Pefferlaw, Ontario

Last updated
Pefferlaw
Unincorporated community
Pefferlaw.jpg
Entrance sign on Pefferlaw Road, north of the community
Coordinates: 44°18′53″N79°12′6″W / 44.31472°N 79.20167°W / 44.31472; -79.20167
Country Canada
Province Ontario
Regional municipality York
Town Georgina
Time zone UTC−5 (EST)
  Summer (DST) UTC−4 (EDT)
Forward sortation area
L0E
Area code(s) 705
NTS Map031D06
GNBC CodeFDLDP

Pefferlaw is a community within the Town of Georgina, located 3 kilometres south of the southeastern shores of Lake Simcoe. The Pefferlaw River runs south of the community's commercial district. Pefferlaw is passed on the north by Highway 48 and Lake Ridge Road (Durham Road 23) to the east, and is serviced by Pefferlaw Road which links these two traffic arteries. Pefferlaw along with Virginia Beach, Udora and Port Bolster is in the 705 area code. The Canadian National railway passes through Pefferlaw and, until the early 1990s, served a train station in the community's commercial district. This railway links Toronto with Orillia and Northern Ontario with Via Rail transcontinental trains heading to Vancouver.

Contents

Geography and information

Pefferlaw Lions Hall and park, located in the community's south end
The Pefferlaw Lions Community Centre is in the background. Pefferlaw Park.jpg
Pefferlaw Lions Hall and park, located in the community's south end
The Pefferlaw Lions Community Centre is in the background.

Census information is not available for Pefferlaw. It is counted as part of the Georgina Census division.

The town is largely centered around the Pefferlaw Dam, blocking the Pefferlaw River. The dam is operated by the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority. Pefferlaw's commercial district lies just north of the dam, and features a supermarket, hotel, youth centre, automobile service station, Canada Post office, medical centre with pharmacy, Liquor Control Board of Ontario retail store, and a branch of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. The town features several public facilities operated by the Town of Georgina, including a public library, community centre, fire station, and a large multi-use park. Cedardale Church is now the only place of worship in Pefferlaw, located just north of the intersection of Morning Glory Road and Pefferlaw Road. The York Region District School Board operates Morning Glory Public School, an elementary school 5 minutes north of town on Highway 48.

The Pefferlaw Dam, located just south of downtown PefferlawRiver.jpg
The Pefferlaw Dam, located just south of downtown

Pefferlaw is primarily situated in a forest setting. Farmlands are to the west, the northwest and the north. More farmlands are east of Lake Ridge Road and Pefferlaw. The forests are almost connected with the forests south of Sutton. The forests cover most of the area around Pefferlaw and to the south with a few farmlands as well as within the shoreline of Lake Simcoe. The forests are mainly composed of pine and other varieties of trees and the size is about 600 to 700 square kilometres and about 80% of the area around Pefferlaw.

Community groups

Approximate driving times to nearby communities

Relative location

Pefferlaw is located about 13 kilometres southwest of Beaverton, about 15 kilometres east of Sutton, and about 45 kilometres south of Orillia. It is 37 kilometres west of Lindsay, 23 kilometres north of Uxbridge, about 50 kilometres north of Whitby, about 90 kilometres northeast of Toronto, and 40 kilometres northeast of the nearest major commercial centre and seat of York Region, Newmarket.

History

Pefferlaw was founded in the late 1820s by Captain William Johnson; a British Naval Officer who was released from service in 1815 following the Battle of Waterloo. The name, Pefferlaw, was suggested to Captain Johnson by his brother in remembrance of a field among the heather on their old homestead and means, “a beautiful greensward.” [1]

The first preserved diaries of William Johnson begin in 1832. By that time he had a sawmill, woolen mill and gristmill built at Pefferlaw.

The first store in the village of Pefferlaw was built in August 1833. Soon after, Robert Johnson, brother of William, took over running the store and shortly thereafter built a large two-story red brick house on the edge of the bank beside the store which still stands today. The second store in Pefferlaw was built by George Johnson, son of Captain William, this in 1856.

Banking came to Pefferlaw with the arrival of the C.N.R. Railway in 1906.

The Pefferlaw area like all early hamlets had its share of hotels – one at every crossroad. The Morning Glory Hotel was built in the 1860s and stood for many years on the site of the present day Morning Glory Public School. The tavern was well patronized by river drivers, lumber workers and stage coach passengers and drivers. The Mansion House Hotel was built in 1884. When it changed owners in 1906 the establishment was renamed, Hotel Belvedere.

Captain Johnson died in 1851 at "Oldcastle", lot 6, conc. 7, Georgina, which was always his home. He is buried there.

