Situated in York Region, Aurora is a mid-sized affluent town located 40 km north of Toronto. Many of its residents commute to Toronto and choose to live there for its quiet and picturesque surroundings. Although Aurora didn't become an official township until 1888, its history can be traced back to the year 1793 when Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe gave the order for Yonge St. to be extended to the Holland Landing. In 1804, Richard Machell became the first merchant at the cross roads of Yonge and Wellington and the hamlet shortly thereafter became "Machell's Corners". In 1853 the first train arrived at Machell's Corners from Toronto, and in 1854 the name was officially changed to Aurora. In 1863, the population of Aurora was 700. When it became incorporated as a town in 1888, that population had flourished to 2,107. In the Canada 2006 Census, Aurora's national population rank rose to 97 in the list of the largest Canadian municipalities (based on population), compared to the 2001 Census where it was ranked 113th. Today Aurora's population is over 47,000, with 7% of the residents as visible minorities. Many famous people have lived in Aurora including many hockey players; Wendel Clark (retired Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs), Tie Domi (retired Maple Leafs player), Mike Johnson (Montreal Canadians) and Karl Stewart (Tampa Bay Lightening). Other notable residents include Belinda Stronach (politician) and Keifer Sutherland (actor), who attended St. Andrews College Boarding School in Aurora. With its beautiful scenery as a backdrop, there are many great things to do in Aurora. The Aurora Arboretum is a wonderful urban oasis where people go to enjoy the wildlife, woodlands, and meadows. The Aurora Heritage Centre focuses on the preservation of Aurora's history, housing collections of historical artifacts and document from the 19th and 20th centuries. You may want to take a historical walking tour, or enjoy the World's Longest Annual Street Sale (approx. 1.5 km). With a booming singles population (more than 1/4 of the population over 15 years of age has never been married), Auroran residents also find themselves geographically and economically well-suited to attend 25dates.com Toronto speed dating events. Participants would sign up on line and choose an event to attend based on their age group. At the event, which is typically held at a downtown restaurant or lounge, everyone meets up to 25 singles for three minutes each. They then decide after each "date" if they'd like to see that person again, and mark it down on their matchcard. At the end of the night, everyone hands in their cards and 25dates.com find out whether they have any "matches" (a "match" being both people saying "yes" to each other). 25dates.com then exchanges their contact info for the participants and it's up to them to pursue their connections.