Maple is a neighbourhood in Vaughan, York Region, Ontario, Canada.[1] It is located northwest of Toronto. Maple was founded as the village of Maple, located at the intersection of Major Mackenzie Drive and Keele Street.

Maple
Wonder Mountain at Canada's Wonderland in Maple.
Wonder Mountain at Canada's Wonderland in Maple.
Maple, Ontario is located in Ontario
Maple, Ontario
Location within Ontario
Coordinates: 43°51′14″N 79°30′47″W / 43.85389°N 79.51306°W / 43.85389; -79.51306
CountryCanada
ProvinceOntario
Regional municipalityYork Region
CityVaughan
Time zoneUTC−5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
Forward sortation area
Area code(s)905 and 289
NTS Map30M13 Bolton
GNBC CodeFDKOV[1]

Geography

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Maple is located in the Golden Horseshoe of Southern Ontario. To the northeast of is the Oak Ridges Moraine, which supplies a lot of water to the Greater Toronto Area.

The west branch of the Don River rises to the northwest and flows 1 km west of Maple. Several creeks are to the east and the Black Creek begins slightly west of Vellore. Humber River flows in the west, the Don River flows to the northern and the eastern part.

York University Keele Campus lies to the south of Steeles Avenue, within the city of Toronto.

Climate

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Maple has a continental climate moderated by the Great Lakes and influenced by warm, moist air masses from the south, and cold, dry air from the north.

Climate data for Maple
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 13.0
(55.4)
13.0
(55.4)
24.0
(75.2)
30.0
(86.0)
33.0
(91.4)
35.0
(95.0)
37.5
(99.5)
35.0
(95.0)
30.0
(86.0)
25.0
(77.0)
21.0
(69.8)
14.0
(57.2)
37.5
(99.5)
Record low °C (°F) −27.0
(−16.6)
−26.0
(−14.8)
−23.0
(−9.4)
−9.5
(14.9)
−3.0
(26.6)
5.0
(41.0)
7.0
(44.6)
4.0
(39.2)
−1.5
(29.3)
−6.5
(20.3)
−15.0
(5.0)
−26.0
(−14.8)
−27.0
(−16.6)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 55.4
(2.18)
48.6
(1.91)
62.1
(2.44)
62.1
(2.44)
81.2
(3.20)
84.8
(3.34)
72.9
(2.87)
101.6
(4.00)
85.7
(3.37)
71.5
(2.81)
76.6
(3.02)
62.4
(2.46)
864.9
(34.05)
Source: Environment Canada

Transportation

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The building at the Maple GO Station is a federally designated heritage railway station

Maple's central cross streets are Major Mackenzie Drive and Keele Street. The nearest major highway exit is 3 km west at Highway 400 and Major Mackenzie, with access also at Highway 400 and Rutherford Rd.

Industrial areas are south and west of Maple, closer to Highway 407, and the Canadian National yards north of Highway 7 (Ontario). Maple is located 13 km NE of Woodbridge, 11 km E of Kleinburg 8 km S of King City, 6.5 km from downtown Richmond Hill 12 km NW of Thornhill N of Highway 401, and SSE of Barrie.

Maple is accessed by the GO Transit Barrie commuter line, with rail stations at Maple and Rutherford GO stations. Toronto Transit Commission, York Region Transit, and GO Transit buses serve the area. The Maple GO Station, built in 1903 by the Grand Trunk Railroad, is a federally designated a heritage railway station.[2]

Maple formerly had a small airport in the west, the Maple Airport, which closed down in 1987.[3] The runways ran diagonally like the letter x, the runway from northwest to southeast was the longer, and the other ran southwest to northeast. Streets like Avro, Lockheed, and Mustang on the site of the airport are named after airplanes.

In 2006 Maple gained bus-rapid-transit service under York Region's Transit (YRT) system.

