Template:Wp-Ashburn, Ontario-history

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The community was originally named Butler's Corners after settler Richard Butler in 1832. The first European settlers were primarily Scottish immigrants. A much earlier native settlement on the Lynde Creek immediately south of the hamlet has been documented. In the late 1830s, the Windsor Road Company was created and a road was built from Windsor Harbour (Whitby) to Butler's Corners. The first store was opened in 1847. The name "Ashburn" was eventually chosen in 1850 because of the community's connection to the potash industry. "Asheries were built to produce potash from the trees that were cleared during the settlement of Whitby Township." The original spelling—Ashbourne, after Ashbourne, Derbyshire in England—was changed in error due to the cancellation stamp used by the post office (est. 1852).

In 1857, Whitby Township was divided into two municipalities: East Whitby, and Whitby. Ashburn was one of the principal villages of Township of Whitby, together with Brooklin and Myrtle. In 1869, Ashburn had a population between 100 and 250, with a stage coach to Uxbridge and Whitby, daily mail, an Orange Society (No. 176), three stores, two hotels and several blacksmiths and wagonmakers. Between 1870 and 1872, a railway was built from Port Whitby on Lake Ontario to Port Perry on Lake Scugog, crossing Myrtle Road two kilometres east of Ashburn. The Port Whitby and Port Perry Railway—which was dismantled in 1941—allowed the hamlets of Whitby Township to ship grain and timber south to the railway mainlines along Lake Ontario. In 1875, the hamlet had a population of 150. In the nineteenth century the local Agricultural Society regularly held cattle fairs in the village. By 1910, the village's population declined to 100, and had a daily stage to the railway station in Myrtle. It was serviced by the Claremont and Ashburn Telephone Company, which later became part of the York and Ontario Telephone Union.

The Burns Presbyterian Church has been central to the community since its beginnings in 1849. The first church building was constructed in 1857. It was completely destroyed by fire in 1967, and a new building was completed in 1968. In 2012 a major addition and renovation was undertaken by the congregation.

The Ashburn School House (after 1967 a community centre) was built circa 1861 by William Pearson (1833–1897), a Scottish builder who constructed many fine stone houses in Whitby and Pickering; each wall was constructed in a different style to showcase Pearson's masonry skill. The school was designated a "cultural heritage property" in 1984. In 1866, the school had about 80 pupils. Today, the designated primary schools for Ashburn are in the neighbouring community of Brooklin, and the secondary schools in urban Whitby.

On January 1, 1968, Whitby and the Township of Whitby, which included Ashburn and the three rural hamlets of Brooklin, Myrtle and Myrtle Station, amalgamated into the new Town of Whitby. The hamlet received a house numbering system in the 1980s.

In 1972 Ashburn added only its third street when the Bryson family sold 9 acres in the northeast quadrant of the village to a developer with the stipulation that the street servicing the development be named after their two children, Glen and Laura.

In 1999 the community was visited by Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and in 2000 Ashburn celebrated its 150th anniversary.