Edgeley was a small rural community located in the city of

Vaughan Vaughan ( ) (2022 population 344,412) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Regional Municipality of York, just north of Toronto. Vaughan was the fastest-growing municipality in Canada between 1996 and 2006 with its population increa ...

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 ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, which today is the site of Vaughan's planned downtown core;

Vaughan Metropolitan Centre Vaughan Metropolitan Centre is the city centre of Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. Measuring , the district is located at the intersection of Highway 7 and Jane Street (Toronto), Jane Street, northeast of the Ontario Highway 400, Highway 400 and Ontario ...

. The first inhabitants of the Edgeley area immigrated from Somerset County,

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 ...

, circa 1800. Early family names were ''Smith, Stong, Shunk, Hoover, Burkholder, Muskrat, Snider, Brown,'' and ''Dalziel''. A

Mennonite 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 ...

church, built of logs in 1824 on the northern portion of Lot #7, Concession #4, was one of the first churches built in Vaughan Township. A steam-powered shingle mill stood on the northwest corner of

Highway 7 The following highways are numbered 7. For roads numbered A7, see list of A7 roads. Route 7, or Highway 7, may refer to: International * AH7, Asian Highway 7 * European route E07 * European route E007 Afghanistan *Kunduz-Khomri Highway (A7) ...

and Jane Street. A hotel was located on the northeast corner, with a general store on the southeast corner. The store contained the Edgeley post office from 1872 until 1960. Just south of the store, Samuel Snider operated a horse-powered cider mill. His son-in-law, Abraham Winger, and Abraham's brother Henry, later assumed the business, putting up a new steam-powered mill and producing apple cider, butter and jelly until the early 1900s. The area was also served by a blacksmith, a shoemaker, a casket maker, a dressmaking establishment, a chopping mill, a woodworking shop, which supplied wagons and buggies, two slaughterhouses and a community hall. The Edgeley farmers club was organized in 1917, and for years the farmers in the area obtained their supplies of coal, binder twine, salt and other necessities through the club. The club's annual oyster supper was one of the community's social highlights. The oldest extant Mennonite

meeting house A meeting house (also spelled meetinghouse or meeting-house) is a building where religious and sometimes private meetings take place. Terminology Nonconformist (Protestantism), Nonconformist Protestant denominations distinguish between a: * chu ...

in Ontario was moved to Black Creek Pioneer Village during the autumn of 1976. Edgeley was famous for fruits (mainly apples), thereby supporting many of the settlers who worked its fertile lands. Almost the entire landscape of Edgeley was covered in fruit trees, most notably west of Jane Street and north of Highway 7. Because of these fertile lands, great success came to the town's settlers, and today, many streets in and around Edgeley have been named after them and their products. The largest park in Vaughan is Edgeley Pond and Park.

References

Neighbourhoods in Vaughan {{GoldenHorseshoe-geo-stub

See also

References