The Berczy Settlement 1794

Photo by Alan L Brown - April 27, 2004

Plaque Location

The Region of York
The Town of Markham
In Unionville at the end of the southern entrance to the William Berczy Settlement Historical Cemetery, on the east side of Kennedy Road just north of 16th Avenue

Plaque Text

In November, 1794, William von Moll Berczy (1744-1813), colonizer, road builder, architect and painter, brought the first settlers to Markham Township. This group had originally emigrated from Germany to New York State, but moved to Upper Canada in 1794 and acquired extensive lands in this area. In 1795-96 sickness and famine reduced their numbers, but those who remained or returned to their holdings laid the foundation for the rapid development of Markham Township after 1800. Berczy, having exhausting his resources on the settlement, went to Montreal in 1805 where he achieved some success as a portrait painter.

Related pages from my torontohistory.org website:
William Berczy
The Don River Bridge, 1803

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