Agincourt is a neighbourhood and former village in Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Agincourt is located in north-eastern area of Toronto. It is centred along Sheppard Avenue between Kennedy and Markham Roads. It is officially recognized by the City of Toronto as occupying the neighbourhoods of Agincourt South–Malvern West and Agincourt North. The name Agincourt is often used to refer to a larger area of north-west Scarborough than just the officially recognised neighbourhood. The area to the west of Agincourt, officially named Tam O'Shanter–Sullivan is often included as part of Agincourt, and the Agincourt Mall is located in Tam O'Shanter. The section of Agincourt west of Midland Avenue belongs to the electoral district of Scarborough—Agincourt, while the section to the east is part of Scarborough North or Scarborough—Rouge River.
History
Agincourt was once referred to as "hero town" by the citizens that lived there. The village of Agincourt was officially founded with the establishment of the Agincourt post office, opened in June 1858 by John Hill. The name of the settlement was after the site of Henry V's decisive English victory over French forces in 1415. The settlement name was spelled differently and more in line with Agincourt, Meurthe-et-Moselle. The original crossroads of Agincourt is located at Midland Avenue and Sheppard and served a rural agricultural population. A Presbyterian church was built on the north-east corner, which is today's Knox United Church. In addition, an Agincourt Public School was built in 1914, which has evolved over time into Agincourt Junior Public School. A secondary school that later evolved into Agincourt Collegiate Institute, was established in 1915 on the second floor of the same building. From 1954 to 1998, the schools were a part of the Scarborough Board of Education. Two railway stations were constructed in the second half of the 19th century at Agincourt. One was built just west of the crossroads as part of the Toronto and Nipissing Railway line heading north from Scarborough Junction on the Toronto – Montreal mainline, and greatly improved access. The line eventually became part of Canadian National Railways, and the station operates today as Agincourt Stationon the GO Transit Stouffville commuter rail route. A second station was built east of the crossroads, just north of Sheppard and Brimley Roads, on what is today CP Rail track that runs from downtown Toronto diagonally northeast through the neighbourhood. Commuter rail service to Toronto's Union Station was offered, but was discontinued in the 1970s. The line branches east of a marshalling yard, built by CP in the 1960s between McCowan and Markham Roads on the east of the neighbourhood, into the Havelock and Bellevillesubdivisions. Agincourt saw an influx of Hong Kong Chinese and Taiwanese emigrants during the 1980s, especially in the area along Sheppard Avenue near Midland Avenue. Since the development of Chinese-themed shopping centres in the 1980s, it has become a booming suburban Toronto Chinatown and was the vanguard for the proliferation of "Chinese malls", catering specifically to the Chinese community across the GTA.
The neighbourhood is home to a number of municipal parks, managed by the Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division. In addition to local parks, the Division also operates the Agincourt Recreation Centre, located adjacent to Agincourt Park, Albert Campbell Pool and Commander Park Arena at Commander Park.
