The conte nts of thi s book are fu lly protected by l e Can adian co pyright . Al rights reserv d .

I R EO R E Y ON E S G G G , n t h e m a n wh o se a m e was g ive n to Yong e S treet.

He was S ec reta ry for W ar in th e B riti sh Gov e r nment w h e n Jo h n G rav es S imco e was a ppoi nted fi rst Gove rno r of U pp er C a nada in

v e n 1 792 . S ir Geo rg e a nd Go r o r S imco e we re n wh m u t h g rea t f ri ends, a d en S i co e c t e roa d ' t h roug h th e fo re st f rom Yo r k to Coo k e s B ay at th e so uth extre mity of La k e S i mcoe h e g ave t h e new r oad th e na m e of Yo ng e S t reet in h o nor

of h is fri e nd. “ Before Niagara Falls

ORTH TORONTO is , geologically s peaking ve ry different from the , of remainder the city . Some eight or nin e thous and years ago wh at

i s now North Toronto was the be ach land o f a great lake . The level of the water is clearly marked today in the ridge of land th at runs across the city . Balmoral Avenue , Wells Hill and the ridge that runs down to of S carborough Bluffs are all remnants the old northern shore line . Farther

to the we st the sho re line extended up into the present C aledon country .

T h e S ho reli ne of a n A nci ent La k e

The hill that cros se s the city jus t below S t . Clai r Avenue

i s the shoreline of an ancient lake . It is known to modern geologists as Lake Iroquois and was forme d after the last

ice age s ome twenty thous and years ago .

The southern shore of thi s ancient lake i s well marked in th e heights at

- Queenston and in the so c alled Hamilton mountain . On the high e s carp ment immediately to the south of Grimsby the author has pi cke d up fossil remains of fresh - water creature s that once lived and swam i n thi s ancient

lake . Geologists h ave given the lake a name . On geological maps it i s

marked a s Lake Iroquois . The outlet was not through the S t . Lawrence

l valley, as i s the ease with Lake Ontario . Th e waters of Lake Iroquoi s reached the s e a by way of the Hudson Rive r valley . Whe n wh at i s n ow

“ ” ‘ - central and down town Toronto we re all wet , and the site of North 2 TAL E S OF NO RTH T ORONTO

Toronto was be autiful beach land , the S t . Lawrence River valley was all choke d u p with great mas se s of ice that had bee n left as debri s when the i c e o f the las t Ice Age commence d its northward rece ssion . How long ago did the se cond itions exist ? A study of the geology of the Niagara River

give s some cle w and provides a partial answer . There is ample evidence m f to indicate that Niagara Falls co menced at Queensto n . The power o the

falling water to cut away the roc k i s fairly well known . It i s a fairly

average amount each year . If the rate of cutting has been more or le s s n constant , i t has require d the pas sage of s om e eight a d a hal f thousand

ye ars for Niagara Fall s to cut its way to the pres ent position . But the

- s m r Wh i rl ood problem i s not quite o si ple of solution . Ne a the p there is a s f m tretch o river that is uch narrowe r than the rest of the stre am . The

is roc k similar , but something has happened to reduce the flow of water

and retard the cutting action . That is one of the unsolve d mysterie s of

' Niagara . This reduced action may have continued for fiv e hundre d ye ars

for o r five thous and years . No one knows today . That element makes the f g ues s o the age of old Lake Iroquois rather an uncertain quantity . But m the fact re ains that the hill on Bathurst S treet , Avenue Road an d Yonge

S treet , just to the south of what i s new S t . Cl ai r Avenue , i s a very inter

r e sting geological r eli c. Modern motorists d o not regard it with much

favo r , es pe cially on wet and s li ppery days . W hat happened to this ancient lake ? As the i c e commenced to melt i n the St . Lawrence Valley the water of Lake Iroquoi s gradually reache d

out and cle ared a pas sage to the s ea . This new channel reduced the level of th e water . It gradually fell to a point where i t was below the entrance

to the Hudson Valley and th e St . Lawrenc e route continued as th e only ,

outlet to the s ea . As the wate r or Lake Iroquoi s fell , the water of wh at i s

now Lake Erie comm enced to s pill over th e e sc arpment at Queenston , and f off an d Niagara Falls was born . Th e waters o Lake Iroquoi s levelle d the

ne w level is the pre sent Lake Ontario . Where there any human beings h ere at that time ? There i s some

evidence to suggest that there were . North Toronto , as far as th e author

i s aware has not produc e d any direct evidence i n support of such a theory . , e of D , on on . Th e Valley h as Some years ago , the late Profes sor Coleman

the greatest geologists that the Empire has evolve d , rece ived a telephone

c all from one of th e foremen at th e Don Valley Brick Works . The call

suggeste d that the profe sso r le ave his desk and hurry ou t to the yard s . TALE S OF NO RTH TORONTO 3

' m W S omething had co e to light as a re sult of blasting . h en Professor Cole

man arrived he was directed to the remains of a charcoal fi re with remain s of m animal bones i n the im ediate vicinity . The blasting powde r h ad lifte d the overburden and exposed a bit of strata that had once been level

ground . The remains of the fir e and the meal that had bee n cooke d upon n it h ad come to V iew . The discovery was carefully rem ove d and i s now o m di splay in the Royal Ontario Museum . Profes sor C oleman esti ate d that

‘ fi re the h ad bee n use d twenty thous and years ag o. Were these hunters from the Mound Builders or from some unknown tribe who preceded them ?

