Brooklin is a community in the town of Whitby, Ontario, Canada, north of central Whitby, at the south junction of Ontario Highways 12 and 7. While Brooklin proper is confined to a specific area, people in the surrounding area largely identify their location as "Brooklin" rather than "Whitby".

Brooklin was located primarily in a rural area about two decades ago, but it is urbanising, with high population growth and infrastructure development. Brooklin is surrounded by hills covering the north and the west. The hills and the forests that dominate the north are part of the South Slope of the Oak Ridges Moraine.

Economy

Aside from the farms that surround the town, Brooklin is largely a bedroom community and many residents commute to other parts of the Greater Toronto Area for employment. The largest employer in Brooklin is FreshCo.

Sports

Lacrosse is a popular sport in the area. At one time, Brooklin was known as being the smallest town to have a Major Series Lacrosse team. In 1968, the Brooklin Redmen MSL team won the esteemed Mann Cup, and the team went on to win the cup again in 1969, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1990 and 2000. Today, the team is now known as the Brooklin Lacrosse Club, and plays its home games in the southern part of Whitby.

Meadowcrest Public School was for a number of years known as a "volleyball school" as it won 4 Provincial Cup awards as well as being the top school in all of Durham for 10 years. Winchester Public School, however, has beat Meadowcrest Public School in both Academic and Sporting Events since its inception in 2000.

Hockey is also pretty popular, with a lot of AA and AAA players for the Whitby Wildcats living here. Three National Hockey League players grew up in Brooklin; Matthew Poitras, Ryan Winterton, and Pete Vipond.

Other

Brooklin and area has 8 elementary schools, including Meadowcrest P.S., Winchester P.S., Brooklin Village P.S., Blair Ridge P.S., St. Leo's C.S., St. Bridget C.S., Saint John Paul II C.S., and Chris Hadfield P.S. Five high schools service the community (with four located in Whitby south of the village): , Donald A Wilson Secondary School (French immersion), Saint-Charles Garnier C.S. (French-language instruction), All Saints Catholic Secondary School, Anderson Collegiate Vocational Institute (gifted), and Brooklin High School which resides in the village. A post office, library, fire hall, community centre, and ice arena are provided to the citizens by the municipal government. Many church communities provide for their adherents, including St. Thomas' Anglican, Brooklin United, St. Leo's Roman Catholic, Burn's Presbyterian (actually located in Ashburn), Renaissance Baptist, Unitarian Universalist Congregation Of Durham, and Brooklin Village Church. A shopping plaza is the southern gateway to an older established downtown business corridor.

Subdivisions

  • Macedonian Village, southwest
  • The Bakery, central
  • Olde Winchester, east

The Tragically Hip filmed the music video for their famous song "Ahead By a Century" on a farm in Brooklin in 1996. The music video won the Best Video award at the 1996 MuchMusic Video Awards. Additionally, the song later went on to be nominated for a Juno award in 1997, and was certified platinum in 2016.

Nearest places

  • Columbus, northeast
  • Greenwood, west
  • Port Perry, northeast
  • Oshawa, southeast
  • Whitby, south
  • Ashburn, north
  • Myrtle, northeast
  • Myrtle Station, northeast
  • Hampton, east
  • Uxbridge, northwest
  • Ajax, Ontario, southwest
  • Toronto, Ontario, southwest

References

  • Brooklin Images at Whitby Public Library and Archives Digital Collection
  • Village of Brooklin Whitby's Village of Brooklin