Living in Old Markham Village —
The Soul of Historic Main Street

Markham's Original Village — Where History Lives on Every Block

Old Markham Village is the neighbourhood that gave the city its name and its soul. Originally settled in 1825 by Mennonite families from Upstate New York and Pennsylvania — and known then as Reesorville, after the prominent settler Joseph Reesor who established a mill along the Rouge River — the village was officially renamed Markham when the first post office opened in 1828. By 1872, the prosperous Village of Markham was incorporated, and Main Street had grown into a thriving commercial and civic heart complete with mills, taverns, hotels, law offices, and the kinds of Victorian and Edwardian institutions that define a genuine Canadian small town.

Today, Old Markham Village is centred along Main Street Markham between Highway 7 and 16th Avenue. It has no hard boundary — as locals say, you know you're in Old Markham when you feel it. The streets are rustic and well-treed, lots tend toward the generous, and the homes tell the full story of Markham's architectural evolution: grand Victorian and Edwardian estates built in the mid-to-late 1800s, ranch bungalows and split-levels from the post-war decades, colonial revival homes from the 1970s and 1980s, and newer custom infill on the deep lots that long-time owners have recently vacated.

The neighbourhood is protected as a Heritage Conservation District under the Ontario Heritage Act — a designation that preserves its architectural and cultural legacy while attracting buyers who understand the irreplaceable value of living in a genuinely historic address. With approximately 70 percent owner-occupancy, a beloved annual Music Festival on Main Street, and Mount Joy GO Station nearby, Old Markham Village offers a rare combination of heritage character, community vitality, and practical urban connectivity. Michael John Lau knows this neighbourhood intimately — and is ready to guide you through it.