HISTORY The history of Malvern began in 1856, when the Malvern Post Office was opened
in David Brown's general store, which stood at the south-east corner of Finch
Avenue and Markham Road. This post office was named after a resort town in England.
A year after the
post office was opened, Senator David Reesor - formerly of Markham Village - began
selling "Village Lots" in Malvern. Reesor trumpeted Malvern as the future "Capital
of Scarborough," anticipating that the Grand Trunk Railway would extend a branch
line through here. Unfortunately, when the Grand Trunk Railway began service to
this area in 1871, it bypassed Malvern in favour of the neighbouring village of
Agincourt.
While Malvern
never did become a prosperous railway centre, it flourished as a farming community
for over one hundred years. In the late 1950's the Canada Mortgage and Housing
Corporation expropriated Malvern's farms to build a "model community" of affordable
homes. The first residents of this modern day Malvern community moved into their
homes in 1972.
Ed. Note: The
former Malvern Schoolhouse, built in 1872, is still standing today at 5810 Finch
Avenue, and is now a private school.
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