Stand at the north end of Main Street Unionville where the railway grade crossing cuts the street, and you can see both halves of the village at once: the elegant old houses that are still private homes to the south, and the commercial stretch to the north where former houses now hold pubs, eateries and small businesses. Walk a few minutes along Station Lane and you reach the former Unionville railway station and Stiver Mill, both owned by the City of Markham and used for community functions today.
Markham suits travellers who like heritage streets, open-air museums and small galleries more than big-ticket attractions. The historic districts reward slow walking rather than a checklist, and several of the most interesting buildings are private residences that you view from the street.
This guide covers the sights named in the Wikivoyage listings for Markham: the Cathedral of the Transfiguration, the Markham Museum, Main Street Unionville, Main Street Markham (also called Markham Village) and the Thornhill heritage district. Addresses and practical notes below come from those listings.
Top things to do in Markham
1. Main Street Unionville
Unionville is a historic village that developed in the 1840s in what was then rural Markham Township. It is now part of the city of Markham, but the period buildings have been preserved as a heritage conservation district along Main Street. Many of the old buildings house pubs, eateries or other small businesses, and the area is worth a stop if you are nearby and have some time.
Walk it from south to north. From Highway 7 up to the railway grade crossing, Main Street is lined with elegant old houses that are private residences; from the crossing north to Carlton Road, the street is commercial and most businesses have a tourist orientation, many of them in former houses. Station Lane branches off just north of the crossing and holds a few old residences along with the former Unionville railway station and Stiver Mill.
2. Markham Museum
This 25-acre open-air museum at 9350 Markham Rd (Hwy 48), about 150 m north of 16th Ave, features nearly 30 buildings from Markham's past: houses, barns, sheds, a train station, a school, a general store, a church, a blacksmith, a harness shop, a saw mill, a cider mill and more. It is the most concentrated way to see the area's built history in one visit.
It is served by buses 16 and 102, and the phone number is +1 905-305-5970. In summer it opens Mon-Fri 10AM-5PM and Sat Sun noon-5PM, and it is closed on statutory holidays.
3. Varley Art Gallery of Markham
Also known as the Frederick Horsman Varley Art Gallery, this gallery at 216 Main Street Unionville holds a small collection of art on display, including a few works by Group of Seven artist F.H. Varley. Admission is free.
It sits on the same stretch of Main Street as Toogood Pond, so combine the two: see the gallery, then walk over to the pond.
4. Toogood Pond
This park at 216 Main Street Unionville has a large pond and plenty of large open spaces for jogging. Certain areas of the pond allow fishing.
It is the natural place to stretch your legs after walking the commercial stretch of Main Street Unionville, and it shares its address with the Varley Art Gallery of Markham.
5. McKay Art Centre (Eckhardt-McKay House)
This art gallery at 197 Main St Unionville exhibits the works of local artists. It occupies a house built between 1845 and 1851 that was once occupied by Group of Seven artist F.H. Varley. A few rooms display period furnishings while others exhibit artworks, and admission is free.
It is closed Mondays and Tuesdays, and the phone number is +1 905-946-1733. It is a short walk from the Varley Art Gallery of Markham, so pair the two galleries in one outing.
6. Cathedral of the Transfiguration
This impressive landmark at 10350 Woodbine Ave, at the end of Cathedral High St, is a Byzantine Revival cathedral featuring the world's largest three-bell carillon. After lying idle and incomplete since 2006, a Slovak Greek Catholic congregation started using the church in 2017.
It looks impressive from a distance, such as from the east from Highway 404. Buses 24 and 80 serve the area.
7. Main Street Markham (Markham Village)
Main Street Markham, also called Markham Village, has retail and residential districts with a number of buildings from the 19th century intermixed with more modern structures. The street runs 2 km from Highway 7 on the south to 16th Avenue on the north, and the retail area is 600 m long at the south end.
This is a walking route rather than a single sight. The individual buildings listed below sit along it, so pick a direction and read the plaques and facades as you go.
8. The Old Town Hall
This former town hall at 96 Main Street North, just south of Robinson St, was built in 1882. The basement was divided, with village council meeting in the south half and the jail occupying the north half, while the Masonic and Oddfellow Lodges met on the second storey.
It is one of the anchors of the Main Street Markham retail stretch, so fold it into a walk along the south end of the street.
9. Former Toronto and Nipissing Railway Company Station (current Markham GO Station)
The Toronto and Nipissing Railway Company built this station at 214 Main Street North in 1871. It was later inherited by the Canadian National Railway and still serves a railway function today for GO Transit. The one-storey building has a box shape broken only by a shallow operator's bay.
