Holland Landing, Ontario
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Holland Landing is a community in the town of
East Gwillimbury East Gwillimbury is a town (lower-tier municipality) on the East Holland River in the upper-tier municipality the Regional Municipality of York. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area of southern Ontario, in Canada. It was formed by the amalgama ...
, located in the northern part of the
Regional Municipality of York 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 ...
, in south-central
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. Its major road is
Yonge Street Yonge Street ( ') is a major arterial route in the Canadian province of Ontario connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Great Lakes#Geography, Upper Great Lakes. Ontario's first colonial administrator, ...
(bypassed by the former Highway 11) and the community has bus service by
GO Transit GO Transit is a regional public transit system serving the Greater Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario, Canada. With its hub at Union Station in Toronto, GO Transit's green-and-white trains and buses serve a population of more than seven mil ...
route 68 and
York Region Transit York Region Transit (YRT) is the public transit operator in York Region, Ontario, Canada. Its headquarters are in Richmond Hill, at 50 High Tech Road. YRT operates 65 full-time rush hour and limited routes, 35 school services, and six Viva ...
route 52 (Monday to Saturday service). The East Gwillimbury GO train station is in the southeast corner of Holland Landing, providing weekday commuter train service. The
East Holland River The East Holland River is a river in Ontario, Canada that is part of the Holland River watershed that empties into Cook's Bay in Lake Simcoe. The headwaters of the East Holland River rise in the Oak Ridges Moraine. The river runs generally north f ...
runs through the community and has several
marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : "related to the sea") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo ...
s for recreational boats. The community has a small private
aerodrome An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes inc ...
, the Holland Landing Airpark, used primarily for recreational and
general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...
. Most of Holland Landing's internal economy is based on the
service industry The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the s ...
, and some manufacturing.