No one knows today . Only hum an beings can light a fire and cook a me al

upon it . This interesting reli c i s mute evi de nce that human beings of some

k ind roame d about what i s now North Toronto many thous ands of years ago .

The Great I ndian Village

HE story of the gre at Indian s ettlement that was recorde d in the firs t public ation of Tales of North Toronto caused a great deal of

interest i n local hi story . The author re ce i ve d numerous telephone calls asking for more information and som e of the local sc hools re quested pers onal vi sits to tell the childre n more about the subj ect . In the first volum e it was stated that the Mini ster of Education had orde red a report on the matter to be made by the P rovincial Archivist of long ago many persons have state d to the author that they h ave been unable to find that report in the Provincial Legislative Library .

report was m ade on De cember 20 i n the ye ar 1 887 . It i s signe d , ‘ The by David Boyle and re ads as follows $

As s oon as the s eason was well enough a dvance d to make

digging pos sible (April 30 1 887 I V isited Lot 2 Con . 1 . Township , ) , of York, within s ight of Toronto as many interesting relics had , been p icked up i n thi s neighbourhood i t s eeme d a promising place ,

in which to begin o perations .

of ’ On the rear this lot , which i s part of the J ack es e state , i s a mound evidently of artificial formation although th e only , i ndications that remain are di sti n ctive soil and considerable TALE S OF NORT H T ORONT O

quantities of charcoal and ashes . The situation i s high and dry,

and the tree s close to the mound are comparatively young . T h e dis coverie s of two or three fragments of what appeare d to b e corn cobs sugge sted the probability of this e arth - heap having

been employed by the Indians as a cache or de posit for maiz e .

I ndia n Relics F ro m North T oro nto I n Volume I of Tale s of North Toronto attention was calle to , d the great Indian village that covere d much of what is now North

Toronto 300 years ago . Thes e relics were unearthed during a l f re cent excavation on C ast e ield Avenue . The centrepiece i s a

tomahawk head of Iroquois manufacture . The arrowhe ads , the

pipe bowl and the fragment of pottery are of Huron manufacture .

Th e whole of the surrounding country abounds i n traces of various aboriginal manufacture flint chips broken pottery , and bone implements and the museum of the Institute contains many fin e s pecimens from the same neighbourhood presented by TALE S OF NORT H T ORONTO 5

k Mr . B . Ja c es of Toronto , Mr . J . Long of Lansing and Mis s

Marshall , teacher of the s chool s ection in whi ch the property is

situated .

Davi d Boyle , Toronto , Decembe r 20, 1 887. An nual Report to the ,

- Ministe r of Education of the C anadi an Institute S ession 1 886 7 .

’ T h e O utli nes of No rth T o ro nto s G reat I ndia n S ettle m ent The dotted line on thi s map gives the location of the gre at allis d p a e fence that enclosed the village . Ih h as been e sti mated that as many as persons live d here about the

year 1 645.

The Legislative Library in the Parliam ent Buildings at Toronto , als o has another docum ent that throws light on this great Indian story . This document i s a large map of Ne w France (C anada) prepare d f r o Lord Halifax , Mini ste r of War in the British government in the year

1 750. The m ap i s large and$ dis plays considerabl e d etail . The se ction 6 TALE S OF NORTH TORONTO

of the western portion of Lake Ontario shows the French fort Fort ” Toronto which was erected only one year prior to the preparation of on the map . The site of Fort Toronto i s marke d by a stone cairn the

s hores of Exhibition Park near the southwe s t corner of the park . The , map i ndicate s a dotted area extending northward from a point e ast of Toronto and including all of what i s now s outhwestern Ontario and the

G eorgian B ay area . The map state s that the are a thu s . enclosed has

been overrun by the Iroquois Indians for more than a hundred ye ars .

The Iroquois wiped out the great Huron settlement at Fort Ste . Mari e ,

ne ar the present municipality of Midland , in the year 1 6 49. D id they des troy the settlem ent i n North Toronto on their way to or from that great slaughter ? Recently the author was pre sente d with a number of relics from

this great village . The se relics had come to light during excavation l fi l for a basement on C ast e e d Avenue , wes t of Avenue Road .

