Newmarket's Poppy Lane Park may be getting an official name to honour the family that farmed the land on which the surrounding Copper Hills neighbourhood now sits.
Newmarket council approved an application at its Nov. 16 committee of the whole meeting to rename the park Frank Williams Park.
"We have spent a lot of time trying to build heritage in our community, and this is how you do it," said Mayor John Taylor. "This is a great way of preserving our non-building heritage."
Four generations of Frank Williams' family farmed land in the Bogarttown area of Newmarket from 1896 until 1988, after which the land was used to create the Coppers Hills subdivision near Mulock Drive and Leslie Street.
Williams himself was a farmer and also served as a councillor, deputy-reeve and reeve of Whitchurch-Stouffville between 1955 to 1967. He was also a public school board trustee and sat on the board of directors for the Newmarket District Farmers Co-op.
Poppy Lane Park is a small green space, unofficially named for the street it sits on.
The idea to rename it in Williams' honour came from his granddaughter.
Councillor Grace Simon said she was glad to see the idea get approval from the committee of the whole Monday.
"This is a way to acknowledge this family and all the effort they supported this community by working their land, which is now housing so many new residents in our community," she said. "I think giving this park an official name in honour of this family is just wonderful."
The committee of the whole motion will need final approval during a full council meeting in the near future.
UPDATE: Newmarket council officially adopted the name change at a meeting on Nov. 23, the naming ceremony is expected to take place in the spring of 2021.
