When Upper and Lower Canada were established in 1791, John Graves Simcoe was appointed lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada. Simcoe named a substantial tract of land north of the Town of York (now Toronto) after his friend, William Markham, the Archbishop of York.

Simcoe’s concern for the military security of the new territory led to the clearing of Yonge Street and a system of free land grants that helped establish the Township of Markham.

Markham’s first settlers were Germans dissatisfied with incentives offered by the United States. They were recruited by William Berczy for New York State in 1792. Simcoe’s proclamation that year, detailing the free land grants, attracted Berczy’s attention.

In May of 1794 Berczy negotiated with Simcoe for 64,000 acres in Markham Township. The Berczy settlers, joined by several Pennsylvania German families, set out for Upper Canada. Sixty-four families arrived that year. Harsh winters and crop failures took their toll. Many of Berczy’s group moved back to Niagara but those who stayed prospered eventually.

French émigrés arrived in 1797, more Pennsylvania Germans (mostly Mennonites) during the early 1800s and, after 1830, Irish, Scottish and English migrants, all looking for a better life.

Markham’s early years (1794-1830) were characterized by the rigours of homesteading and the development of agricultural industries.

Small hamlets—German Mills, Almira and Cedar Grove—sprang up where rivers and streams supported water-powered saw, grist and woollen mills. By 1857 most of the township had been cleared and settled. The villages of Thornhill, Unionville and Markham expanded as wagon works, tanneries and furniture factories developed land and local markets.
 

The new Markham Civic Centre was officially opened in 1991.

When railway development in neighbouring townships during the 1850s threatened the prosperity of Markham, township businesses lobbied for a rail link. On September 14, 1871, the Toronto and Nipissing Railway Company, with stations in Unionville and Markham, opened its Scarborough-Uxbridge line.

At first the railway brought renewed prosperity. The Village of Markham, incorporated in 1873, grew to a population of 1,100 by 1891.

But contact with Toronto, enhanced by train, telegraph, telephone and automobile, diminished the industrial role of Markham’s villages after the turn of the century. Local firms could not compete with bigger city suppliers. So Markham returned to being quietly productive farm country.

After World War II, Markham again experienced urban encroachment from Toronto—but in a positive way. Industrialized by the war effort and experiencing a postwar baby boom unlike any other, Toronto drew new immigrants from all over Europe and the Far East. People and businesses needed room to expand and many moved north to the township.

The Regional Municipality of York was established by Ontario in 1971. Northern portions of the township were annexed to Richmond Hill and Whitchurch-Stouffville. The balance of Markham Township was incorporated as the Town of Markham.

The new town rapidly became a major growth centre, first for the region and then for the whole province. The opening of Highway 404 in the mid-1970s accelerated urban development. Its modern settlers came from all four quarters of the globe.

Then, as a technological network of pooled expertise developed in the Town, in the 1990s, Markham became a magnet for innovators and entrepreneurs.

Now, international alliances are cornerstones in the history of modern Markham. Multinational corporations build headquarters there. Transnational products and services developed in Markham are in demand around the world.

Yet, through this rapid growth toward the 21st century, the Town’s roots endure. Markham’s motto is “Leading While Remembering.” Still rich in history, Markham is now one of Canada’s leading high-technology centres.