Sharon, Ontario

Sharon 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.

Sharon
Unincorporated community
Location of East Gwillimbury York Region.
Coordinates: 44°6′22″N 79°26′4″W
CountryCanada
ProvinceOntario
Population
 • Estimate 
()
3,000
Postal code
L0G 1V0
Area code(s)905

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.

Prominent residents have included wrestling legend Whipper Billy Watson, comedian John Candy, Olympian Veronica Brenner, and Barkley Good, creator of the 1990s pet training seminars "Joyce: Be Good!".

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.

  • The Sharon Temple (1825–32)
  • The Second Meeting House (1842, church)
  • David Willson's Study (1829), Sharon Temple Museum
  • Ebenezer Doan House (1819), Sharon Temple Museum
  • Richard Coates' Keyboard Organ, Sharon Temple Museum
  • Rebellion Box, Sharon Temple Museum
  • Jacob's Ladder, Sharon Temple

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
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See also
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