A community centre occupies the west end of the station building, with a waiting room for commuters at the east end; through the windows you can see an old-fashioned stove in the waiting room. It sits at the north end of the Main Street Markham walk.
10. James Speight house
Built by James Speight circa 1870 at 48 Main Street North, opposite Centre St, this picturesque house is known as the "Wedding Cake House" for its fanciful decorative woodwork.
It is directly across from the David Barkey Row Houses, so you can see both in a few steps.
11. David Barkey Row Houses
The Speight Wagon Company had these Second Empire style houses at 40-44 Main Street North, south of Centre St, built in 1895 to house some of the company's employees.
They stand opposite the James Speight house, making the two an easy pair to view together on the same block.
12. Former Unionville railway station
The Toronto and Nipissing (T&N) Railway built this station at 7 Station Lane in 1871, and the last trains stopped here in 1991. The City of Markham now owns the historic station and uses it for community functions.
Station Lane branches from Main Street Unionville just north of the railway grade crossing, so it fits naturally into a walk up the commercial stretch of the street.
13. Stiver Mill
The City of Markham owns this mill at 9 Station Lane and uses it for community functions. Oddly, the historic plaque for the mill is located where Eureka Street crosses the railway line, almost out of sight of the mill.
It stands on the same short lane as the former Unionville railway station, so see them together.
14. Thornhill Village Library (Ellen Ramsden House)
The library at 10 Colborne Street, east of Yonge St and north of Colborne St, is in a two-storey clapboard historical building constructed in 1851 as a house for Mrs. Ellen Ramsden, and it features an outdoor garden.
It is closed Mondays; it opens Tue Thu noon-8PM, Wed Sat 9AM-5PM, Fri 9AM-6PM and Sun 1-5PM. The phone number is +1 905-513-7977 (ext. 3481). It makes a good starting point for walking Colborne Street.
15. Colborne Street heritage houses, Thornhill
Thornhill has a small heritage district with over a dozen structures from the 19th century, most of them along Colborne Street, a picturesque residential street where most heritage houses have a white picket fence around the front yard. A few more heritage houses are along John Street.
All of the houses named in the listings are private residences, so view them from the street. Among them: the William Lane Cooper House at 14 Colborne St, built circa 1846; the Robert Jarrot House at 15 Colborne St, built in 1840 and enlarged and moved back from the street in 1910; the Jobb Trott House at 25 Colborne St, built in 1851 by local mason Job Trott; the John Ramsden Cottage at 26 Colborne St, a two-family cottage built in 1854 by John Ramsden, Head Miller at Pomona Mills, and converted to a single family dwelling around 1940; the John Ramsden House at 30 Colborne St, built in 1852; and the Mill Workers Double Cottage at 37 & 39 Colborne St.
If you only have one day
Morning: Start at the Markham Museum on Markham Rd, where nearly 30 historic buildings fill a 25-acre site. Check the summer hours before you go, since it opens at 10AM on weekdays and at noon on weekends.
Afternoon: Move on to Main Street Unionville and walk it from south to north: the private old houses below the railway grade crossing, then the commercial stretch above it. Branch onto Station Lane for the former Unionville railway station and Stiver Mill. Finish the afternoon with the Varley Art Gallery of Markham and the McKay Art Centre, both on Main Street, and a wander around Toogood Pond. Note that the McKay Art Centre is closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
Evening: Head to Main Street Markham for the 19th-century buildings of the retail stretch, including The Old Town Hall and the former Toronto and Nipissing Railway Company Station at the north end, and choose one of the street's businesses for dinner.
Frequently asked questions
Are the historic houses in Unionville and Thornhill open to visitors?
Most are not. The Evangelical Lutheran Church Parsonage, the William Eckardt House, the George Pingle House, the Stiver House and the Colborne Street houses in Thornhill are all private residences, so you view them from the street. The former Unionville railway station and Stiver Mill are owned by the City of Markham and used for community functions.
Which sights charge admission?
The McKay Art Centre and the Varley Art Gallery of Markham are both free. The listings do not give an admission price for the Markham Museum, so check ahead.
When is the Markham Museum open?
In summer it opens Mon-Fri 10AM-5PM and Sat Sun noon-5PM, and it is closed on statutory holidays. It is at 9350 Markham Rd (Hwy 48), about 150 m north of 16th Ave, served by buses 16 and 102.
How do I get around the historic districts without a car?
Buses serve the main sights: buses 24 and 80 stop near the Cathedral of the Transfiguration, and buses 16 and 102 serve the Markham Museum. Once you are on Main Street Unionville or Main Street Markham, the buildings are close enough together to cover on foot.
Pick your base, check the opening days for the Markham Museum and the McKay Art Centre, and start mapping your walk along Main Street Unionville.