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'''Lake Wilcox''' is a [[kettle lake]] in the [[Oak Ridges, Ontario|Oak Ridges]] neighbourhood of [[Richmond Hill, Ontario|Richmond Hill]], [[Ontario]], Canada. The lake measures 1.5 kilometers across and covers 55.6 [[hectare]]s or 0.55 square kilometres, making it the largest kettle lake on the [[Oak Ridges Moraine]].<ref name = "TE">{{cite web|url = http://www.town.richmond-hill.on.ca/subpage.asp?pageid=prc_lake_wilcox&textonly=|title = Lake Wilcox|date = 2 July 2021|publisher = Town of Richmond Hill}}</ref> Lake Wilcox, [[Lake St. George (Ontario)|Lake St. George]] and their associated [[wetland]]s form a "provincially significant wetland".<ref>{{cite web|url = http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:nhic.mnr.gov.on.ca/documents/winter2004/NHIC_NEWS_WINTER2004.pdf|title = Decade of Achievement}}{{dead link|date=February 2024|bot=medic}}</ref>
The lake is named after William Willcocks (1735/36-1813), who was a merchant in York, Upper Canada and became mayor of [[Cork (city)|Cork]], [[Ireland]] in 1793 (after his return from Upper Canada).<ref name="Carter">{{cite book|title=Stories of Newmarket: An Old Ontario Town|last=Carter|first=Robert Terence|publisher=[[Dundurn Press]]|year=2011|isbn=9781554888801}}</ref><!-- page 48 --><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.corkcity.ie/yourcouncil/mayorsofcork/|title=Mayors of Cork|publisher=Cork City Council|accessdate=2014-01-12}}</ref> Willcocks and his family moved to [[Upper Canada]], where his cousin [[Peter Russell (politician)|Peter Russell]] became interim administrator after the departure of [[John Graves Simcoe]] in 1796.<ref name="Carter" /> Willcocks "was an active land speculator" who acquired significant holdings in Upper Canada, including {{convert|800|acres|km2|1}} surrounding the lake.<ref name="Carter" /> The name of the lake was originally Lake Willcocks, but it was corrupted over time to its present spelling.<ref name="Carter" />
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Willcocks residesresided in York and Markham, but died in the former in 1813.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/willcocks_william_5E.html|title = Biography – WILLCOCKS, WILLIAM – Volume V (1801-1820) – Dictionary of Canadian Biography}}</ref>
==Community==
Wilcox Lake Wilcox is a local community located within Oak Ridges. The local community has an elementary school; Lake Wilcox elementary school, the Lake Wilcox Community Centre, as well as a number of local parks. Lake Wilcox and Brickworks parks are the most popular. The local community has come together through a number of tragedies, including the death of a local mother, Terri Callaway on North Lake Road,<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.theliberal.com/News/Richmond%20Hill/article/88965|title = Sentencing Postponed}}</ref> and two local teens who accidentally drowned in the lake in 2008.<ref>{{Cite web | first = Naomi | last = Parness |url=https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/richmond-hill-teens-feared-dead-in-canoe-mishap-1.296617 |title=Richmond Hill teens feared dead in canoe mishap | publisher = [[CTV Television Network|CTV]] | date = 2008-05-18}}</ref>
There is a craft brewery named after Wilcox Lake Wilcox called [http://www.lakewilcoxbrewing.com Lake Wilcox Brewing Co.] located in Vaughan. It was established on March 17, 2015.
==History==
The lake was recorded as "Lake Wilcocks" on an 1878 map in the ''Illustrated historical atlas of the county of York and the township of West Gwillimbury & town of Bradford in the county of Simcoe, Ont.''<ref name="wilcocks">{{cite web|url=http://digital.library.mcgill.ca/countyatlas/showtownship2.php?townshipid=Whitchurch|title=Illustrated historical atlas of the county of York and the township of West Gwillimbury & town of Bradford in the county of Simcoe, Ont.|location=Toronto|publisher=Miles & Co.|year=1878|accessdate=2012-02-12}}</ref>
Housing developments began to boom around Wilcox Lake Wilcox in the 1950s. Lake Wilcox, as a part of the annexation of Oak Ridges, became a part of Richmond Hill in 1971. The suburban housing developments continued until the mid to late 1980s. The developments affected the forests of the Oak Ridges Moraine which supplies water to the GTA, which caused environmental damage to Toronto. There were protests against the clear-cutting of forests of the Oak Ridges Moraine. In about 2001, Bayview began to expand to connect with the rest of Bayview. In 2002, the housing developments stopped.
