Richmond Hill, Ontario

Cenotaph on Yonge Street

Village of Richmond Hill, with original logo

The village of Richmond Hill was incorporated by a bylaw of the York County Council on June 18, 1872,[4] coming into effect January 1, 1873.[5] In September 1956, the Ontario Municipal Board approved its elevation to Town status, effective January 1, 1957.[6]

The Regional Municipality of York was established by Bill 102 An Act to Establish the Regional Municipality of York of the provincial parliament, passed on June 26, 1970, and coming into force on January 1, 1971.[7] The act expanded Richmond Hill's borders, annexing parts of Whitchurch Township, Markham Township, Vaughan Township and King Township into Richmond Hill, expanding the area covered from 1,700 acres (6.9 km²) to 27,000 acres (110 km²) and the population from a little over 19,000 to some 34,000. Historically the town was bounded along a narrow strip along Yonge Street from Lots 48 to 46 (about Crosby Avenue down to Major Mackenzie Drive), as far east as Church Street and slightly west of Mill Pond (excluding Lot 46 where it ended just north of Arnold Crescent or eastern end of today's Don Head Park). The town grew to encompass the communities of Gormley, Dollar, Langstaff, Carrville, Headford, Elgin Mills, Jefferson, Bond Lake, Temperanceville, Lake Wilcox, Oak Ridges and Richvale. While Richmond Hill was a prosperous, well developed town, many of the outlying areas annexed were far more rural, with dirt roads, no water mains or sewers and no streetlights, and the time needed to bring municipal services up in these areas, combined with residual unequal tax assessments caused considerable conflict in the municipal politics. Policing was taken over by the York Regional Police, but fire protection remained with Richmond Hill, whose firefighting force quickly grew. Having hired its first full-time employee in 1967, it had fourteen full-time employees by 1971.

Yonge Street through Richmond Hill expanded from two lanes to four in 1971, relieving congestion on what was known as "Ontario's worst stretch of highway".[7]

The Richmond Hill Dynes Jewellers softball team was the 1972 Softball World Champions.[7] The Royal Canadian Air Farce was recorded at the Curtain Club Theatre in Richmond Hill for its first 5 seasons on radio, beginning in 1973.[8] The Air Farce returned for an anniversary recording in the 1990s. Also in 1973 was the centennial of the town's incorporation as a village, and the town set up a number of celebratory activities, including a beard growing contest, commissioning a centennial song, a parade, a street dance and the unveiling of a historic plaque honouring the town's founding in front of the municipal offices. June 27 was officially declared Russell Lynett Day, named after the town's clerk, only the third in its existence. 1973 also saw the sale of the last of the original rose-growing greenhouses in Richmond Hill. Development had led to increasing property taxes and the H.J. Mills greenhouses relocated to Bayview Avenue and Elgin Mill Road. The site of the greenhouses was developed as a subdivision. The fast-growing town set aside significant areas for parks, with five new parks dedicated in 1973, and two more in 1974. The Richmond Hill Historical Society was founded in 1973.[7] The society was dedicated to preserving the history of Richmond Hill and raising awareness of the town's history. Their first action was to restore a 150-year-old house, known as the Burr House.

As the 1970s went on, the population growth of Richmond Hill remained large. In 1976, home prices in Richmond Hill were among the highest in Canada.[7] By this time, the town council was split over whether to keep expanding rapidly. The deadlock over a fifty-five house subdivision named Springmills Estate led to one councillor saying that it was not the reform council it was dubbed, but a "deformed council". Other housing projects faced similar problems as councillors debated many things, including the need for affordable housing and the encroachment of homes into the farmland and the Oak Ridges Moraine.

