Ashburn is a hamlet in the town of Whitby, Durham Region, Ontario, Canada, located approximately 15 kilometres north of the town core, and centred on the intersection of Ashburn Road and Myrtle Road. It is a rural settlement area on the Oak Ridges Moraine, situated on the headwaters of the Lynde Creek watershed and part of Ontario's protected Golden Horseshoe Greenbelt.Central Lake Ontario Conservation Land and Water Conservation , accessed March 16, 2012; also Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, The Oak Ridges Moraine: Map; and Greenbelt Protection , accessed March 16, 2012.
History
The community was originally named Butler's Corners after settler Richard Butler in 1832. The first European settlers were primarily Scottish immigrants. A much earlier native settlement on the Lynde Creek immediately south of the hamlet has been documented."Historic Rock near Brooklin " (1938), Greenwood - Kinsale Tweesdmiur History 1920-1938, p. 55; also Central Lake Ontario Conservation, "Lynde Creek Watershed Existing Conditions Report: 4.0 Settlement of the Lynde Creek Watershed" (June 2008), ch. 2, pp. 6-7. In the late 1830s, the Windsor Road Company was created and a road was built from Windsor Harbour (Whitby) to Butler's Corners.Timmins Martelle Heritage Consultants, "Stage 1 & 2 Archaeological Assessment, GO Transit, Whitby to Bowmannville Extension " (Oct. 2010), p. 18. The first store was opened in 1847.J.C. Connor and J.W. Coltson, The County of Ontario Directory for 1869-1870 (Toronto: Hunter & Rose, 1869), 9. The name "Ashburn" was eventually chosen in 1850 because of the community's connection to the potash industry. "Asheries were built to produce potash from the trees that were cleared during the settlement of Whitby Township."Central Lake Ontario Conservation, "Lynde Creek Watershed Existing Conditions Report: 4.5 Settlement in the Ashburn Subwatershed " (June 2008), ch. 2, pp. 14-15. The original spelling—Ashbourne, after Ashbourne, Derbyshire in England—was changed in error due to the cancellation stamp used by the post office (est. 1852).
In 1857, Whitby Township was divided into two municipalities: East Whitby, and Whitby. Ashburn was one of the principal villages of Township of Whitby, together with Brooklin and Myrtle. In 1869, Ashburn had a population between 100 and 250, with a stage coach to Uxbridge and Whitby, daily mail, an Orange Society (No. 176), three stores, two hotels and several blacksmiths and wagonmakers.Province of Ontario, Gazetteer and Directory (Toronto: Robertson, 1869), 33, gives a population of 100; J.C. Connor and J.W. Coltson, The County of Ontario Directory for 1869-1870 (Toronto: Hunter & Rose, 1869), 9; gives a population of about 180; H. N. McEvoy, ed., Gazetteer and Directory for the Province of Ontario for 1866 (Toronto: Mitchell & Co., 1866), p. 7, gives a population of 250. See also the 1877 map of Whitby Township with names of Ashburn landowners, lots and concessions: The Illustrated Historical Atlas of the County of Ontario (Toronto: Beers, 1877). Between 1870 and 1872, a railway was built from Port Whitby on Lake Ontario to Port Perry on Lake Scugog, crossing Myrtle Road two kilometres east of Ashburn. The Port Whitby and Port Perry Railway—which was dismantled in 1941—allowed the hamlets of Whitby Township to ship grain and timber south to the railway mainlines along Lake Ontario. In 1875, the hamlet had a population of 150.P.A. Crossby, ed., Lovell's Gazetteer of British North America (Montreal: Lovell, 1875), 22. In the nineteenth century the local Agricultural Society regularly held cattle fairs in the village.W. H. Higgins, The Life and Times of Joseph Gould, (Toronto: C. Blackett Robinson, 1887), 262; also 129. By 1910, the village's population declined to 100, and had a daily stage to the railway station in Myrtle.Province of Ontario, Gazetteer and Directory, 1910-1911 (Ingersoll: Union, 1910), p. 32. It was serviced by the Claremont and Ashburn Telephone Company, which later became part of the York and Ontario Telephone Union.Wllm. R. Wood, Past Years in Pickering: Sketches of the History of the Community (Toronto: Wllm Briggs, 1911).
The Burns Presbyterian Church has been central to the community since its beginnings in 1849. The first church building was constructed in 1857. It was completely destroyed by fire in 1967, and a new building was completed in 1968. In 2012 a major addition and renovation was undertaken by the congregation.Archeion, Fonds CONG-21 - Burn's Presbyterian Church (Ashburn, Ont.) fonds, accessed March 17, 2012; also Burns Presbyterian Church, "History ," accessed March 17, 2012.
