Musselman Lake, Ontario

Musselman's Lake
Musselman Lake
Unincorporated community
Coordinates: 44°1′51″N 79°16′23″W / 44.03083°N 79.27306°W / 44.03083; -79.27306
Country Canada
Province Ontario
Regional municipality York Region
Town Whitchurch–Stouffville
Amalgamation (With Town of Stouffville)
1 January 1971
Government
 • Type Municipality
 • Mayor Justin Altmann
 • Councillor Maurice Smith (Ward 2)
Elevation 334 m (1,096 ft)
Time zone EST (UTC−5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC−4)
Forward sortation area L4A
Area code(s) 905 and 289
NTS Map 031D03
GNBC Code FDLCI

Musselman's Lake is a community settled adjacent to a 118-acre (0.48 km2) kettle lake of the same name in the town of Whitchurch–Stouffville, Ontario, Canada. It is located about 6 km north-northwest of urban Stouffville, and is part of the Greater Toronto Area.

It is accessible from Highway 48, which links Toronto to Beaverton, and from Highway 404, a limited-access 400-Series Highway 9 km west of Musselman's Lake via Aurora Road or Bloomington Road. The main roads in the community are Ninth Line on the west side of the lake, and Lakeshore Road on the east.[1] The area around the lake is dotted with a number of smaller kettle lakes, including Shadow Lake and Windsor Lake. The area around Musselman's Lake feeds a small tributary to the East Holland River, which flows to the west.

Environment

Musselman's Lake is on the ecologically sensitive Oak Ridges Moraine; the land drains into both the Lake Ontario and Lake Simcoe watersheds. Pine trees dominate much of the area, with farmland toward the north-east. Creeks and streams are also characteristic of the area.

Sand and gravel mining is widespread to the south and east of Musselman's Lake. The mining industry began in the 1950s and continues through the present.

Residential areas are concentrated around Musselman's Lake and Windsor Lake, and on a few other large lots. The Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville forecasts the population of Musselman's Lake to decline slightly between 2012 and 2031.[2]

The lake has a surface area of 118-acre (0.48 km2), with a maximum depth of approximately 27-foot (8.2 m). It is landlocked and fed by springs and surface runoff.[3]

In 2009, the Musselman's Lake Subwatershed Assessment and Stewardship Opportunities Report recognized that the water quality of the lake was "impaired" and "degraded," and had declined since 1989 when a similar study had been done.[4]

History

The area was first settled 1807 by Peter and Jacob Musselman, Mennonites from Pennsylvania.[5]

In the 1950s and 1960s housing developments were built around Musselman's Lake.

A significant issue facing the Musselman's Lake community in the coming years is the federal government's proposed development of an international airport immediately south-east of Whitchurch–Stouffville (the Pickering Airport lands); under the current plan, an approach for one of the three landing strips would be directly above the communities of Ballantrae and Musselman's Lake, with planes descending (or ascending) from 500 to 450 metres. The plan calls for 11.9 million passengers per year (or 32,600 per day) by 2032.[6] A "Needs Assessment Study" was completed by the Greater Toronto Airports Authority for the federal government in May 2010. After a "due diligence review," Transport Canada released the report in July 2011; in June 2013 the federal government announced that the plan would proceed.[7] The 2013 announcement was not challenged by the community's municipal leadership.[8]

Over the years, the community has been referred to both as Musselman's Lake and as Musselman Lake. In 2012, the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville officially declared the name of the community as "Musselman's Lake."[9]

Privately owned waterfront

Virtually all of the water front in the community of Musselman's Lake is private residential property. Use of the lake and its shorelines is regulated by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada in conjunction with the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority; the Ministry of Natural Resources governs fishing regulations, town by-laws regulate the use of power boats on the lake, and laws are enforced by the York Regional Police Marine Unit. While the resources of all levels of government are used for the regulation, protection and preservation of the lake, the entire perimeter of the lake is currently in a few private hands, and homeowners and business alone benefit from exclusive access rights to one of Whitchurch-Stouffville's most significant natural and recreational assets.

Nearest communities

Musselman's Lake is situated near the eastern boundary of the town of Whitchurch–Stouffville. Neighbouring communities within Whitchurch–Stouffville include Ballantrae to the north-east and Bloomington to the south. Goodwood, a community of the town of Uxbridge, lies to the east.

References

  1. ↑ Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville, Ballantrae-Musselman Lake and Environs Secondary Plan, 2014.
  2. ↑ Town of Whitchurh-Stouffville, "Growth Management Strategy: Alternative Growth Options Discussion Paper" (March 15, 2013), 3-2, Fig. 13.
  3. ↑ Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Report on a Water Quality Survey Musselman Lake, Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville, 1972, p. 1.
  4. ↑ Cf. Lake Simcoe Conservation Authority and the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville, "Musselman's Lake Subwatershed Assessment and Stewardship Opportunities Report," March 31, 2009.
  5. ↑ For a complete history of Musselman's Lake, see Jean Barkey et al, Whitchurch Township (Erin, ON: Boston Mills, 1993), 102-105. See also the detailed 1878 map, "Township of Whitchurch," Illustrated historical atlas of the county of York and the township of West Gwillimbury & town of Bradford in the county of Simcoe, Ont. (Toronto: Miles & Co., 1878); "The Community of Musselman's Lake: A Little History," Musselman's Lake Residents Association (MLRA) official website. Cf.
  6. ↑ Cf. Transport Canada, Plan Showing Pickering Airport Site; also Greater Toronto Airports Authority, Pickering Airport Draft Plan Report, 6.3.
  7. ↑ Transport Canada, "Press Release," June 11, 2013; "News Release: Transport Canada releases findings of the 2010 Pickering Lands Needs Assessment Study," July 11, 2011.
  8. ↑ Sandra Bolan, "Pickering Airport Good for Stouffville," Stouffville Sun-Tribune (June 12, 2013).
  9. ↑ Sandra Bolan, "Musselman's Lake: Stouffville council makes it official," Stouffville Sun-Tribune, July 18, 2012.


Coordinates: 44°1′51″N 79°16′23″W / 44.03083°N 79.27306°W / 44.03083; -79.27306

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