GO train service was extended to Richmond Hill in 1978, officially opened on April 29, 1978, by Bill Davis.[9]

Growth in Richmond Hill slowed towards the end of the 1970s, with M.L. McConaghy Public School closing in 1979 due to dropping enrolment.[7] At the same time, Richmond Hill began to make official plans for future land development. The first official plan concerned a 700-acre (2.8 km²) industrial park at Leslie Street and Highway 7 named Beaver Creek. A commercial area within the park spread into the hamlet of Dollar. The plan was rejected, however, by the Ontario Municipal Board, and Richmond Hill was the first municipality in Ontario to have its official plan rejected outright by the board. The whole affair was subject to much controversy in the community, although the town council eventually declined to appeal the decision.

When the new council convened in 1980, led by new mayor Al Duffy, the town remained without a development plan. The council hired civic planner Peter Walker to produce a new official plan. By September 1981, the new plan was drafted, with limited development of northern Richmond Hill, industrial development centred in the south-east part of town and commercial centres remaining along Yonge Street.[10] The plan was approved in July 1982 by the Ontario Municipal Board.

A clash over the use of the land in Langstaff, known as the Langstaff Jail Farm erupted in 1982 between Richmond Hill and Toronto, which owned the land.[11] The 632-acre (2.56 km²) plot of land had been acquired by Toronto in 1911, and was unused in 1982. Toronto's plans for development clashed with those of Richmond Hill over the balance of industry and residential development, with Richmond Hill favouring more industrial development.[12]

The rose business left Richmond Hill in June 1982, with the closure of H.J. Mills florists. Mills died in 1980, leaving the company to his son, but the poor economic conditions, combined with increasing property taxes in the growing city made the business unprofitable.[10] A 1984 contest organised by The Liberal had readers submit entries for a new town slogan. The town council chose three of the submissions which residents then voted on, and "A little north, a little nicer" became Richmond Hill's new town slogan.

Richmond Hill's growth continued during the 1990s, fuelled in significant part by immigration, with many businesses opened on Highway 7 around Leslie Street serving the new Chinese Community that formed there. In the early 90s, Statistics Canada named Richmond Hill as Canada's fastest-growing community.[13]

On March 25, 2019, the Richmond Hill Council passed a motion to change the title of Richmond Hill from 'town' to 'city'.[14]

The city's motto is En la rose, je fleuris (French for "Like the rose, I flourish"), reflecting either the motto of the Duke of Richmond, or the fact that the city was a centre of rose-growing in the early 20th century. At that time, it was known as the "Rose Capital" of Canada. A more recent motto for Richmond Hill is A little north, a little nicer.

Richmond Hill is the only municipal Canadian government to have light pollution laws in place, due to the presence of the David Dunlap Observatory.[15]

In June 2013, the city's council passed a bylaw to ban the number 4 from new street numbers because it is considered to be bad luck in some East Asian cultures.[16]

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Richmond Hill had a population of 202,022 living in 69,314 of its 72,017 total private dwellings, a change of 3.6% from its 2016 population of 195,022. With a land area of 100.79 km² (38.92 sq mi), it had a population density of 2,004.4/km² (5,191.3/sq mi) in 2021.[37]

The median age as of 2021 was 43.6, slightly higher than the Ontario median age of 41.6.[36]

According to the city's website as of 2011, Richmond Hill is an affluent community with more than 52% of families reporting incomes of greater than $70,000 and over 31% of households reporting incomes greater than $100,000. The average household income in Richmond Hill is $100,900 which is 34% higher than the Canadian average and 26% higher than the provincial average. Based on the 2006 Census, 42.62% of families in the City of Richmond Hill earned $100,000 and over. The employment rate of the city is 66.36% with the most prevalent occupations being in the business, finance and administration and management sectors.[43] The 2006 Census showed that the unemployment rate is very low at 3.77%, compared with the 7.4% unemployment rate across Canada during the time of the Census.[43]

The 1990s and 2000s were periods of strong economic growth for Richmond Hill; In 1999 industrial, commercial and institutional growth was valued at $88.9 million, up from $67.9 million in 1998. The economic growth of 1999 won the city's economic development department three provincial awards from the Economic Developers Council of Ontario.[44] The border between Richmond Hill and Markham is a rapidly growing area for information technology and high-tech industry with over 1,000 such businesses located along their border in 2000.[45]

Most businesses in Richmond Hill are small businesses, with more than half of all employers in the city having four workers or less.[34] The city is home to the corporate headquarters of Acklands Grainger Inc., Compugen Inc., Compuware, DMC Mining Services, Lexmark, Rogers Communications, BMW Canada, Science & Medicine Canada, and Staples.

