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e r iijji7ijoreaxynar ifv 28 toe tribune stouffvuxe 1877177 iitai8v vws dowjwfy 1s77is7s issms8z w sanderisl83 1b93 wfanfcn fcri gwty ss7 inei stouffvilles long history does not start at the in corporation of the town although the act did officially give the people and businesses in the area the right to govern themselves the history of the town has its beginnings in the early 18th century when pennsylvanian settlers laid claim to the stouffville area the land prospered and more and more settlers came up and by the time july 1 1867 rolled around there were ap proximately 600 people here to celebrate canadas birth it was only nine years later in 1876 when the people who had previously been governed under the whitchurch township decided that they wanted their own identity and government for the new town of stouffville the area designated for the town was comprised of lot 35 of the 9th concession of markham 200 acres and lot one concession nine of the whitchurch town ship 2oo acres and a few acres east of the 10th line the incorporation was consummated july 1 1877 and the town of stouffville was born the first reeve of the town was james dougherty and the first collector was david stouffer the inaugural meeting was held january 15 1877 at browns barn the council members got right down to work and quickly passed the first four bylaws the first bylaw concerned itself with the appointment of a clerk and treasurer it was henry william woodgate that was given the job which entitled him to a salary of 50 a year the first actual law passed by council dealt with the removal of snow from sidewalks and the control of furious driving and horses remaining at large that any person who neglected to remove snow from his sidewalk property within four hours of every snow fall was given a stiff fine equal to the expense of having the town corporation remove it graffiti writers were also taken care of at this first meeting as council outlined in the second bylaw that any person caught defacing or disfiguring public or private property along with any person posting or putting indecent or immoral word or drawings on buildings would be fined providing they could be caught and woe to any person caught letting his horse run wild through the towns streets for he would be unceremoniously brought before the reeve or justice and fined the sum of fifty dollars for each offence and costs of prosecution in case the poor accused could not raise this high sum of money his property would be sold and if he didnt even have enough property he would be then committed to the common gaol of the city of toronto with or without hard labour for any period not exceeding twenty one days unless the said penalty and costs be sooner paid fairly harsh punishment for someone with a frisky horse to have a person enforcing the laws council chose thomas j dougall as police inspector with the sum of 20 for his services along with the police in spector council appointed john urquhart as assessor and his pay was only 15 the final bylaw of that inaugural meeting took to task transient traders those people who occupied places of business for less than one year and have not been in the assessment roll a 40 fine was in store for anyone breaking this bylaw and if the money could not be raised it was a jail term of 21 days from that auspicious beginning of the towns birth and initial bylaws has come the people places and laws that make up present day stouffville eimeim7mom i i