Richmond Hill is a town in York Region north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area. It has an estimated population of 171,499 as of March 2006; Statistics Canada reports a 2001 Census population of 132,030.
The area was first surveyed by Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe in 1794 while he was constructing Yonge Street. It was first settled by United Empire Loyalists and British settlers, and by 1801 it was known as Miles' Hill after Abner Miles, a prominent settler, and was afterwards Mount Pleasant. According to local legend, it was re-named Richmond Hill when Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond, visited the area in 1820. However, it is more likely that it was re-named after a favourite song of one of the early settlers, The Lass of Richmond Hill. Richmond Hill was incorporated as a village in 1873, and as a town in 1957. It encompassed the other earlier settlements in the area, Oak Ridges, Langstaff, and Elgin Mills.