History

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The founding families of Maple were the Noble and the Rupert families. The Nobles settled around the present Major Mackenzie Drive and Keele Street intersection in the early half of the 19th century. In 1852 the town was called Noble’s Corner after Joseph Noble, the first Postmaster. Later, a Doctor Rupert lived in Maple and was such a respected member of the community that the town’s name was changed to Rupertsville. Local folklore associates the name "Maple" with the numerous maple trees once found along Keele Street in the town. Maple was dominated for most of the 19th century by the more prosperous towns of Sherwood and Teston. Keele Street was then a boggy swamp area that forced most travelers to take alternate routes. Once the Ontario, Huron, and Simcoe Railway built a line through Maple, the town began to grow. The station was then called Richmond Hill. The Canadian National Railway bought the line in early 1900 and the station was renamed Maple.[4]

Maple, as a centre of agriculture, was enhanced with the proximity of the CNR line, as well as the growing urban development of Toronto. A major Ontario Department of Lands and Forests office was situated there in the 1960s. Housing developments began in the 1960s in the southwest, as well as replacement of homes damaged in the August 1962 fire and explosion at an industrial propane depot. Massive housing developments did not began until the 1980s in the northwest, near McNaughton.

A gravel pit was in the area north of Major Mackenzie, from the CN line to Dufferin Street. This became the Keele Valley Landfill, which was owned and operated by Metropolitan Toronto, and later by the city of Toronto. The landfill began receiving much of the GTA's garbage when the Beare Road Landfill in Scarborough reached capacity and was decommissioned. The Keele Valley Landfill was closed on New Year's Eve 2002 when it reached its capacity. The site has become reserved for the "Eagle's Nest" golf course, and other developments which will occur in the future once the buried waste decomposes sufficiently.[5]

Canada's Wonderland first opened in 1981.[6]

Maple's proximity to Toronto and its major transportation corridors, and Vaughan's own political support for development, have led to the heavy development and population growth. In 1993, housing development began in the area of what was the Maple Airport. In 1995, it expanded to the western part of Maple. Between 1997 and 1999, urban developments reached the northwestern part of Maple and Melville and the Don to the train tracks. Developments also reached the northeastern part and the southeastern part. Megalot houses began developing northeast of Maple near Dufferin in the late-1990s. The housing developments began up to the Highway 400 in the northwest. Housing developments have begun near Vellore.

As of 2001, developments reached the northwestern part as far as Highway 400, Teston Road, the CN line and the southwest. Most of the housing developments in the early-2000s reached Pine Valley Drive in the southwest in Vellore Village and Vellore Woods. The housing and urban developments is currently in the west between Highway 400 and Weston and Major Mackenzie and will reach to Teston.

Maple is home to one of the largest mosques in Canada. Baitul Islam Mosque is located on Jane Street south of Teston Road, where a planned subdivision named Peace Village was established in 1999.[7]

Political

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Maple is within the Ontario provincial electoral riding of King-Vaughan, and the MPP is Stephen Lecce.[8] Maple is in the federal riding of King-Vaughan and the MP is Anna Roberts.[9]

Nearest communities

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Notable people

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Maple". Natural Resources Canada. October 6, 2016.
  2. ^ "Former Canadian National Railway Station". Canada's Historic Places. Parks Canada. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  3. ^ "Maple Airport Part of Vibrant Past » Canadian Military History". militarybruce.com. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
  4. ^ a b "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-12-24. Retrieved 2013-12-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ Innovasium. "Eagles Nest Golf Club: Frequently Asked Questions". Eaglesnestgolf.com. Retrieved 2016-05-07.
  6. ^ Canuck, Theme Park (2012-03-30). "Canada's Wonderland Park History". Theme Park Canuck. Retrieved 2016-05-07.
  7. ^ "Peacevillage.ca". Archived from the original on 2008-09-02.
  8. ^ "Legislative Assembly of Ontario | Members (MPPs) | Current MPPs | Hon Steven Del Duca, MPP (Vaughan)". Ontla.on.ca. Retrieved 2016-05-07.
  9. ^ "Anna Roberts". Parliament of Canada. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  10. ^ "Massimo Bertocchi is Beijing Bound". Yorkregion.com. July 25, 2008.
  11. ^ Melvin, Charlie (March 20, 2003). "Culture: Singer With a Grand Passion for Creation; Martina Sorbara Has More Than One String To Her Bow". The Free Library.
1. ^ "Online Plaque Guide: Lord Beaverbrook 1879-1964". The Ontario Heritage Foundation. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2006-04-12.