York Region trivia
23 facts and quiz questions about Aurora, Ontario. Each one links to its source. A new fact of the day goes live every morning.
Fact of the day
Aurora History
Samuel Wilton Jr.'s farm near Leslie Street had a grist mill that made White Rose flour. The small community that grew around it, from about 1837, took the name.
Source: Wikipedia, Aurora, Ontario
Aurora History
The Aurora Armoury has been listed on the Register of the Government of Canada Heritage Buildings since 1991.
Source: Wikipedia, Aurora, Ontario
Aurora Culture
It is the Church Street School, an 1885 heritage building. The town reopened it as the Aurora Cultural Centre on April 8, 2010, and its old classrooms now hold exhibits and art classes.
Source: Wikipedia, Aurora, Ontario
Aurora People
Mark Rowswell is known in China as Dashan, where he became a TV personality. He is a recipient of the Order of Canada.
Source: Wikipedia, Aurora, Ontario
Aurora Quiz
John W. Bowser, from Aurora, was the construction superintendent of the Empire State Building in New York.
Source: Wikipedia, Aurora, Ontario
Aurora History
In 1795, at Yonge Street and Catherine Avenue, soon after Yonge Street opened. By 1801 there were fourteen homes.
Source: Wikipedia, Aurora, Ontario
Aurora Places
Aurora sits roughly halfway between Toronto and Barrie, about 48 km from downtown Toronto, and is surrounded by the Greenbelt.
Source: Wikipedia, Aurora, Ontario
Aurora History
Aurora won the Prince of Wales Prize for Municipal Heritage Leadership in 2008 for keeping its historic buildings. Northeast Old Aurora became a Heritage Conservation District in 2006.
Source: Wikipedia, Aurora, Ontario
Aurora Quiz
The National Historic Sites and Monuments Board recognizes Hillary House as one of the best examples of Gothic Revival architecture in Canada. It also holds the Koffler Museum of Medicine.
Source: Wikipedia, Aurora, Ontario
Aurora Numbers
The 2021 Census put average household income in Aurora at 161,800 dollars in 2020, which makes it one of the most affluent towns in Canada.
Source: Wikipedia, Aurora, Ontario
Aurora Culture
Aurora is twinned with Leksand, a municipality in Dalarna County in central Sweden.
Source: Wikipedia, Aurora, Ontario
Aurora Quiz
Lester B. Pearson, prime minister from 1963 to 1968, lived in Aurora as a boy while his father, Rev. Edwin Pearson, was the town's Methodist minister.
Source: Wikipedia, Aurora, Ontario
Aurora History
Aurora first set up a library in 1855. The Aurora Public Library moved to its current home at Yonge Street and Church Street in 2001.
Source: Wikipedia, Aurora, Ontario
Aurora Quiz
In 1804 Richard Machell opened the first store at Yonge and Wellington, and the hamlet became Machell's Corners. Its post office went by the name Whitchurch.
Source: Wikipedia, Aurora, Ontario
Aurora Quiz
Magna International, founded by Frank Stronach, is based in Aurora. The Stronach Aurora Recreation Complex and the Magna Golf Course are in the town's north end.
Source: Wikipedia, Aurora, Ontario
Aurora Quiz
Postmaster Charles Doan pushed to name the village after Aurora, the Roman goddess of dawn. Merchant Richard Machell wanted Match-Ville, after the town's match factory, but Aurora won.
Source: Wikipedia, Aurora, Ontario
Aurora Quiz
Aurora counted 62,057 people in the 2021 Census, up 11.9 percent from 2016.
Sources: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census Profile, Aurora, Wikipedia, Aurora, Ontario
Aurora History
The railway arrived in 1853, and Aurora became an important centre. Records from 1885 call it the largest village in the county, with factories, mills and two weekly newspapers.
Source: Wikipedia, Aurora, Ontario
Aurora Numbers
A housing shortage in Toronto pushed growth north, and Aurora's population more than doubled in the 1960s, from about 5,000 to 11,000.
Source: Wikipedia, Aurora, Ontario
Aurora Places
St. Andrew's College, a boys' school founded in Toronto in 1899, moved to a 126-acre campus in Aurora in 1926. The campus appears in an episode of The Queen's Gambit.
Aurora Culture
It began in 1958 as the Aurora Drama Workshop and joined the Aurora Musical Society in 1973. It puts on five shows a year at the Factory Theatre on Henderson Drive.
Source: Wikipedia, Aurora, Ontario
Aurora Sports
The Aurora Tigers junior hockey club plays in the Ontario Junior Hockey League at the Aurora Community Centre. NHL players Tie Domi and Robert Thomas both have Aurora roots.
Source: Wikipedia, Aurora, Ontario
Aurora Quiz
The 250-seat hall at Aurora Town Square links to the library by a covered footbridge. The square, a project of about 59.7 million dollars, is part of the plan to revive downtown.
Source: Wikipedia, Aurora, Ontario