Uxbridge

Uxbridge's founding settlers were Quakers: around 1806, roughly a dozen Quaker families arrived from Pennsylvania, and by about 1808 Joseph Collins had built the township's first saw and grist mill, giving the settlement its economic nucleus. The Uxbridge Friends Meeting House, built in 1820 on what's now known as Quaker Hill, is the community's oldest surviving building.

Railways and a milling economy

Growth accelerated after the Toronto and Nipissing Railway reached Uxbridge in 1871, and the community was incorporated as a village in 1872 and became a town in 1885. Downtown Uxbridge retains a substantial stock of 19th-century commercial buildings along Brock Street, and the town's 1904 Grand Trunk Railway station — built with a distinctive "witch's hat" turret roof — survives today as home to the York–Durham Heritage Railway, a heritage tourist line running over the old rail corridor.

Trail Capital of Canada

Uxbridge has built its modern identity around its trail network: the township is officially branded "Trail Capital of Canada," reflecting an extensive system of hiking, cycling and equestrian trails — commonly cited at well over 200 kilometres — running through the township's forested Oak Ridges Moraine terrain, including sections of the Trans Canada Trail and the Bruce Trail. As of the 2021 census, Uxbridge had a population of 21,556.

Sources

• Ontario Heritage Trust — The Founding of Uxbridge
• Township of Uxbridge — History