Stouffville is the primary urban area within the town of Whitchurch-Stouffville, Ontario, Canada. It is centred at the intersection of Main Street, Mill Street and Market Street. Between 2006 and 2011, the population of the Community of Stouffville grew 100.5% from 12,411 to 24,886, or from 51% to 66% of the total population of the larger town of Whitchurch-Stouffville.
History
Founded in 1804 by Abraham Stouffer, the hamlet was originally named Stoufferville. Stouffer built a sawmill and grist-mill on the banks of Duffin's Creek in the 1820s. The community name was shortened to Stouffville when its first post office opened in 1832. In 1877, Stouffville became an incorporated village. On January 1, 1971, the Village of Stouffville amalgamated with Whitchurch Township and was designated a community within the larger town of Whitchurch–Stouffville; with amalgamation, the boundary of the town was also moved four farm lots south of the original boundary of Main Street. The population of urban Stouffville in 1971 was 5,036. In 2003, a large 16th-century Huron village was discovered in Stouffville during land development; approximately 2000 people once inhabited the site, which included a palisade and more than 80 longhouses, yielding tens of thousands of artifacts.
Geography
Urban Stouffville is approximately 4.5 km long, stretching from the York-Durham Line to Highway 48, and approximately 2.7 km wide with development north and south of Main Street. Stouffville is bounded by farmland and a golf course. The community is located on the Oak Ridges Moraine and the Rouge River watershed.
In 2006, urban Stouffville had a population of 8,000 to 10,000 people, or about one-third of the population of the larger Town of Whitchurch–Stouffville. The Town of Whitchurch–Stouffville estimates that the population grew more than 58% between 2006 and 2011; most of that growth was limited to the Community of Stouffville or the Community of Ballantrae. By 2021, the town’s total population forecast is projected to be approximately 55,800 persons, with an estimated 41,000 persons residing within the Community of Stouffville proper.
Growth
With connection to a massive new sewage system and a water pipe from Lake Ontario, urban Stouffville began to grow rapidly after 2005. The first of the new subdivisions were south of Main Street along Hoover Park Drive, and north of Main Street along Millard Street west of Ninth Line. In 2008, construction began to widen Stouffville Road / Main Street from two lanes to four lanes, from Ninth Line to the edge of urban Stouffville at Highway 48, and further to McCowan Road. Construction was completed in June 2010. Stouffville Road has since been widened up to Highway 404.
Urban Stouffville is situated in the southeast corner of the town of Whitchurch–Stouffville. Neighbouring communities within the town include Ringwood and Gormley to the east, and Bloomington to the north. Claremont, Uxbridge, and the ghost town of Altona lie to the east. Stouffville is bordered on the south by the city of Markham.
Stouffville Station 1871 - built by Toronto and Nipissing Railway, then as Grant Trunk Stouffville Junction and demolished in 1980s and replaced by current GO station
Co-Op Grain Elevator c. 1916- demolished 2015
Stouffville Farmer's Country Market / Downtown Farmer's Market
The town was home to the Farmers Country Market from 1952 to 2016, which closed after years of decline. The land was sold in 2001 and was slated for re-development during the decade after the sale. Current barn, silo and stalls were demolished following the closure of the site in late 2016. The Liquidation Centre was moved online with pick-up location/cash and carry in Uxbridge, Ontario. Vendors either closed or relocated across the GTA. Nearby was a downtown farmer's street market hosted by the town and ran from 2009 to 2016. It too has closed and unsure if it will be opened again.