Related Research Articles

Orillia City in Ontario, Canada

Orillia is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is in Simcoe County between Lake Couchiching and Lake Simcoe. Although it is geographically located within Simcoe County, the city is a single-tier municipality. It is part of the Huronia region of Central Ontario. The population in 2016 was 31,166.

Regional Municipality of York Regional municipality in Ontario, Canada

The Regional Municipality of York, also called York Region, is a regional municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, between Lake Simcoe and Toronto. The region was established after the passing of then Bill 102, An Act to Establish The Regional Municipality of York in 1970. It replaced the former York County in 1971, and is part of the Greater Toronto Area and the inner ring of the Golden Horseshoe. The regional government is headquartered in Newmarket.

Lake Simcoe Lake in Ontario, Canada

Lake Simcoe is a lake in southern Ontario, Canada, the fourth-largest lake wholly in the province, after Lake Nipigon, Lac Seul, and Lake Nipissing. At the time of the first European contact in the 17th century the lake was called Ouentironk by the Wyandot (Huron) people. It was also known as Lake Taronto until it was renamed by John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, in memory of his father, Captain John Simcoe, Royal Navy.

Keswick, Ontario Community in Ontario, Canada

Keswick (/ˈkɛzˌwɪk/) is a community located in the south central Canadian province of Ontario. Situated north of Toronto on Cook's Bay, Keswick is part of the Town of Georgina, the northernmost municipality in the Regional Municipality of York. In the Canada 2016 Census, the municipal population of Keswick was 26,757.

Georgina, Ontario Town in Ontario, Canada

Georgina is a town in south-central Ontario, and the northernmost municipality in the Regional Municipality of York. The town is bounded to the north by Lake Simcoe. Although incorporated as a town, it operates as a township in which dispersed communities share a common administrative council. The largest communities are Keswick, Sutton and Jackson's Point. Smaller communities include Pefferlaw, Port Bolster, Roches Point, Udora and Willow Beach. The town was formed by the merger of the Village of Sutton, the Township of Georgina and the Township of North Gwillimbury in 1971 and incorporated in 1986. North Gwillimbury had previously been part of Georgina but became its own township in 1826. It took its name from the family of Elizabeth Simcoe, née Gwillim.

Simcoe County County in Ontario, Canada

Simcoe County is located in the central portion of Southern Ontario, Canada. The county is just north of the Greater Toronto Area, stretching from the shores of Lake Simcoe in the east to Georgian Bay in the west. Simcoe County forms part of the Greater Golden Horseshoe area, a densely populated and industrialized region, centred on the Greater Toronto Area.

Oro-Medonte Township in Ontario, Canada

Oro-Medonte is a township in south-central Ontario, Canada, on the northwestern shores of Lake Simcoe in Simcoe County.

King's Highway 11, commonly referred to as Highway 11, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. At 1,784.9 kilometres (1,109.1 mi), it is the second longest highway in the province, following Highway 17. Highway 11 begins at Highway 400 in Barrie, and arches through northern Ontario to the Ontario–Minnesota border at Rainy River via Thunder Bay; the road continues as Minnesota State Highway 72 across the Baudette-Rainy River International Bridge. North and west of North Bay, Highway 11 forms part of the Trans-Canada Highway. The highway is also part of MOM's Way between Thunder Bay and Rainy River.

Metropolitan Street Railway (Toronto) Toronto railway electric radial line

The Metropolitan Street Railway was the operator of the Metropolitan line in the Toronto area that started out as a local horsecar line and transformed itself into an electric radial line extending to Lake Simcoe, following an old stage coach route. In 1904, the railway was acquired by the Toronto and York Radial Railway (T&YRR) and became the T&YRR Metropolitan Division. In 1922, the City of Toronto acquired the T&YRR and contracted Ontario Hydro to manage the four T&YRR lines including the Metropolitan. In 1927, the TTC took over the operation of the Metropolitan Line to Sutton, and renamed it the Lake Simcoe line. In 1930, the TTC closed the Metropolitan Line but shortly reopened the portion between Glen Echo and Richmond Hill operating it as the North Yonge Railways until 1948.

King's Highway 48, also known as Highway 48, is a provincially maintained highway in southern Ontario that extends from Major Mackenzie Drive in Markham, through Whitchurch-Stouffville and East Gwillimbury, to Highway 12 south-east of Beaverton. The route is generally rural and straight, passing near several communities within the Regional Municipality of York. The route is 65.2 kilometres (40.5 mi) long. Most part of the road has a speed limit of 80 km/h (50 mph), except within town limits, where the speed limit is reduced to 60 km/h (37 mph) or 50 km/h (31 mph).

