Unionville and Cathedral of the Transfiguration – Markham’s Worthwhile Attractions
I hate Markham! Yes, it is perhaps a harsh statement but its nothing personal. Maybe it should read, I feel strongly indifferent to Markham but I would be lying to an extent. It is more profound, the same way most cities in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) make me feels. Its large expanses of bland, cultureless, suburbia offend my senses. Yet, despite this disdain, there is a part of the city that offers me joy… even contentment. This would be the tiny town of Unionville, that was forced into an unfortunate amalgamation with Markham. Yet there is also a more remarkable sight, a towering Slovak cathedral in the middle of Canada. A newer church mired in scandal and legal conflicts, yet despite showing signs of decay, still being the only thing with seeing for miles around.
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Unionville
Used as the stand in for the fictional town of Stars Hollow in Gilmore Girls, this adorable town was founded in 1794 as an agricultural settlement built around a main road. The bulk of its construction mostly dates from the 1840’s onwards when the Union Mills were constructed by the White family from America. The original settlers were German, and although the early years were lean (with a famine at the end of the 18th century) things soon got better. The town grew around the grist mills and still existed as its own entity well into the 1990s. The name of Unionville was even whipped from the map by the town of Markham until the late 2000’s.
Today visitors to the town can enjoy the traditional main street, for an pleasant stroll. There are a few pretty churches, as well as art galleries and a beautiful old firehall, now converted to a business.
The highlight however is the red painted Unionville Planing Mill, now a public market. It is located off the side of the creek on the south end of the city. If you have time check out the Stiver Mill, now a community center near the railway tracks. The mills were key in developing this town and it nice that two of them have been preserved.
Cathedral of the Transfiguration
Located in a strangely empty residential development called Cathedraltown, is a giant Slovak cathedral. It is probably the only remarkable structure for miles around. Built by Stephen B. Roman, a Slovak mining engineer and owner of Denison Mines Limited who immigrated to Canada in 1937, the building is magnificent. To Stephan the structure was a symbol of religious freedom, a luxury not offered in communist Slovakia. The traditional structure was intended to be a stand in for the church found in his native village.
Work commenced in 1984, was even blessed by Pope John Paul II. This was the first time that a Roman Pontiff had consecrated a church in North America. It also hosted Václav Havel, the Czechoslovak playwright, dissident and president in 1990. Finally, the building was even used in the 1995 John Carpenter movie In the Mouth of Madness, as well as in “Rearview” a Canadian independent film from 2013 directed by Robert Gulassarian.
With all this activity, one would think that things were all well within the community. Yet, it has fallen on hard times, already looking rundown. The church once belonged to the Slovak Catholic Eparchy of Saints Cyril and Methodius but after Roman died a dispute forced the community out, with the structure only being reopened in 2016 to a new catholic rite.
The community around it was a latter addition is advertised as a European styled town with a vibrant commercial street. It is anything but! Apart from the church there is little for you here, it is a lifeless hollow shell of a place.
Conclusion
If the giant cathedral didn’t convince you to stop by then the charms of Unionville main street should. Markham sucks but these two attractions are awesome. I do apologize for being so blunt!