Udora is a small rural community in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It has a population estimated to be around 500 and is situated in the most south-eastern part of

Georgina Georgina may refer to: Names * Georgina (name), a feminine given name Places Australia * Georgina, Queensland, a locality in the Shire of Boulia, Queensland * Georgina Basin, a large sedimentary basin in Australia * Georgina River, a riv ...

, split between

York Region The Regional Municipality of York, also called York Region, is a regional municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, between Lake Simcoe and Toronto. The region was established after the passing of then Bill 102, An Act to Establish The Regional M ...

and

Durham Region The Regional Municipality of Durham (), informally referred to as Durham Region, is a regional municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada. Located east of Toronto and the Regional Municipality of York, Durham forms the east-end of the Greater Tor ...

. The town was originally known as Snoddon Corners and was the location of the Snoddon Hotel.

History

In the 1950s, the Independent Toronto Estonian Women’s Association purchased land in the north-west side of Udora, divided the land into 150 subdivided lots for summer cottages to

Estonians Estonians or Estonian people ( et, eestlased) are a Finnic ethnic group native to Estonia who speak the Estonian language. The Estonian language is spoken as the first language by the vast majority of Estonians; it is closely related to oth ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

and named the grounds Jõekääru, which means River Bend in English, named because

Pefferlaw River Pefferlaw is a community within the Town of Georgina, located 3 kilometres south of the southeastern shores of Lake Simcoe. The Pefferlaw River runs south of the community's commercial district. Pefferlaw is passed on the north by Highway 48 and ...

runs through the grounds. Local street names in the grounds are also in the native Estonian. With the cottages also came the Estonian Children's Camp, which is still active to date as an Estonian language immersion camp for part of the summer. Highway 48 (which links

Markham Markham may refer to: It may also refer to brand of of clothing which originates from South Africa which saw it's establishment in 1873. Biology * Markham's storm-petrel (''Oceanodroma markhami''), a seabird species found in Chile and Colombia * ...

to Port Bolster) lies to the north while Highway 12 linking to

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...

and

Orillia Orillia is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is in Simcoe County between Lake Couchiching and Lake Simcoe. Although it is geographically located within Simcoe County, the city is a single-tier municipality. It is part of the Huronia region of ...

, lies to the east. Within Udora Ravenshoe Road intersects with Victoria Road/Concession Road 7/Durham Road 1. Area code 705 is bounded to the north while the south of Udora is in Area code 905. The Canadian National Railway runs north of Udora, having its nearest train station in

Pefferlaw Pefferlaw is a community within the Town of Georgina, located 3 kilometres south of the southeastern shores of Lake Simcoe. The Pefferlaw River runs south of the community's commercial district. Pefferlaw is passed on the north by Highway 48 and ...

. Udora is located about 10 km South of Port Bolster, at

Lake Simcoe Lake Simcoe is a lake in southern Ontario, Canada, the fourth-largest lake wholly in the province, after Lake Nipigon, Lac Seul, and Lake Nipissing. At the time of the first European contact in the 17th century the lake was called ''Ouentironk' ...

. About 20 km S/E of

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a location * Sutton-in-the-Isle, Ely, Cambridgeshire * ...

, about 25 to 30 km SW of Beaverton and

, west of Lindsay, north of

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Situated west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxb ...

, about 50 km north of Whitby, about 80 km north of

and NE of

Newmarket, Ontario Newmarket ( 2021 population: 87,942) is a town and regional seat of the Regional Municipality of York in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is part of Greater Toronto in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario. The name stems from th ...

. In the centre of Udora (or downtown) on the main road (Victoria), there is a General Store doubling as a functioning post office . There is also a UPI full serve gas station and convenience store. West of Victoria lies The Udora Community Hall, opened in 1974, along with a baseball diamond, playground and basketball / tennis (badminton) court. It serves as the fair grounds to "Udora Family Fun Day". In the winter, the court also hosts a small skate rink for kids.

Climate

Local businesses and attractions

*Xanadu Studios (home studio of Artist/illustrator Bonnie Lemaire and Cartoonist/Caricaturist Robert Westall) *Riverview Dog Systems (Hidden Fence) *Jõekääru ( Estonian Canadians Summer camp) *Udora/Leaskdale Lions *One Two Tree Services *Udora General Store *Udora Market / UPI Energy Gas Bar

Nearest places

, north * Sunderland, east * Leaskdale, immediately south *

, 16 km south * Zephyr, southwest *

, west

Community demographics

*Total Population: 510 *Total Dwellings: 278 *Total Land Area: 5.5206

References

External links

Town of GeorginaCommunity demographics
from Industry Canada {{Georgina, Ontario Communities Estonian diaspora Communities in Georgina, Ontario