Sunderland is a community located approximately northeast of
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 ...
,
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 in
Brock Township, in the
Regional Municipality of Durham
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, it forms the east end of the Greater Toronto A ...
. This is currently one of the very few populated areas of 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 ...
where the
Trans-Canada Highway
The Trans-Canada Highway (Canadian French, French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the A ...
passes near, thus also making this the closest point from the highway to the City of Toronto at apart.
Business and commerce
Sunderland has a community of small businesses that focus primarily on the needs of surrounding rural families. Downtown Sunderland also has a number of restaurants, drug store, dog groomer, grocery and bottle store, hardware store, an art gallery, a museum (Sunderland & District Historical Society), bank, post office and a branch of the
Royal Canadian Legion
The Royal Canadian Legion is a non-profit Canadian veterans' organization founded in 1925. Members include people who served in the military, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, provincial or municipal police, Royal Canadian Air, Army and Sea Cade ...
.
History
The land that the Town of Sunderland was built on, was granted in the early 1820s to
United Empire Loyalist
United Empire Loyalist (UEL; or simply Loyalist) is an honorific title which was first given by the 1st Lord Dorchester, the governor of Quebec and governor general of the Canadas, to American Loyalists who resettled in British North Ameri ...
s. (Sir
Isaac Brock
Major-General Sir Isaac Brock KB (6 October 1769 – 13 October 1812) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Guernsey. He is best remembered for his victory at the Siege of Detroit and his death at the Battle of Quee ...
's Estate was given of free land in the vicinity). Sunderland slowly grew around the Brock Hotel - a popular overnight stop for travellers that was owned by Lorenzo Jones. The first post office was called Brock and was run by Andrew Hill; it was located just north at the modern junction of
Highway 12 and 7th Concession.
Sunderland was originally called Jones Corners, as both Arch and Lorenzo Jones owned property in what became the downtown core. They produced a town plan and it was renamed Sunderland by 1871 when the Toronto - Lindsay Line of the
Toronto and Nipissing Railway was built. The town's population grew rapidly during this time. (
Vroomanton, a larger village to the west was bypassed by the railway, and its population subsequently dropped).
Sunderland's name is thought to come from
Charles Spencer, the third
Earl of Sunderland in England. He was the Secretary of State, and he helped move
Palatine German families to London and then, with
Queen Anne's aid, to Ireland in the early 18th century. Many of the men in these families had ancestors who fought for Britain in the
American War of Independence
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
in 1776 and in 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 ...
in the
New World
The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...
, and so, in 1818, after the wars, for their efforts, they were granted free land in what was to become
Brock Township. These early
Palatine
A palatine or palatinus (Latin; : ''palatini''; cf. derivative spellings below) is a high-level official attached to imperial or royal courts in Europe since Roman Empire, Roman times. settlers included surnames like: Shier, Baker, Bagshaw, Switzer, Lowe, St. John, Lodwick, Brethour and Doble.
Hurricane Hazel
Hurricane Hazel was the deadliest, second-costliest, and most intense hurricane of the 1954 Atlantic hurricane season. The storm killed at least 469 people in Haiti before it struck the United States near the border between North and Sou ...
struck Sunderland in 1954, and another storm in 1957 destroyed the skating arena and tore out many trees.
Although the railway ceased operations through Sunderland in the 1980s, the town has remained vibrant, due in no small part to its close proximity to
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 ...
,
Lindsay, and
Newmarket.
The Sunderland & District Historical Society maintains an archive of historical information about the village's century homes.
27 River Street is the home of Thomas Welsh (1856-1925), a local entrepreneur who ran a
grist mill
A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...
at the location of the current Sunderland Co-Operative and in the evening provided electricity to the town around 1916. Later the house was owned by
George Arthur Welsh a
flying ace
A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...
in World War I, and in World War II commanded an anti-tank battery and took part in the
Allied invasion of Sicily
The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as the Battle of Sicily and Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allies of World War II, Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis p ...
. He served with the provincial government as Minister of Travel and Publicity from 1946 to 1948 and
Provincial Secretary and Registrar from 1949 to 1955. It was later owned by his grandson Tom Welsh 1930-1973.
128 River Street is the former home of Dr. Joseph Oliver (1870-1966), a rural doctor who practised in the community for 50 years. Stories of his year round house calls are epic. The home was built in 1904 and served as both residence, office and dispensary.
160 River Street, a large brick home, was originally owned by Dr. James McDermott, a medical doctor and resident from 1870 -1920. McDermott was an investor actively involved in the development of the village. He organized the rebuilding of the Brock House in 1910 and financed the building of the McDermott Block, a multi-unit commercial structure at the south east corner of River and Albert streets. This block was destroyed in the village's great fire in 1949.
3 Cedar Street this was originally the home of James Doble (1825-1907), an entrepreneur who established Sunderland’s first bank, Doble and Company. Later the house was owned by Lottie Ray and then Wesley Doble.
26 River Street, known as the Fogg House, this example of
Victorian architecture
Victorian architecture is a series of Revivalism (architecture), architectural revival styles in the mid-to-late 19th century. ''Victorian'' refers to the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), called the Victorian era, during which period the st ...
, featuring a sweeping veranda was built about 1905. Its original owner, Thomas Fogg was the affluent owner of the Nippissing Hotel, a thriving centre of commerce in the village. Inside the home features ash
wainscotting
Panelling (or paneling in the United States) is a Millwork (building material), millwork wall covering constructed from rigid or semi-rigid components. These are traditionally interlocking wood, but could be plastic or other materials.