Mount Albert is a village located within the Town of East Gwillimbury and is part of York Region. It is located 65 km north-east of Toronto, 21 km south of Sutton, 45 km west-southwest of Beaverton and 30 km north of Markham. Mount Albert is accessible by Highway 404 and Highway 48.

Musselman Lake, Ontario Unincorporated community in Ontario, Canada

Musselman's Lake is a community settled adjacent to a 118-acre (0.48 km2) kettle lake of the same name in the town of Whitchurch–Stouffville, Ontario, Canada. It is located about 6 km north-northwest of urban Stouffville, and is part of the Greater Toronto Area.

Sutton, Ontario Unincorporated community in Ontario, Canada

Sutton is a suburban community located nearly 2 km south of Lake Simcoe in Ontario, Canada. The community was formerly a village but is now part of the Town of Georgina after amalgamation with it and North Gwillimbury in 1971. The Black River runs on the north end of the downtown. Highway 48 goes just south of the downtown. Sutton has a population of just over 6,000 people. Sutton is located about 1 hour north of Toronto.

Udora, Ontario Human settlement in Ontario, Canada

Udora is a small rural community in Ontario, Canada. It has a population estimated to be around 500 and is situated in the most south-eastern part of Georgina, split between York Region and Durham Region. The town was originally known as Snoddon Corners and was the location of the Snoddon Hotel.

King's Highway 12, commonly referred to as Highway 12 and historically known as the Whitby and Sturgeon Bay Road, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The highway connects the eastern end of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) with Kawartha Lakes, Orillia and Midland before ending at Highway 93. It forms the Central Ontario Route of the Trans-Canada Highway system from north of Sunderland to Coldwater. Highway 12 connects several small towns along its 146 km (91 mi) route, and bypasses a short distance from many others. It is signed as a north–south route between Whitby and Orillia, and as an east–west route from there to Midland. The rural portions of the highway feature a posted speed limit of 80 km/h (50 mph), often dropping to 50 km/h (31 mph) through built-up areas. The entire route is patrolled by the Ontario Provincial Police.

Ontario Highway 93 Ontario provincial highway

King's Highway 93, commonly referred to as Highway 93, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. Located entirely within Simcoe County, the highway extends 23.9 kilometres (14.9 mi) from an interchange with Highway 400 in Springwater, just south of the community of Hillsdale, to an intersection with Highway 12 at the town limits of Midland. The route follows the historic Penetanguishene Road, an early colonization road which served to connect Lake Simcoe with Georgian Bay, thus providing an overland route from Lake Huron to Lake Ontario via Yonge Street.

Chippewas of Rama First Nation

Chippewas of Rama First Nation, also known as Chippewas of Mnjikaning and Chippewas of Rama Mnjikaning First Nation, is an Anishinaabe (Ojibway) First Nation located in the province of Ontario in Canada. The name Mnjikaning, or fully vocalized as Minjikaning, refers to the fishing weirs at Atherley Narrows between Lake Simcoe and Lake Couchiching and it means "in/on/at or near the fence".

Middle Crossroad in the township of Oro-Medonte in Simcoe County, Ontario was a pioneer colonization road and now carries the traffic of Ontario Highway 11 north of Barrie, between the Crown Hill interchange and the City of Orillia.

Mariposa Township, Ontario Former township in southern Ontario, Canada

The Township of Mariposa was a municipality located in the southwest corner of the former Victoria County, now the city of Kawartha Lakes, in the Canadian province of Ontario. The other municipal neighbours of Mariposa are Ops and Fenelon on the east, Eldon on the north, Brock on the west, and Scugog on the south, with the latter two located in the Durham Regional Municipality. The former township includes the communities of Little Britain, Manilla, Mariposa, Valentia, and Oakwood. Today, most of the former township is represented in the City of Kawartha Lakes by the Ward 8 Councillor, John Pollard, and Ward 4 Councillor Andrew Veale.

Lake Simcoe Junction Railway

The Lake Simcoe Junction Railway (LSJR) was a short-line narrow gauge railway in Ontario just north of Toronto. It branched off the Toronto and Nipissing Railway at Stouffville and ran 42 kilometres (26 mi) north to the town of Sutton and then beyond to the shore of Lake Simcoe where a large wharf was built. The presence of the railway helped the town of Jackson's Point form on the lakeside. The line serviced timber and agricultural shipping, but was more widely used for shipping ice cut from the lake in the winter, and allowing weekend day trips to the lake in the summer.

References

  1. "Welcome to Pefferlaw Online". Archived from the original on 2008-07-27.

Coordinates: 44°18′53″N79°12′6″W / 44.31472°N 79.20167°W / 44.31472; -79.20167