Flanders, Gravenhurst

Flanders (Traditional Chinese: 法蘭德; French: Flandre; Dutch: Vlaanderen) is a community in northeastern Lisi of Gravenhurst Region. It is built on the meander of Lisi Creek, on the border of Gravenhurst Region and Pickering County, immediately east of Rainwater Conservation Area.

The community is one of the two French-speaking communities in the city, the other being Fontclare.

The community is named after the Flemish Community of Belgium, Flanders.

Today, the community is comprised of a small residential area and a large industrial estate. The area is served by a rush hour bus route operated by Gravenhurst Regional Transit (GRT).

History
Flanders was first established as a trading post, and as a southern frontier of the Dutch colony of Staat van der Hogan in 1606. The area was primarily Dutch-speaking. As the colony disbanded in 1822, the area became a part of Pickering County, which was a French colony that had just been conquered by the British. Eventually, the area became French speaking due to the influence of the nearby Pickering County.

Flanders had been involved in the Territorial Dispute of Gravenhurst and Pickering. In 1951, the Imaginary Lands of Nicholas National Transitional Council had ruled that Flanders to be a part of Gravenhurst Region.