(from Early Settlements of King Township, Ontario by Elizabeth McClure Gillham; published by the Author, 1975)
While Aurora is no longer part of King Township; at one time it was. The first land in the area was taken up in 1797; two lots in King Township, and two in Whitchurch. The two lots in King Township were Lot 81, concession 1, which first belonged to Thomas Phillips, and Lot 82, the property of William McClellan. About 1804, a hamlet began at the corner of Yonge and Wellington streets. Richard Machell was the first merchant to engage in business there, and as a result the settlement was named Machell’s Corners. On January 1, 1854, the name changed to Aurora, and the earlier name was never used again as a postal address.
The first Aurora village council meeting was held on January 19, 1863. At first the settlement west of Yonge Street had been under the jurisdiction of King Township, and that east of Yonge Street under Whitchurch, but this ceased with the establishment of the village.
On January 1, 1888, Aurora had grown to the point where it was incorporated as a town. The limits were to be the same as those of the village: Lots 78-83, on both sides of Yonge Street. When the Regional Municipality of York was established on January 1, 1971, the boundaries of Aurora were greatly extended, moving to the north side of St. John’s Sideroad, south to Bloomington Sideroad, west to Bathurst Street, and east almost to Don Mills Road in Whitchurch Township.
For a complete history of Aurora, read “Aurora: Its Early Beginnings”, by James Johnston, published in 1963, and later in 1972 by the Aurora and District Hstorical Society.