The York Region District School Board operates 27 public elementary schools in Richmond Hill, as well as 5 secondary schools: Alexander Mackenzie High School, Bayview Secondary School, Langstaff Secondary School, Richmond Green Secondary School and Richmond Hill High School.[47] Students in schools in the York Region District School Board have scored above the provincial average on the Assessment of Reading, Writing and Mathematics, Primary Division (Grades 1–3) and Junior Division (Grades 4–6) since their introduction in 2002.[48] The board's students in academic math streams have performed above the provincial average on the Grade 9 Assessment of Mathematics every year since its inception in 2002, while those in applied math streams were below the provincial average in 2002–2005, and above the provincial average from 2005 to 2007.

The York Catholic District School Board operates 13 Catholic elementary schools in Richmond Hill. It also operates two Catholic secondary schools, St. Theresa of Lisieux Catholic High School and Our Lady Queen of the World Catholic Academy.[49]

There are also many private schools located in Richmond Hill, including Holy Trinity School, Richmond Hill Christian Academy, Discovery Academy, Toronto Montessori Schools, and Richmond Hill Montessori & Private Elementary School.[50]

Post-secondary education services are provided to the residents of Richmond Hill by several post-secondary educational institutions in Toronto, some of which have satellite campuses in nearby communities.

Former Governor General Michaëlle Jean was a guest at the opening ceremony of a school named after her, in 2008, the Michaëlle Jean Public School.

• Carrville
• Dollar
• Gormley
• Richvale
• Lake Wilcox
• Langstaff
• Temperanceville

Richmond Hill looking north from Langstaff

East Beaver Creek (Beaver Creek)

Richmond Hill's current commercial hub is located near Leslie Street and Ontario Highway 7, where it borders Markham's AMD headquarters. Built in the early to mid-1990s, the area is serviced by Highway 404, York Region Transit, and Buttonville Airport. The current City Hall was moved to that location in 1994.

Times Square

Southern Richmond Hill is home to the city's industrial and business region housing most of the city's hotels, as well as the main commercial area of the city's Chinese community. The northern part of city is considered to be Old Richmond Hill as it is a historical area. Central Richmond Hill is a very commercial area, housing multiple malls, plazas and entertainment buildings, such as theatres and restaurants. The northernmost part of the city is mostly farm land, though it is slowly being developed.

During the 1990s, Chinese immigrants primarily from Hong Kong moved to Richmond Hill, where they set up businesses and shops catering to the community. Many shops and restaurants were established in suburban-style shopping malls and plazas, such as Times Square, along a stretch of Highway 7 between Bayview Avenue and Leslie Street.

Family of geese crossing Jefferson Side Road

Richmond Hill is bounded by Bloomington Rd. (Aurora town limit) to the north, York Regional Road 7 (Vaughan city limit west of Yonge St., Markham city limit east of Yonge St.) to the south, Bathurst St. (Vaughan city limit) to the west, and Ontario Highway 404 (Markham city limit) to the east. Its southern limit is about 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) north of the Toronto city limit, Steeles Avenue, and approximately 20 kilometres (12 miles) north of the downtown core of Toronto. The city extends 14 kilometres (8.7 miles) north–south and 7 kilometres (4.3 miles) east–west.

