Lake Wilcox, Ontario
| Wilcox Lake | |
|---|---|
Wilcox Lake from Sunset Beach Park
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| Location | Richmond Hill, Ontario |
| Coordinates | 43°56′56.69″N 79°26′9.45″W / 43.9490806°N 79.4359583°WCoordinates: 43°56′56.69″N 79°26′9.45″W / 43.9490806°N 79.4359583°W |
| Type | Kettle lake |
| Basin countries | Canada |
| Surface area | 137 acres (55 ha) |
| Max. depth | 57 ft. (17.4 m) |
Wilcox Lake (or more commonly; Lake Wilcox) is both a kettle lake and a community within Oak Ridges, Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada. The lake measures 1.5 kilometers across and covers 55.6 hectares, making it the largest kettle lake on the Oak Ridges Moraine. Lake Wilcox, Lake St. George and their associated wetlands form a "provincially significant wetland".
The lake is named after William Willcocks, who was a merchant and became mayor of Cork, Ireland in 1793. Willcocks and his family moved to Upper Canada, where his cousin Peter Russell became interim administrator after the departure of John Graves Simcoe in 1796. Willcocks "was an active land speculator" who acquired significant holdings in Upper Canada, including 800 acres (3.2 km2) surrounding the lake. The name of the lake was originally Lake Willcocks, but it was corrupted over time to its present spelling.
A community of the same name is established around the lake.
Wilcox Lake is a local community located within Oak Ridges. The local community has an elementary school; Lake Wilcox elementary school, the Lake Wilcox Community Centre, as well as a number of local parks; Sunset Beach Park and Brickworks Parks being most popular. The local community has come together through a number of tragedies, including the death of a local mother, Terri Callaway on North Lake Road, and two local teens who accidentally drowned in the lake in 2008. There is a craft brewery named after Wilcox Lake called Lake Wilcox Brewing Co. located in Vaughan. Est March 17, 2015
The lake was recorded as "Lake Wilcocks" on an 1878 map in the Illustrated historical atlas of the county of York and the township of West Gwillimbury & town of Bradford in the county of Simcoe, Ont.
Housing developments began to boom around Wilcox Lake in the 1950s. Lake Wilcox, as a part of the annexation of Oak Ridges, became a part of Richmond Hill in 1971. The suburban housing developments did not continue until the mid to late 1980s. The developments affected the forests of the Oak Ridges Moraine which supplies water to the GTA. Which would cause environmental damage to Toronto. It continued for about two years. There were protests against the clear-cutting of forests of the Oak Ridges Moraine. In about 2001, Bayview began to expand to connect with the rest of Bayview. In 2002, the housing developments stopped.
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Wikipedia