History of Richmond Hill, Ontario - Miles' Hill: The Nineteenth Century Dawns

Miles' Hill: The Nineteenth Century Dawns

At the start of the 19th century, English speaking and German speaking settlers were trickling into the areas of Vaughan township and Markham township that would later become Richmond Hill. By 1801 the area was known as Miles' Hill after Abner Miles and his son James Mills, who were prominent settlers. Miles had arrived in the area in 1800 from York, Upper Canada where he had run a general store on King Street. He opened a general store on Lot 45 on the east side of Yonge Street, and started a potash plant on Lot 45 on the west side of Yonge Street. That same year, he was elected tax assessor and tax collector for the townships of Vaughan, Markham, King and Whitchurch. He soon opened a tavern on the south-east corner of Yonge Street and Major Mackenzie Drive. After Abner Miles' death in 1806, his son James took over his father's businesses and role in the community. James Miles fit well into the role of a community leader. He was a local magistrate and justice of the peace. He was also a lieutenant in the York Militia during the War of 1812.

During the War of 1812, General Isaac Brock ordered all available men in Miles' Hill to form a company. The men assembled at the farm of United Empire Loyalist James Fulton, and Brock came to personally inspect them. They were formed into a company of the 1st Regiment of York Militia. The company spent the fall and winter of 1812/1813 in York, Upper Canada waiting for an attack, but it never came. The men became restless and anxious to return to their farms, so in the spring of 1813 Brock allowed the men of the company to go back to Miles' Hill to plant their crops. When the Americans attacked York on April 27, 1813, very few Miles' Hill residents were in York, although a Captain Arnold was made a prisoner and a Lieutenant David Bridgeford was injured, both of whom were residents of Miles' Hill.

In 1817, James Miles and fellow resident of Miles' Hill Robert Marsh invited Presbyterian cleric William Jenkins to come to Miles' Hill and establish a congregation. Previous to this, religious services in the area had been conducted by travelling preachers. Jenkins was a popular preacher in New York state at the time. He accepted the invitation and founded congregations in both Miles' Hill and the township of Scarborough, Ontario. Jenkins preached on Miles' land, with a tree stump for a pulpit until 1821, when a church was constructed on land James Miles had donated. This small church was built on the west side of Yonge Street would later be named Richmond Hill Presbyterian Church.