The predominant feature of the city's geography, as its name suggests, is its elevation above surrounding regions. Thousands of years ago during the last ice-age, glaciers moving in a southerly direction amassed a considerable amount of earth in front of them which they carried forward as they grew. Gradually, as the temperature increased the growth of the glaciers lessened and eventually they began to recede to what is now the polar ice cap. The earth that had been collected by the glacier's movement was left in place and the elevated region that remained comprises modern day Richmond Hill.

The city itself is at a much greater elevation than other communities within the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and with the exclusion of areas closely alongside its borders, the constituent of York region with the greatest height above sea level. The uneven melting of the glacier that formed the city has led to an extremely varied geography within the city's own borders, leading to such features as kettle lakes, minor tributaries and most notably the Oak Ridges Moraine.

Kettle lakes are the result of glacier water getting caught in water-tight depressions in the land and are sustained by only rainfall in the immediate area. The City of Richmond Hill has many of these water bodies and its three largest in order of decreasing size are Lake Wilcox, Bond Lake and Philips Lake. The kettle lakes are predominantly confined to the northern fringes of the city.

Footbridge in Richmond Green Sports Centre & Park

Being elevated above the surrounding region, precipitation in the city tends to flow outwards via the multitude of streams and rivers that flow through the city. Principally water flow is in one of two directions, south to Lake Ontario or north to Lake Simcoe where they join up with larger tributaries that feed into the water bodies. Of note are the Rouge, Humber, and Don rivers, which receive some of their flow from sources in the city.

Perhaps the most important geographical feature of the City of Richmond Hill is the Oak Ridges Moraine. The moraine is a further elevated region of loose soil which comprises a significant portion (roughly the northern third) of the land area of the city. Its porous nature allows the collection and natural filtering of waters that flow through it which are then fed into multiple underground aquifers. While the city receives its water from the City of Toronto, these aquifers are an important source for those with their own wells in addition to surrounding communities. The ability of the soil to hold so much water means that despite Richmond Hill's comparatively high elevation, it has a very high water table which poses some problems to construction. The moraine is also host to a staggering amount of biodiversity and in recent years there has been a considerable amount of pressure applied to government to shield the area from development. Consequently, a considerable portion of Richmond Hill is subject to the Ontario Government's Greenbelt legislation.

• Hillcrest Mall, a large and popular shopping mall located on the northwest corner of Yonge Street and Carrville Road. It has 135 shops, services, and restaurants.
• The Emerald Isle Motel on Yonge Street is known to display conservative rhymes and provocative quotes on their sign. These quotes usually relate to current events. The film Man of the Year, starring Robin Williams, was filmed at the motel in late 2005. This motel also was featured in the film The Wrong Guy. The motel closed in 2020 and ready to demolish.
• The David Dunlap Observatory is home to the largest reflecting telescope in Canada. The 74 in (1,900 mm) telescope was the second largest in the world upon its construction in 1935. The observatory was a research facility of the University of Toronto.
• The original Canadian burger chain Harvey's restaurant was opened in Richmond Hill in 1959 at the corner of Yonge Street and Observatory Lane. It was demolished in February 2012 and was replaced by the Xpression condominiums.
• The City of Richmond Hill Municipal Office Building, at 225 East Beaver Creek Road. The building serves as the seat of government of the municipality. Most of the city departments are located there, and all public Council and Committee Meetings are also held in this building.
• Richmond Hill United Church, with a prominent three-tier steeple, dates back to 1880.
• The Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts, located in downtown Richmond Hill.
• The Richmond Hill Central Library, a massive public library located in the heart of the city.

• 
  Hillcrest Mall
• 
  David Dunlap Observatory
• 
  Richmond Hill Central Library
• 
  Richmond Hill city office at Highway 7 & East Beaver Creek Road

• Richmond Hill Liberal, Richmond Hill's newspaper
• CFMJ AM 640 (AM 640 Talk Radio)
• ISIGN Media

Richmond Hill is sister cities with Lakeland, Florida,[61] and twinned with Netanya, Israel and Shijiazhuang, China.[62]

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Richmond Hill.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Richmond Hill, Ontario.

• Official website