Altona is a

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

located in

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

, at Sideline 30 and the Pickering-Uxbridge Town Line. It is just east of Whitchurch-Stouffville, and was named after Altona, now a borough of

Hamburg, Germany Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

History

It was founded by ethnic Swiss-German

Mennonites Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...

who had migrated from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

in the United States. The first flour and saw mills in Altona were built by Abraham Reesor, son of

Peter Reesor Peter Reesor (December 25, 1775 – November 16, 1854) was one of the original settlers of Markham, Ontario, Markham, Ontario, Canada, Ontario. He was born on December 25, 1775, in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, to ...

and a nephew to Abraham Stouffer, in 1850, on Lot 30, Concession 9, a short distance south of the Uxbridge-Pickering Townline. In the same year, Joseph Monkhouse built a general store and William Cooper an inn. In 1852, the Altona Mennonite Meeting House (5475 Sideline 30, Pickering) was erected, constructed by area Mennonite settlers. The bricks were made at the Cherrywood brick yard. Local families included the Barkeys, Reesors, Widemans, Nighswanders, Hoovers and Stouffers. The first grave is dated 1835. The founder of Stouffville, Abraham Stouffer and his wife Elizabeth Reesor Stouffer, are buried here. The first schoolhouse was built in 1834; in 1856 there were 256 inhabitants, "unable to read and write, about 30%." By 1869 the hamlet had 200 residents and a regular stage coach to Stouffville and

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. In 1910 there was still a daily stage to Stouffville, but Altona's population had fallen to only 100 people. The churches, school, store (former hotel) and many homes remained into the 21st century, but all have been expropriated and most boarded up by the federal government for a proposed plan to build Pickering airport, a second international airport in the

Greater Toronto Area The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the Toronto, City of Toronto and the regional municipality, regional municipalities of Regional Municipality of Durham, Durham, Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton, Regional ...

. One of the few remaining houses is the "Old Barkey Home", built in 1856 by the Mennonite farmer and preacher Daniel Barkey. Under the current plan, the approach for one of the three landing strips for the Pickering Airport would be directly over the former hamlet of Altona, with planes descending at an elevation of approximately 300 metres. The plan anticipates 11.9 million passengers per year (or 32,600 per day) by 2032. A "Needs Assessment Study" was completed by the Greater Toronto Airports Authority for the federal government in May 2010. After a "due diligence review,"

Transport Canada Transport Canada () is the Ministry (government department), department within the Government of Canada responsible for developing regulations, Policy, policies and Public services, services of road, rail, marine and air Transport in Canada, tra ...

released the report in July 2011.Transport Canada, News Release:
Transport Canada releases findings of the 2010 Pickering Lands Needs Assessment Study
," July 11, 2011.

References

External links

Altona (ghost town) info and photos
* {{coord, 43, 58, 35, N, 79, 11, 48, W, region:CA-ON_type:city_scale:50000_source:AtlasOfCanada, display=title Ghost towns in Ontario Pickering, Ontario Neighbourhoods in Pickering, Ontario German diaspora in Canada Swiss diaspora in Canada Populated places demolished to make room for airports