==Geography==
Wilcox Lake Wilcox is part of the [[Humber River (Ontario)|Humber River]] drainage system, draining into the East Humber River. The [[drainage basin]] of the lake covers 260 hectares. The maximum depth of the lake is 17.4 meters.<ref name = "TE" />
===Wetlands complex===
Wilcox Lake Wilcox, Lake St. George, Swan Lake and Haynes Lake and their associated marshes, swamps and forests form a large wetland designated as a Provincially Significant Wetland.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://nhic.mnr.gov.on.ca/areas/areas_report.cfm?areaid=18494|title = Natural Areas Report: WILCOX - ST. GEORGE WETLAND COMPLEX}}</ref> The total complex has some ninety individually identified wetlands, covering 102 hectares, of which 57% is classified as [[swamp]], 39% as [[marsh]] and 4% as [[bog]].
==Ecology==
===Vegetation===
The native [[coniferous tree]]s in Wilcox Lake Wilcox's watershed include [[white spruce]], [[eastern hemlock]], [[eastern white pine|white pine]], [[red pine]], [[eastern white cedar]] and [[tamarack]].<ref name = "LWAY">{{cite web|url = http://www.richmondhill.ca/documents/heritage_lake_wilcox.pdf|title = Lake Wilcox & You|publisher = Town of Richmond Hill}}</ref> The native [[deciduous tree]]s include [[red maple]], [[silver maple]], [[sugar maple]], [[Quercus rubra|red oak]], [[Quercus alba|white oak]], [[bur oak|burr oak]], [[balsam poplar]], [[Populus tremuloides|trembling aspen]], [[large-tooth aspen]], [[Fraxinus americana|white ash]], [[Fraxinus nigra|black ash]], [[blue ash]], [[green ash]], [[basswood]], [[paper birch]], [[pin cherry]] and [[Prunus serotina|black cherry]]. The native wildflowers include [[Echinacea|purple coneflower]], [[Rudbeckia pinnata|yellow coneflower]], [[flat-topped aster]], [[heath aster]], [[smooth aster]], [[silky aster]], [[ox-eyed susan]], [[Rudbeckia hirta|black-eyed susan]], [[Clintonia borealis|bluebeard lily]], [[wood lily]], [[trout lily]], [[Virginia strawberry|common strawberry]], [[common milkweed]], [[blazing star]], [[fireweed]], [[Trientalis borealis|star flower]], [[wild columbine]] and [[wild bergamot]]. Aquatic vegetation that is native to the lake itself include [[Schoenoplectus|bulrush]]es, [[cattail]]s, [[water arum]]s, [[Alismataceae|water plantain]]s, [[Nymphaeaceae|water lilies]], [[arrowhead]]s, [[blue flag iris]]es, [[smartweed]]s and [[Pontederia|pickeral weed]]s. Native shrubs found around the lake include [[speckled alder]], [[Amelanchier|smooth serviceberry]], [[Amelanchier|Allegheny serviceberry]], [[nannyberry]], [[red osier]], [[northern swamp dogwood|gray dogwood]], [[silky dogwood]], [[Spiraea latifolia|broad-leaved meadowsweet]], [[Rosa palustris|swamp rose]], [[spicebush]], [[Cephalanthus|buttonbush]], [[shining willow]], [[willow|slender willow]], [[black willow]] and [[pussywillow]].
===Animal life===
==See also==
Other kettle lakes and bodies of water near Wilcox Lake Wilcox:
* [[Philips Lake]] at MacLeod's Landing
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