Buttonville, Markham

History

The area was first settled by William Berczy, who got an original Crown grant of land. It was named after John Button (b. 1772), who bought property in Markham Township there in 1808. The area's name first appeared in 1851 when a post office was granted to John Button and William Morrison. The name was chosen instead of Millbrook, which had been unofficially used since 1834. John Button's descendants owned a number of lots in what is today Buttonville. By 1878 the village had a post office, a gristmill, a wagon maker, a school, a Lutheran church and a Methodist church. Buttonville Community Hall was relocated from L'Amoreaux in Scarborough from what was a Methodist chapel c. 1840s and closed in 1938.

Housing developments began to appear in the 1960s, as exurban estate residential near Cachet Woods at Woodbine Avenue and Major Mackenzie Drive, and the industrial area began to develop further south. In the 1980s, housing developments came to the western part of Markham along with the industries which later flowed with technological and financial companies including Allstate. Buttonville was first accessed, when Highway 404 opened several interchanges in the 1970s. That brought massive growth to the area, which had become built out by the mid-2000s.

Former airport

Buttonville Municipal Airport was located at 16th Avenue and Highway 404 and was a medium-sized general aviation airport that operated from 1953 to 2023. Weather data was collected there by Environment and Climate Change Canada., but closed along with the airport. The former airfield is planned to be redeveloped for residential and commercial uses.{{Cite news

Geography

• Population:
  • 1990: about 10,000
  • 2002: about 30,000

Farmlands formerly surrounded Buttonville, and between 1980 and 2000, they were developed. Forests were also found around Buttonville, especially to its south. The area is home to several technology companies in the northeast.

Transportation

One major highway and several arterial roads pass through or near the neighbourhood:

• Highway 404 runs north–south on the west side of and connected to east-south streets
• Highway 7 runs east–west on the south side.
• Sixteenth Avenue runs east–west on the north side.
• Woodbine Avenue runs north–south through its centre. The historic settlement itself is located along it south of Sixteenth Avenue.

Public transit in Buttonville is provided by:

• York Region Transit / Viva Rapid Transit routes Viva Purple, 1 Highway 7 (both serving Highway 7), 85 Rutherford-16th (Sixteenth), and 24 Woodbine (Woodbine) operate regular bus service.

Nearby places

• East Beaver Creek (City of Richmond Hill), west
• Unionville, east
• Milliken, south
• Cachet, north

Education

• Buttonville PS
• YRDSB Museum and Archives, housed in 1850 Buttonville Schoolhouse

References

References

1. {{Cite cgndb. FANMF. Buttonville
2. ''At the Crossroads'', Markham 1793-1800, Isabel Champion, p. 230
3. For a fuller history, cf. Isabel Champion, ed., ''[http://www.ourroots.ca/page.aspx?id=4109291&qryID=30098e61-6654-41cc-8897-87eddfea2f2c Markham: 1793-1900]'' (Markham, ON: Markham Historical Society, 1979), pp. 228-231; 138; 158. See also the detailed 1878 map, "[http://digital.library.mcgill.ca/countyatlas/images/maps/townshipmaps/yor-m-markham.jpg Township of Markham]," ''Illustrated historical atlas of the county of York and the township of West Gwillimbury & town of Bradford in the county of Simcoe, Ont.'' (Toronto: Miles & Co., 1878).
4. "Buttonville Airport, ON".