Thornton is an unincorporated place in Essa Township,

Simcoe County Simcoe County is a county and census division located in the central region of Ontario, Canada. The county is located north of the Greater Toronto Area, and forms the north western edge of the Golden Horseshoe. The county seat is located in Mi ...

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. It had a population of 1,046 as of the 2021 Census. It is north 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 ...

History

The town of Thornton developed during the 1820s, and in 1833 was established as Henrysville (or Henry's Corners) after early settler John Henry, who was the first teacher and then the schoolmaster, and later became the postmaster when an office opened in 1854. The name Henrysville caused confusion in the mail system at the time, so the community became Thornton in 1854 after Henry Thornton, who owned a grist mill, saw mill and planning mill.

Recent history

Thornton has had two subdivisions built within the hamlet in the last 10 years. As of January 2019, there is a new residential subdivision of estate homes currently under development on the west side of Hwy. 27 (Barrie Street). The Thornton Crossing Plaza has also been built with a variety of businesses including the Thornton Post Office and a few private businesses such as Tim Hortons, Petro Canada, The Sushi Chef, The Last Shot Grill, Aura Hair Studio, Farm Credit Canada and Edward Jones Financial Advisor.

Geography

Thornton is located on generally flat and fertile soils about north of

Cookstown, Ontario Innisfil is a town in Ontario, Canada, located on the western shore of Lake Simcoe in Simcoe County, immediately south of Barrie and north of Toronto. It has historically been a rural area, but since it is geographically sandwiched between th ...

, and south of

Barrie, Ontario Barrie is a city in Central Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay. Although it is physically in the county, Barrie is politically independent. The city is par ...

. The

Trans Canada Trail The Trans Canada Trail is a cross-Canada system of greenways, waterways, and roadways that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, Pacific to the Arctic Ocean, Arctic oceans. The trail extends over ; it is now the longe ...

runs through Thornton and the intersection of Country Road 21 and County Road 27 marks the core of the hamlet of Thornton.

Attractions

* The fire station in Thornton is run by volunteers and is a municipal service that provides help in emergency situations, education about fire prevention, and fire permits. The fire station building is shared with Essa Public Library.Thornton Fire Station
/ref> * The Essa Public Library was founded in December 1996. It also has a meeting room for community events and activities and provides internet access to its clients.
/ref> * Thornton Arena is where the Thornton Tigers play, a minor hockey league team.Thornton Tigers
/ref>

References

{{authority control Communities in Simcoe County Former designated places in Ontario