Milliken, Ontario
Milliken and Milliken Mills are neighbourhoods in the cities of Toronto and Markham. Milliken is situated in the north west section of Scarborough, whereas Milliken Mills is situated in the south-central portions of Markham. The neighbourhoods are centered on Kennedy Road and Steeles Avenue, the latter street serving as the boundary between the cities of Markham and Toronto. A large percentage of residents own their homes, which are primarily single family detached homes. As the majority of the homes present were built when the farming left the area in the 1980s, there are many two storied houses with garages, typical of the time of building and affordability. History The area now called "Milliken" or "Milliken's Corner" was first settled in 1798 by Captain William Demont (Dumond). Norman Milliken settled in the area around 1807. In 1814, Milliken received the deed for lot 1, concession 5, Markham Township. Milliken operated a lumber business in what was then a rural hamlet called Milliken Corners. The hamlet became a postal village when the first post office was established in 1858 (on the now Markham side) and was called Milliken after Norman Millken. The Ebenezer United Church (1878; originally Milliken Primitive (also as Milliken Corners) Methodist Church on southeast side in Toronto) is one of a few structures remaining in the area. The church once stood on the south side of Steeles Avenue with another church on Brimley Road. Plots at the church are many of the early families of Milliken: Thomson, Rennie, Harding, Hood, Hagerman and L'Amoreaux. The church is now located on Brimley Rd, north of Steeles Ave in Markham. Evangelical Association had a church on McCowan Road north of 14th Avenue from land donated by Abraham Eckardt sometime after 1830. The church disappeared by 1878, but Eckardt Cemetery remains and now owned by the City of Markham. Another structure that survives from the 19th century is Benjamin Milliken House constructed circa 1855. It is a Georgian Classic Revival house built by Norman Milliken's son, Benjamin Milliken II, on his farm located on Part of Lot 5, Concession 5, Markham Township. It was designated by the Town of Markham as a historic building under the Ontario Heritage Act in 1994. Benjamin Milliken House is located at 7710 Kennedy Road, Markham and is now a pub called The Major Milliken. To the Milliken community, municipal boundaries were just lines on a map and the community's history can be found in the Archives of both Scarborough and Unionville. School Section # 2 was established here in 1847, and a log school was built during the same year. In 1954, the area south of Steeles Avenue was severed from York County, forming the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto. As the community was situated along Steeles Avenue, it was split between the two county/metropolitan governments. The southern portion of the community, Milliken, became a part of Metropolitan Toronto, whereas the northern portion of the community, Milliken Mills, remained with York County (reorganized into the Regional Municipality of