Panelling ...
, oak panelling and ornate
tin ceiling
A tin ceiling is an architectural element, consisting of a ceiling finished with tinplate with designs pressed into them, that was very popular in Victorian architecture, Victorian buildings in North America in the late 19th and early 20th cent ...
s. In 1967 the home was purchased by Bill and Joan Yerema who were committed to preserving the home’s original features.
32 Albert Street S. is thought to be one of the oldest homes in Sunderland, built quite possibly in the 1850’s by the Jones family for whom Jones’ Corners (now known as Sunderland) was named. The property was acquired by William Doble and his wife Margaret Ruddy in 1875 and ownership passed on to James and Mary Ellen Doble in 1922 and then Harold and Beryl Doble in 1964. Herb Gray owned the property at the turn of the last century.
28 Jones Street was acquired by Charles Leslie Lowes, a self-made millionaire who apprenticed in Sunderland as a baker under the tutelage of William Thompson. The original frame home on the property was replaced sometime in the 1930’s with the two-story brick home that we see today. The interior of the home features a brick fireplace, formal dining room, double
french doors and four bedrooms. Through a lifelong, rent-free lease, Lowes gifted the property to his sister, Ida Carter. Following her death in 1952, the property was acquired by George and Evelyn Edwards.
60 River Street was the home of George Kay, Sunderland's last blacksmith. He purchased this home in 1907 and resided in it until 1995 when it was purchased by George Durward. Kay's busy shop was on the lot immediately east of the house and was a gathering place for many local farmers who would catch up on local news.
48 River Street was first owned by Robert Murray Doble (1861-1949) and his wife Margaret Ray (1863-1941) and then by his son Floyd Doble (1896-1962) who moved off his 4th concession farm on the 4th of Brock. Later, the home was owned by Denise Marsh who operated an antique business called the Glass Garage from it.
15 Albert St. N. This two-storey yellow brick home was built by Frank Doble, a Sunderland lumberman. The double veranda with ornamental woodwork appeared in the architecture of some of the community's more affluent residents.
Notable houses
Demographics
In the
2021 Canadian census
The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canada, Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, whic ...
conducted by
Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...
, Sunderland had a population of 1,490 living in 537 of its 561 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 1,243. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
Geography
The region around Sunderland is rolling farmland, with dense first-growth
deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
forests and rich agricultural soil. Sunderland displays many typical traits of a
temperate humid climate. Its altitude and proximity to the Canadian Shield allows for much deciduous forests with beginning sprouts of
conifer
Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...
ous trees.
Education
Sunderland has one public school, Sunderland Public School, which celebrated its 50-year anniversary on 20 October 2007. The nearest
high school
A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
is
Brock High School, located west of
Cannington.
Sports
Sunderland is home of the Brock Minor Hockey Association, the Sunderland Skating Club, the Sunderland Ringette Association, and Sunderland Minor Baseball.
Events
Sunderland hosts the annual Maple Syrup Festival at the beginning of April each year. The town also hosts the annual Sunderland Fall Fair in September of each year. This fair has been held annually since the 1850s and is the longest continuously running fair in Ontario. As well, Sunderland hosts Orange Parades with the Orange Order, usually during the month of July.
Service clubs
Sunderland has been home to a local
Lions Club
Lions Clubs International, is an international service organization, currently headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois. , it had over 46,000 local clubs and more than 1.4 million members (including the youth wing Leo clubs, Leo) in more than 200 ge ...
since 1955. As of 2011 the club has approximately 60 members which puts it amongst the largest in its Lions International District known as A-16. The club runs various fundraisers throughout the year such as a car draw and
beach volleyball
Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two to four players each on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side o ...
tournament as well as annually hosting a
Blue Rodeo
Blue Rodeo is a Canadian rock band formed in 1984 in Toronto, Ontario. They have released 16 full-length studio albums, four live recordings, one greatest hits album, and two video/DVDs, along with multiple solo albums, side projects, and colla ...
concert. All profits from these events are put back into service projects and used for the purpose of community betterment. One of the club's largest service projects is the annual Sunderland Lions Music Festival which is held over three weeks, beginning in mid-April.
Nearby communities
*
Beaverton, north
*
Oakwood, east
*
Pefferlaw, northwest
*
Vroomanton, west
*
Port Perry
Port Perry is a community located in Scugog, Ontario, Canada. The town is located northeast of central Toronto, north of Oshawa, and east of Whitby, Ontario, Whitby. Port Perry has a population of 9,553 as of 2021.
Port Perry serves as the admi ...
, southeast
*
Uxbridge
Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon, northwest of Charing Cross. Uxbridge formed part of the parish of Hillingdon in the county of Middlesex. As part ...
, southwest
*
Cannington, northeast
Transportation
*
Ontario Highway 7
King's Highway 7, commonly referred to as Highway 7 (abbreviated as Hwy 7) and historically as the Northern Highway, is a Ontario Provincial Highway Network, provincially maintained highway in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian pro ...
/
Ontario Highway 12
*
GO Bus 81, Connecting Sunderland to
Whitby GO Station
*Small private registered
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 ...
located west of town (CSD7 -
Sunderland Aerodrome)
Other information
*Area code: +(00)1-
705
*Postal code: L0C 1H0
There are about 30 homes on the extreme south-west corner of Brock Township with (rural route) Sunderland mailing addresses and a
905 North American area code.
References
External links
Sunderlandat the Township of Brock
{{authority control
Communities in the Regional Municipality of Durham