Richmond Hill, Ontario

From the Richmond Hill website:

A Brief History

The Town of Richmond Hill started out as a small settlement located partially in the Township of Vaughan and partially in the Township of Markham. The Town's development was closely linked with the development of Yonge Street, which was planned primarily as a military road by John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of Upper Canada.

The Town was officially incorporated on June 18, 1872 as a village and the first council meeting was held on January 1, 1873 under the leadership of Abraham Law as Reeve. Richmond Hill developed because of its proximity to Toronto, as farmers came into town on their way to Toronto markets and people traveled up and down Yonge Street to and from communities further north.

Early in the twentieth century, several large greenhouse operations were built in Richmond Hill, while rose growing turned the Town into the "rose capital" of Canada. In the 1920's, village council adopted the motto of the Duke of Richmond, for whom the Town may have been named. A local artist and carriage painter, William Ashford Wright, created a town crest that included elements of the Duke of Richmond's coat of arms and roses.

Data from the recent census conducted by Statistics Canada indicated that Richmond Hill continues to be one of Canada's fastest growing municipalities. It is estimated that by the year 2021, the Town's population will reach 200,000.

About the Coat of Arms

Early in this century William Ashford Wright was asked by the Council of Richmond Hill to design a crest to be used on its stationery and for Town identification signs. The coat-of-arms from the House of Richmond was chosen because according to historians, the 4th Duke of Richmond, Charles Gordon Lennox, visited this Village in 1819 when he was Governor- General of Canada. It’s reported that he so impressed the people of the Village that they re-christened it and accordingly bestowed upon it the name of Richmond Hill.

The motto, “En la rose je fleuris” is also from the Duke of Richmond’s coat-of-arms. It is very appropriate for our Town because during the 19th century and the early part of this century Richmond Hill was the largest supplier of roses in Canada.

It was 1961 when the Council of the Town of Richmond Hill contacted the House of Richmond and received permission to formally adopt the slightly altered version of its coat-of-arms.

[Additional information indicates the ribbon is white when on the flag - Ed.]