East Gwillimbury Quiz
Who is Holland Landing named after?
It is named after Samuel Holland, the first Surveyor-General of British North America, who served in the Royal Navy under Simcoe's father.
Source: Wikipedia, Holland Landing
York Region trivia
Fun facts about East Gwillimbury
22 facts and quiz questions about East Gwillimbury, Ontario. Each one links to its source. A new fact of the day goes live every morning.
Fact of the day
East Gwillimbury Culture
What was the Illumination at the Sharon Temple?
An evening service by candlelight held at the group's two yearly feasts, one in June and one in September. The feast on the next day drew more than a thousand people.
Source: Wikipedia, Sharon Temple
East Gwillimbury People
Which comedy star once had a home near Queensville?
John Candy and his family had a home about a kilometre south of Queensville in the early 1980s.
Source: Wikipedia, Queensville, Ontario
East Gwillimbury Quiz
Which singer recorded an album inside the Sharon Temple in 2010?
Loreena McKennitt recorded The Wind That Shakes the Barley there in the summer of 2010. From 1981 to 1990 the temple also hosted the Music at Sharon concerts.
Source: Wikipedia, Sharon Temple
East Gwillimbury History
Who is Mount Albert named after?
The village began as Birchardville, after Quaker settlers Samuel and Rufus Birchard. It was renamed for the Prince of Wales, Albert Edward, after his visit to Upper Canada in 1860.
Source: Wikipedia, Mount Albert, Ontario
East Gwillimbury Quiz
Where does the name Gwillimbury come from?
East Gwillimbury takes its name from the family of Elizabeth Simcoe, born Elizabeth Gwillim, the wife of Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe.
Source: Wikipedia, East Gwillimbury
East Gwillimbury Quiz
How many people lived in East Gwillimbury in the 2021 Census?
East Gwillimbury counted 34,637 people in the 2021 Census, a jump of 44.4 percent from 23,991 in 2016.
Sources: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census Profile, East Gwillimbury, Wikipedia, East Gwillimbury
East Gwillimbury Quiz
What was Queensville called before 1843?
It was known as Four Corners and as Hackett's Corners, after storekeeper William Hackett. In 1843 it was renamed to honour Queen Victoria.
Source: Wikipedia, Queensville, Ontario
East Gwillimbury History
What happened to East Gwillimbury's township records in 1913?
All of them were destroyed in a fire at the township clerk's office in Queensville.
Source: Wikipedia, East Gwillimbury
East Gwillimbury People
Which leader of the 1837 Rebellion farmed at Holland Landing?
Samuel Lount, a leader in William Lyon Mackenzie's rebellion, farmed and ran a blacksmith shop here. A 1985 film about him was shot largely at the Sharon Temple.
Sources: Wikipedia, Holland Landing, Wikipedia, Sharon Temple
East Gwillimbury Quiz
What was the village of Sharon called in the days of the Children of Peace?
Sharon was once called Hope. The Children of Peace held their regular Sunday services in two meeting houses in the village of Hope.
Sources: Wikipedia, Sharon Temple, Wikipedia, East Gwillimbury
East Gwillimbury Quiz
Who built the Sharon Temple?
The Children of Peace, a sect led by former Quaker David Willson, built the temple from 1825 to 1832. They saw it as a rebuilding of Solomon's Temple.
Source: Wikipedia, Sharon Temple
East Gwillimbury History
How deep are the Sharon Temple's foundations?
Master builder Ebenezer Doan set the temple on a simple rock foundation that does not even reach below the frost line. The building is still sound after more than 175 years.
Source: Wikipedia, Sharon Temple
East Gwillimbury Culture
Why is the Sharon Temple square, with a door on every side?
It stood for dealing on the square with all people. A door in each of the four sides let people come in from every direction on equal footing.
Source: Wikipedia, Sharon Temple
East Gwillimbury Places
How old is the Stardust Drive-In on Mount Albert Road?
It opened in the 1950s as the North York Drive-In. It is one of only a handful of drive-in theatres left in Canada.
Source: Wikipedia, East Gwillimbury
East Gwillimbury History
When did the Sharon Temple become a museum?
The York Pioneer and Historical Society bought the temple in 1917 and opened it as a museum in 1918, one of the earliest examples of heritage preservation in Canada.
Source: Wikipedia, Sharon Temple
East Gwillimbury Places
Where did the original Yonge Street end?
At Holland Landing. From there boats could follow the Holland River north to Lake Simcoe, which made the village a planned inland port.
Source: Wikipedia, Holland Landing
East Gwillimbury History
Why is there a giant anchor in Holland Landing?
A 4,000-pound anchor meant for a warship being built at Penetanguishene got as far as Holland Landing when the War of 1812 ended. It was left there and is now on display at Anchor Park.
Source: Wikipedia, Holland Landing
East Gwillimbury Quiz
True or false: East Gwillimbury was the first place in Canada to require Energy Star homes.
In March 2006 council required new developments of ten or more homes to meet Energy Star standards, the first rule of its kind in Canada.
Source: Wikipedia, East Gwillimbury
East Gwillimbury History
How close was the Holland River canal to being finished?
By the summer of 1912 it had three lift locks, three swing bridges and a turning basin. Robert Borden's new government cancelled it anyway, and it became known as the Ghost Canal.
Source: Wikipedia, Holland Landing
East Gwillimbury Nature
How much of East Gwillimbury will stay undeveloped?
Almost 75 percent of the town's land will not be built on, because it lies in the Greenbelt and on the Oak Ridges Moraine. Growth goes into the existing villages instead.
Source: Wikipedia, East Gwillimbury
East Gwillimbury Numbers
How big is East Gwillimbury expected to grow by 2031?
Under Ontario's growth plan, the town was set to grow from 23,000 people in 2010 to about 88,400 people and 34,000 jobs by 2031.
Source: Wikipedia, East Gwillimbury