History

In 1793, Governor
John Graves Simcoe Lieutenant-General (United Kingdom), Lieutenant-General John Graves Simcoe (25 February 1752 – 26 October 1806) was a British army officer, politician and colonial administrator who served as the lieutenant governor of Upper Canada from 1791 u ...
came across what would be the future site of Holland Landing, then known as St. Albans. He believed the area would make an ideal portage route and defence point between
York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
(now
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 ...
) and
Georgian Bay The Georgian Bay () is a large bay of Lake Huron, in the Laurentia bioregion. It is located entirely within the borders of Ontario, Canada. The main body of the bay lies east of the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island. To its northwest is t ...
. Holland Landing was named after Samuel Holland, first Surveyor-General of
British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland, then further south at Roanoke and Jamestown, ...
, who had served on HMS ''Pembroke'', under Captain John Simcoe, father of Governor Simcoe, for whom
Lake Simcoe Lake Simcoe is a lake in southern Ontario, Canada, the fourth-largest lake wholly within 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 ''Ouentir ...
is named. Holland Landing was the northernmost point on the original alignment of Yonge Street. North of the town the Holland River is easily navigable, and the location was selected as a well sited inland port for Lake Simcoe, via the river. It was intended that Yonge Street, in combination with the similar
Penetanguishene Road Penetanguishene (, sometimes shortened to Penetang) is a town in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the southeasterly tip of Georgian Bay. Incorporated on February 22, 1882, this bilingual (French language, French and English langua ...
further north, would provide access to the upper
Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...
from the city of York. Holland Landing would be a major point on this route. However, it never served this intended role in any real capacity. The closest it came was during the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...
, when the British decided to retake the entire lake system through the construction of a number of first-rate ships in
Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...
and
Penetanguishene Penetanguishene (, sometimes shortened to Penetang) is a town in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the southeasterly tip of Georgian Bay. Incorporated on February 22, 1882, this bilingual ( French and English) community has a popu ...
. A large anchor, over fifteen feet (roughly 4.6 m) long and weighing approximately 4000 lbs (about 1 816 kg), for the
frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...
under construction at Penetanguishene was shipped from England and had made it as far as Holland Landing when the war ended. It was abandoned and is currently on display at Anchor Park. From approximately 1833-1853, Holland Landing was a destination for steamboats carrying freight and passengers along the west branch of the Holland River. By 1845, Holland Landing a brewery, a distillery, and multiple taverns patronized by locals and visitors from the waterway. The town itself was not formed until the early 19th century, settled by the same
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...
immigrants as nearby Newmarket and
Aurora An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...
. In 1815, a population of settlers from
Selkirk, Manitoba Selkirk is a city in the western Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba, located on the Red River of the North, Red River about northeast of Winnipeg, the provincial capital. It has a population of 10,504 as of the 20 ...
arrived in Holland Landing after a conflict between them and the
Métis The Métis ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They ha ...
.
Samuel Lount Samuel Lount (September 24, 1791 – April 12, 1838) was a blacksmith, farmer, magistrate and member of the Legislative Assembly in the province of Upper Canada for Simcoe County from 1834 to 1836. He was an organizer of the failed Upper Ca ...
, a martyr of the 1837 Rebellion led by
William Lyon Mackenzie William Lyon Mackenzie (March12, 1795 August28, 1861) was a Scottish-born Canadian-American journalist and politician. He founded newspapers critical of the Family Compact, a term used to identify the establishment of Upper Canada. He represe ...
, farmed and operated a smithy here. Lount was captured later, convicted of treason, and hanged on April 12, 1838. The idea for a
canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...
linking to Lake Simcoe and the Trent-Severn Waterway was approved and construction started in 1906. Holland Landing would connect Newmarket and Bradford. It was almost complete in the summer of 1912 – three lift locks, three swing bridges and a
turning basin A turning basin, winding basin or swinging basin is a wider body of water, either located at the end of a ship canal or in a port to allow cargo ships to turn and reverse their direction of travel, or to enable long narrow barges in a canal to tur ...
– when the new government of
Robert Borden Sir Robert Laird Borden (June 26, 1854 – June 10, 1937) was a Canadian lawyer and Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942), Conservative politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Canada from 1911 to 1920. He is best known ...
cancelled the project. The project was abandoned, earning it the name "The Ghost Canal". It continues to serve as a historical landmark.


Demographics

*Population: **2006: about 8,500 - estimate based on the census population of East Gwillimbury, and the town's data which indicate 41% of its residents are in Holland Landing. **2015: about 9,000


Education

The community has four primary schools; Holland Landing Public School ( YRDSB), Park Avenue Public School (YRDSB) and Good Shepherd Catholic School ( YCDSB) and École élémentaire catholique Jean-Béliveau (a French-language Catholic school). There are no higher education institutions in Holland Landing, or indeed in East Gwillimbury. Students from Holland Landing typically attend one of the high schools in Newmarket.


Notable people

* Sam Bennett, ice hockey player, currently playing with the
Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Panthers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team initially played it ...
of the
NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
. * Darrin Madeley, former ice hockey player, who had a brief stint with the
Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. The Senators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Di ...
of the
NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
. * Kevin Pangos, basketball player for the
Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...
of the
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
.


Nearest communities

*
Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...
, northwest *
Queensville Queensville is a village within the Town of East Gwillimbury, Ontario, Canada. History Originally named ''Four Corners'' and ''Hackett's Corners'' (after William Hackett owner of a general store), it was renamed as ''Queensville'' in 1843 to h ...
, northeast *
Sharon Sharon ( 'plain'), also spelled Saron, is a given name as well as a Hebrew name. In Anglosphere, English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name, but historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In Israel, ...
, east * Newmarket, south * Kettleby, southwest * Ansnorveldt, west * Keswick, north


See also

* Schleese Saddlery, a manufacturer of English riding saddles in Holland Landing.


References

{{authority control Communities in the Regional Municipality of York East Gwillimbury