Sharon, Ontario

Last updated

Sharon
Sharon Temple.jpg
East Gwillimbury within York Region.svg
Location of East Gwillimbury York Region.
Coordinates: 44°6′22″N79°26′4″W / 44.10611°N 79.43444°W / 44.10611; -79.43444
Country Canada
ProvinceOntario
Named for Sharon Temple
Population
  Estimate 
()
3,000
Postal code
L0G 1V0
Area code 905

Sharon (formerly Hope) is a former village now incorporated into the municipality of the Town of East Gwillimbury, Ontario, Canada, formerly the Township of East Gwillimbury. The municipal offices of the town are in Sharon.

Contents

The community's most historic building is the Sharon Temple, once the meeting house of the Children of Peace (or Davidites). It is part of the musical, political, religious and architectural heritage of Ontario and is now a museum and National Historic Site of Canada. The museum hosts a number of concerts and educational programs, and has hosted the Words Alive Literary Festival since 2007.

In the mid to late 1980s, housing developments were built in the area around Sharon. Further developments have continued slowly around Sharon since 2002.

History

The village of Sharon grew around the farm of David Willson (Lot 10, Second Conc.), the leader of the Quaker denomination known as the Children of Peace. The Children of Peace constructed a series of meeting houses on Willson's farm, which became the core of the utopian community they called Hope. They changed the name to Sharon in 1841 (after the Sharon Temple) to acquire a post office.

Transportation

Sharon has bus service by York Region Transit (Route 50 Queensway), as well as commuter train service from GO Transit through East Gwillimbury Station in the southwestern corner of Sharon.

The area is served by Highway 404 which is accessed via the Green Lane interchange. Before 2001, the nearest interchange was a couple of kilometres south at Davis Drive in Newmarket. Plans exist to extend the highway through East Gwillimbury and further north have been completed with highway now terminating at Woodbine Avenue in Ravenshoe, Ontario.

Surrounding communities

Government

At a local level Sharon is located in East Gwillimbury Ward 2 and represented by two town councillors.

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Willson (Quaker)</span>

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Holt is a former village which has been incorporated into the municipality of the Town of East Gwillimbury, Ontario, Canada, formerly the Township of East Gwillimbury. The municipal offices of the town are located in Sharon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Children of Peace</span>

The Children of Peace (1812–1889) was an Upper Canadian Quaker sect under the leadership of David Willson, known also as 'Davidites', who separated during the War of 1812 from the Yonge Street Monthly Meeting in what is now Newmarket, Ontario, and moved to the Willsons' farm. Their last service was held in the Sharon Temple in 1889.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ebenezer Doan</span> American-Canadian architect

Ebenezer Doan, Jr. (1772–1866) was the Master Builder or architect-contractor in charge of designing and building the Sharon Temple, a National Historic Site of Canada. Doan was a highly accomplished builder, as evidenced by the creative techniques used in the temple structure. Doan was an early Quaker immigrant from Bucks County, Pennsylvania who joined the Children of Peace in 1812. His first house (1819), drive shed and granary have now been relocated on the temple grounds and restored.

Samuel Hughes (1785–1856) was a prominent member of the Children of Peace, a reform politician in Upper Canada, and the president of Canada's first farmers cooperative, the Farmers' Storehouse Company. After the Rebellions of 1837 he rejoined the Hicksite Quakers and became a minister of note.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quakers in Upper Canada</span>

The Quakers immigrated from New York, the New England States and Pennsylvania. They are a pacifist religion, and during this period were also a "plain folk" rejecting all ornamentation in clothing, speech and meeting houses (churches). The Children of Peace were founded during the War of 1812 after a schism in York County. A further schism occurred in 1828, leaving two branches, "Orthodox" Quakers and "Hicksite" Quakers.