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Newmarket is a town located approximately 45 km north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Newmarket is served by three interchanges along Ontario provincial highway 404. It is the seat of York Region. Southlake Regional Health Centre (hospital) is located in Newmarket.

Famous Newmarketers include Jim Carrey, John Candy, and Tyler Stewart. See Famous residents for more.

Geography

Newmarket's geographical coördinates are 44.05°N, 79.46°W, and its elevation above sea level is 239 m. It has an area of 38.07 km² and is part of the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe in an area known as the "905 Region" (a reference to the GTA's telephone area code outside Toronto proper).

The town is bounded on the north by the Town of East Gwillimbury, on the east by the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville, on the south by the Town of Aurora, and on the west by King Township, themselves all likewise part of York Region.

Newmarket lies north of the Oak Ridges Moraine. Hence, all drainage in the town flows northwards into Lake Simcoe. The main river in Newmarket is the East Holland River (known locally simply as the Holland River), and all other streams in the town are tributary thereto. These include Bogart Creek, a brook that wends its way into town from the moraine by way of Bogarttown emptying into the Holland in north-central Newmarket, Western Creek, another brook rising just west of town and reaching the Holland in the town's north end, Tannery Creek, a stream that joins the Holland in south Newmarket after flowing through Aurora, and a number of other small watercourses. North of Davis Drive, about 200 m downstream from the forks where Bogart Creek ends, the East Holland River does not follow a natural course. The river was straightened somewhat to prepare it for use as a commercial waterway. A series of locks was even built for this purpose, but the plan eventually came to naught in the early years of the twentieth century. The foreseen canal never opened, and Newmarket never became an inland port.

There are two man-made lakes in Newmarket. Fairy Lake, a favourite recreational spot in the centre of town, is a former millpond on the East Holland River. Bogart Pond, also a former millpond, is fed and drained by Bogart Creek in Bogarttown. The latter is much smaller than the former, but is actually wider. Furthermore, the water level in the reach of the East Holland north of Davis Drive is controlled from an unfinished Newmarket Canal lock, now used as a weir.

Newmarket also lies south of and above the Algonquin Shoreline where elevations suddenly drop off from the gently rolling hills that characterize much of Newmarket to the much flatter, lower land down below in the Holland Marsh.

The land itself is characterized mainly by glacial deposits from the last ice age. The town is underlain mainly by sand and gravel, ground by the icesheets that covered the area until about 10,000 years ago. No outcrops are to be found anywhere in Newmarket, so deep are the glacial deposits.

Population

According to the 2001 Census, the town's population was 65,788. The Region of York Planning department currently (June 30, 2004) puts the total at 73,715 . According to the same source, the population projection for 2006 is 79,000. The town is currently one of the fastest growing and most densely populated in York Region.

History

The town was founded in 1801 as a Quaker settlement led by Timothy Rogers. Several mills were soon built to supply the residents, and the amount of goods produced by the local mills and farms earned it the name "New Market" (as opposed to Toronto, the "old market".) The mills were powered by the flow of the East Holland River.

Newmarket was incorporated as a village in 1857 and a town in 1880. By the 1950s, Newmarket was experiencing a suburban building boom due to its proximity to Toronto. The expansion has continued into more recent decades, and the townsite now includes two formerly distinct rural hamlets, Armitage (on Yonge Street south of Mulock Drive) and Bogarttown (at the intersection of Mulock Drive and Leslie Street).

Newmarket is a thriving community unto itself, with a strong awareness of its own history. Newmarket is not a new bedroom community; it is a very old and industrious town that is rich with heritage.

Arms

Newmarket's armorial bearing is actually taken from the town's corporate seal. The town flag is a navy blue field with this same design in the middle. The beehive and bees are said to represent industry. The current form of the seal was introduced in 1938 with the arms somewhat altered from – but very similar in concept to – one that was earlier used. The arms' origin is something of a mystery, however. It is unknown what artist created the current version – or indeed the earlier version – and the town has no official record as to the purchase or redesign of the arms.

Education

Newmarket has 15 elementary schools and 4 secondary schools under The York Region District School Board, 6 elementary schools and 1 secondary school under The York Catholic District School Board, and Pickering College, a private school.

The four secondary schools under the York Region District School Board are (in order that they were originally built):

• Newmarket High School
• Huron Heights Secondary School
• Dr. John M. Denison Secondary School
• Sir William Mulock Secondary School

There is currently just one secondary school under the leadership of the York Catholic District School Board:

• Sacred Heart Catholic High School

There is also a private coeducational boarding and day school in Newmarket:

• Pickering College

Government

As of 2005, Tom Taylor was the mayor of Newmarket and has served in that capacity since 1997.

The town is part of the federal riding of Newmarket—Aurora. As of 2005, the riding is represented in the Canadian House of Commons by Belinda Stronach, a member of the Liberal Party of Canada and graduate of Newmarket High School. Ms. Stronach was elected as a member of the Conservatives and subsequently crossed the floor to the Liberals, but was re-elected as a Liberal on January 23, 2006.

The town is part of the provincial riding of York North in the Ontario Provincial Legislature. The riding includes Newmarket, East Gwillimbury, and Georgina. As of 2005, Conservative MPP Julia Munro represents York North.

Government offices in Newmarket:

• Municipal Offices (Town Hall)
• York Region Council
• York Regional Police
• Ontario Provincial Courthouse

Famous residents

• Jim Carrey, actor and comedian.
• John Candy, actor and comedian.
• Dit Clapper, Hall of Fame hockey player.
• Vince Corazza, actor.
• Mazo de la Roche, author of the Jalna series.
• Glass Tiger, rock band.
• Herb Cain, NHL scoring champion (Boston Bruins, 1944)
• Mike Kitchen, head coach for the St. Louis Blues. (Born in Newmarket raised in Schomberg, Ontario)
• H.R. MacMillan,CBE, C.C., forestry specialist and industrialist, wartime administrator, philanthropist.
• William Mulock, former Cabinet Mininster and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Ontario.
• Joe Murphy, member of the 1990 Edmonton Oilers when they won the Stanley Cup.
• Peter Orr, Olympic baseball player
• Tyler Stewart, drummer for Barenaked Ladies.
• Elvis Stojko, former figure skating world champion.
• Belinda Stronach, current Canadian Member of Parliament
• Curtis Joseph born in Keswick grew up in Sharon (northeast Newmarket and went to high school in Newmarket)
• Corey Locke (hockey player)
• Ben Johnson moved to Newmarket in his teens from Jamaica and still resides there
• Jamie Macoun former Toronto Maple Leaf and Calgary Flames NHL defenceman (hockey player)

External links

• Town of Newmarket Official Website
• Map of Newmarket (interactive; centred on Old Town Hall)
• Satellite view of Newmarket

• Towns in Ontario
• York Region, Ontario