[1] The creation of "police villages" was authorized in 1850 upon the passage of the Baldwin Act by the Parliament of the Province of Canada,[2] and was continued by the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in 1873.
[3] The law relating to them remained essentially unchanged until 1965, when the ability to create new police villages was abolished.
[6] Police villages were dissolved with provincial acts creating new municipalities.
In 1971, the creation of York Region resulted in the dissolution of Holland Landing, King City, Maple, Mount Albert, Nobleton, Queensville, Schomberg, Sharon, Thornhill, and Unionville as police villages.
[8] Police village status allowed a community to establish its own council to direct spending on local priorities, such as roadways, sidewalks, drainage, lighting, sanitation, fire protection, and policing.