Cedar Grove, Ontario
| Cedar Grove | |
|---|---|
| Unincorporated community | |
| Coordinates: 43°51′28″N 79°12′13″W / 43.85778°N 79.20361°W | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Ontario |
| Regional municipality | York |
| City | Markham |
| Established | 1832 |
| Elevation | 177 m (581 ft) |
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| Area code(s) | 905 and 289 |
| NTS Map | 030M14 |
| GNBC Code | FAPKR |
Cedar Grove is a community in Markham, Ontario on the Little Rouge River. It is centred on 14th Avenue and Reesor Road (10th Line) and within the boundaries of the future national Rouge Park.
James Osborne of North Carolina, with wife and children, first settled in the Cedar Grove area in the late eighteenth century. In 1804 Mennonite settlers from Pennsylvania (sometimes called the Pennsylvania Dutch) arrived in Cedar Grove, headed by Peter Reesor, who first scouted the area for his community in the 1790s. Reesor bought the Osborne lot (lot 4, conc. 9) and performed the settlement duties for the original grantee in 1804; he then acquired lot 5 in 1805. The stone house on the Reesor homestead was built in 1832.
By 1820, John Eby Reesor helped to construct a log building at the corner of Steeles Ave. and 11th Line to serve as both a school and a church, for Mennonites and Presbyterians. About 1850, a frame school building was constructed on the north side of 14th Ave., east of 10th Line to accommodate the growing community. The old school house is now Cedar Grove Community Centre. In 1869, this building was replaced by a red brick school across the south side of 14th Ave. "Cedar Grove school was unique ... in having a gallery where in winter any adult could come and get a bit of learning by listening to the classes below."
By 1878 the hamlet also had four mills, a post office and general store, tavern and inn, and blacksmith shop (now at the Markham Museum and Historical Village). A Mennonite Meeting House was built on lot 4, conc. 9 in 1867, although the grounds were used as a cemetery (now Rouge Valley Mennonite Church Cemetery) as early as 1824. The Zion Presbyterian Church constructed a frame-building on the 11th Line near Steeles in 1856, which was replaced by a stone building (now Heritage United Church) in 1890.
Today Cedar Grove is best known as the home of Cedarena, an outdoor skating facility built in 1927. Once one of the largest rinks in the province (olympic size), the historical rink is still in use.
The Little Rouge Valley Vine, or "Great Vine", is the largest natural vine in the Ontario mixed forests. Situated next to the Little Rouge River in the heart of the valley, the "Great Vine" is over 30 cm in diameter at the base and is estimated to have runners which, together, stretch over 1 km.
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