavern licence was granted using the name California Corners. During the

Upper Canada Rebellion The Upper Canada Rebellion was an insurrection against the oligarchic government of the British colony of Upper Canada (present-day Ontario) in December 1837. While public grievances had existed for years, it was the rebellion in Lower Canada (p ...

William Lyon Mackenzie William Lyon Mackenzie (March12, 1795 August28, 1861) was a Scottish Canadian-American journalist and politician. He founded newspapers critical of the Family Compact, a term used to identify elite members of Upper Canada. He represented Yor ...

's troops apparently designated a large elm tree in Mongolia on Elgin Mills/ 18th Ave, between concessions 9 and 10 as a rallying point. The Mackenzie's supporters raised a flag on the tree and drove a keg of spikes into the tree to prevent the opposition from cutting it down; the elm stood until 1973. In 1865, David Nighswander (lot 25, concession 10) requested a post office for the community, and chose the name "Mongolia" from a list of possible names after he was told the name "California" was already in use in Canada. The community had a general store, an inn (which burned down in 1870), a blacksmith shop, wagon-making shop, a cobbler shop, and a Temperance Hall. In the early years, school was held in the general store at the corners. In 1855, a wooden-frame school (S.S. #22) was built on the east side of the 10th Line on lot 26. In 1882, a new school was built on the west side of 10 Line on lot 26, and it remained in use until 1964. Beside the original schoolhouse was a Wesleyan Methodist church which existed for only short time; it was torn down and moved to concession 9 in 1877 and land now Bushwood Golf Course. When the rail lines to Stouffville and Claremont by-passed Mongolia, the area reverted to farmland. In March 1972, the federal government announced plans for a future international airport on the Pickering side of the York-Durham Line. The lands around Mongolia were expropriated for the

. The last merchant in Mongolia closed his business on Dec. 31, 1974. Very few original families live in the area; most of the homes in Mongolia have been boarded or demolished. The land has been rented by the federal government to local farmers since expropriation.

Future: Rouge National Urban Park

In 2011 the federal government announced plans for

Rouge National Urban Park Rouge National Urban Park is a national urban park in Ontario, Canada. The park is centred around the Rouge River and its tributaries in the Greater Toronto Area. The southern portion of the park is situated around the mouth of river in Toront ...

that could also include the expropriated federal lands west of the York-Durham Line, including the land around Mongolia.See the Rouge Park Alliance
Park Map
.

External links

Rouge Park

References

{{Adjacent communities, North=

Stouffville, Ontario Stouffville () is the primary urban area within the town of Whitchurch-Stouffville in York Region, Ontario, Canada. It is situated within the Greater Toronto Area and the inner ring of the Golden Horseshoe. The urban area is centred at the inter ...

, West=

Cashel, Ontario Cashel, Ontario is a small hamlet situated in Unionville, Ontario located at the intersection of Elgin Mills Road and York Regional Road 67. Originally it was called ''Crosby Corners'' after John Crosby (born 1797), the village's first store owne ...

, Center=Mongolia, Ontario, East=

Pickering, Ontario Pickering (2021 population 99,186) is a city located in Southern Ontario, Canada, immediately east of Toronto in Durham Region. Beginning in the 1770s, the area was settled by primarily ethnic British colonists. An increase in population occurre ...

(

Green River, Ontario Pickering (2021 population 99,186) is a city located in Southern Ontario, Canada, immediately east of Toronto in Durham Region. Beginning in the 1770s, the area was settled by primarily ethnic British colonists. An increase in population occurre ...

)

, South=

Locust Hill, Ontario Locust Hill is a historic community of Markham, Ontario centred on Hwy. 7 and the Canadian Pacific Railway and within the boundaries of the future national Rouge Park. History Locust Hill was first settled about 1799 by Samuel Reynolds, a Unit ...

Neighbourhoods in Markham, Ontario