The Ashburn School House (after 1967 a community centre) was built circa 1861 by William Pearson (1833–1897), a Scottish builder who constructed many fine stone houses in Whitby and Pickering; each wall was constructed in a different style to showcase Pearson's masonry skill. The school was designated a "cultural heritage property" in 1984.Town of Whitby, Ashburn Community Centre , accessed March 16, 2012; also Pickering-Ajax Digital Library, "Ashburn School ," accessed March 18, 2012. There are two other designated cultural heritage properties in Ashburn: the James Matthewson House and the Halsted-Fisher House (Ministry of Transportation, "407 East Cultural Heritage Existing Conditions, ," August 2009). In 1866, the school had about 80 pupils.H. N. McEvoy, ed., Gazetteer and Directory for the Province of Ontario for 1866 (Toronto: Mitchell & Co., 1866), p. 7. Today, the designated primary schools for Ashburn are in the neighbouring community of Brooklin, and the secondary schools in urban Whitby.Durham District School Board,School Locator , and Durham Catholic District School Board,School Locator, accessed March 18, 2012.
On January 1, 1968, Whitby and the Township of Whitby, which included Ashburn and the three rural hamlets of Brooklin, Myrtle and Myrtle Station, amalgamated into the new Town of Whitby. The hamlet received a house numbering system in the 1980s.Whitby Public Library, "Whitby Online Historic Photographs Collection: House Numbering in Whitby," accessed March 18, 2012.
In 1972 Ashburn added only its third street when the Bryson family sold 9 acres in the northeast quadrant of the village to a developer with the stipulation that the street servicing the development be named after their two children, Glen and Laura.
In 1999 the community was visited by Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and in 2000 Ashburn celebrated its 150th anniversary.Royal Ashburn Golf Club, Our History, accessed March 17, 2012.
Geography Ashburn is designated as an Oak Ridges Moraine Rural Settlement Area, and development is limited by the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act of 2001. Its surrounding area has a high aquifer vulnerability, and the western edge has a woodland and wetland designated as hydrologically sensitive.Town of Whitby, "Hamlet of Ashburn Secondary Plan," Official Plan: Text (2010), pp. 177-182; Official Plan: Appendix (2010), Schedules R, S, T. The Ashburn subwatershed (which extends as far north as Chalk Lake),Cf. Central Lake Ontario Conservation, "Lynde Creek Watershed Existing Conditions Report: Fig. 5, Ashburn Subwatershed " (June 2008), ch. 2, p. 15. is home to the redside dace, a provincially designated endangered species threatened in the Lynde watershed by destroyed or degraded habitat.CTC Source Protection Region, Amended Assessment Report: Central Lake Ontario Source Protection Authority (approved Jan. 18, 2012), ch. 2, pp. 17, 19, 20, accessed March 18, 2012; full report found at CTC Source Protection Region: News . Environmental organizations like the Oak Ridges Moraine Land Trust have organized tree-planting events in Ashburn to help rebuild the habitat of the redside dace. In response to local environmental concerns, some citizens of Ashburn have formed the Ashburn Environmental Coalition.Asburn Environmental Coalition (AEC), accessed March 18, 2012.
Demographics Statistics Canada offers a 2006 Cumulative Profile for Ashburn and region (including Myrtle the western section of neighbouring Brooklin), with a total population of 6,409 and 2,198 dwellings.Statistics Canada, "Census Tracts containing Postal Code L0B1A: 2006 Cumulative Profile, Oshawa - Census Tracts containing Postal Code L0B1A0 (table), 2006 Census of Population (48 Census Metropolitan Areas/Census Agglomerations and Census Tracts) (database), Using E-STAT (distributor), Characteristic 5320105.11, accessed March 18, 2012. Cf. also map). This can be compared with the 2006 Community Profile for Whitby as a whole (which also includes Ashburn): Statistics Canada's 2006 Community Profile for the Town of Whitby. Because of a building surge in Brooklin, the population increased by 64% from 2001 to 2006. In 2006, there were 565 people over the age of 65. 560 individuals had a mother-tongue other than English or French, with Tamil the most frequently spoken language in homes after English and French. 880 people came to Canada as immigrants, 385 of whom were fourteen years or younger in 2006. 540 are visible minorities (210 Black; 105 South Asian). There were 90 with Aboriginal identity. Outside of the medical professions, no one had an earned doctorate. The median income in 2005 for the population 15 years and older was $39,705, with a median family income of $98,250 (comparison: Whitby as a whole, $84,219; Ontario: $60,455). The average value of non-farm, non-reserve private dwellings was $371,655 (comparison: Whitby as a whole, $314,350).Statistics Canada, "Census Tracts containing Postal Code L0B1A: 2006 Cumulative Profile, Oshawa - Census Tracts containing Postal Code L0B1A0 (table), 2006 Census of Population (48 Census Metropolitan Areas/Census Agglomerations and Census Tracts) (database), Using E-STAT (distributor), Characteristic 5320105.11, accessed March 18, 2012; 2006 Community Profile for Whitby as a whole and Ontario: Statistics Canada's 2006 Community Profile for the Town of Whitby; Statistics Canada, 2006 Census of Population, Value of Dwelling; catalogue no. 97-554-XCB2006043 (Whitby, T Code3518009)."
Contextual information for Ashburn's designated primary schools (in the neighbouring hamlet of Brooklin) indicates a lower percentage of children born outside of Canada than the regional and provincial averages, and far fewer bilingual children.EQAO School and School Board Profiles and Reports, ; , accessed March 18, 2012.
Economy