The collection consiste d of two s plendid flint arrow heads , a portion

of a pipe , and a piece of de corate d pottery . Thes e were all of Huron

Indian manufacture . Found ne ar thes e relics was a s plendid tomahawk T h blad e of stone . e type of stone o f thi s axe head is not native to

thi s part of C anad a . It i s a common stone that is found in central

New . o York State The Iroqu is came from what i s now New York State . Does this indicate that the Iroquois atta cked the gre at North Toronto

? settlement , and wi pe d it out sometime i n th e year 1 6 48 or 1 6 49 It is only from an i ntelligent study of such remains that thes e mysterie s of

history c an be solved .

The first i ndustry known to North Toronto was a plant for making

soft soap from h ardwood ashes . This plant operated at a point that is

now th e Yonge Street entrance to Gleng r ov e Avenue . It commenced

operation in the year 1 799.

M any readers will recall a frame antique sho p that stood on the west sid e of Yonge Street just to the north of the iron bridge that carries

the tracks acros s Yonge Street . The old sho p was demolished

recently to make way for the T . T . C . subway . It was erected in 1 832 by r a etire d navigator , who h ad sailed Lake Ontario for some years after coming to the town of York when h e le ft ocean s ervi ce . toward what is now Bloor S t reet . Underneath the old Huntley Stree t bridge is the s ite of a millpond and brewe ry that was operated by a man

name d David Bloor . His millpond backed u p through the Rosedale ravine

to a point a little to the east of Yonge Street . The name of Bloor has become i i as sociated with the roadway that fronted h s indu str al establishment . It

has since been officially given to it . A century ago , what i s now Bloor

Street was known as the First C onces sion North . Yonge Street , in those

’ d ays , was a mud roadway that stoppe d at Cook s Bay , at the extreme south

ern end of Lake Simcoe . It was crosse d every mile and a quarter by a

cros sro ad that was give n a number as a Conce ssion . The s e Conce s sion

roads numbered northward from Queen Street , which was the First C on

ces sion line . Bloor Street was the S econd , St . Clai r Avenue was the Third ,

Eglinton Avenu e was the Fouth , and Lawrence Avenue was the Fifth .

As Yonge Street wend ed its way northward there were various little

communities along th e way . Just to the north of Bloor S treet was the

Town of Yorkville . A space of ope n country was then encountere d an d th e m settle ent of Deer Park c ame into view . More open space and the village

of Davisville was entered . Then cam e the Town of Eglinton . The next settlement was around what i s now Lawrence Avenue . More open s pace

and the visitor came to the Village of Bedford Park , and to the north of

that ne stled the Village of York Mills .

These were all se parate little municipalities . They had no political

or other c onnections with the City o f Toronto . Each was run by its own

own and distinct council , and almost all of them h ad its little newspaper that re corded local news and gave a hint of what was going on in the

outside world whe n such very s pars e information was available . There

were no cable or radio news s ervi ce s in those days . There were a few miles

of telegraph wires in Uppe r C anad a , but no tele phones . A tele graph line 8 TALE S OF NORTH TORONTO

s tretche d down from Toronto to Quebe c , and news that was brought in by incoming ships was relayed when the telegraph operators g ot around to it .

The news of some outstanding eve nt that h ad occurred in England might ,

r with good luck , re ach Toronto s ome s ix o seven wee ks later .

What was to be se en by the visitor as h e wended hi s way over the bumpy mud road that was Yonge S t re et in the year 1 851 There was a stage

coach line that went as far as Ric hmond Hill . Thes e coache s starte d north ward from the famous Re d Lion Hotel that stood on the east si de o f Yonge

Street a few yard s to the north of Bloor Street . Other coaches operate d

e c from the Red Lion d own through Toronto , and conn ted with the Market ,

Plac e .

The Red Lion Hotel plays such an important part in th e story Of North

Toronto that it i s given a place of h onOr amongst the illustrations . A draw

i ng of the Re d Lion will b e found on th e two centre pages . This hotel was

a. few yards north of what i s now Bloor S treet . It did not take in the

c o r n e r lot . Its frontage extende d for some two hun d red f e e t on

Yonge S t r e e t . Construction was commenced in the

y e a r 1 807, and during the imm e diate years that T h e Home of S ir D av id M acp h erso n fOHOW Gd t h e r e A stately home at the north - east corner of cP were s everal ad Yonge Stree t and M a h erson Avenue . About the year 1 900 this building e came th e first ditions mad e to b home of St Andrew s College the original build .

lng . This gave the place a r a m b l i n g appearance . The upper floor

of the central portion was given ove r to a large ball room that w as h m eated by an im ense fire place . In the days of the Town of York and the

a of n e rly years i corporated Toronto , thi s Red Lion b all room rivalle d the

. h all in the St Lawrenc e Market . Thi s hall was used for purpose s other

than dancing , and this will be de alt with in anothe r s ection Of this book .

A century ago the Re d Lion was the gateway to what is now North Toronto , TALE S OF NORTH T ORONTO 9

and the author will as k the re ader to as sume that he has boarde d a stage co ach in the yard of the Re d Lion and has comm enced a j ourney up Yonge ? Street a century ago . What would the visitor see

'

- w e i f As soon as the horse dr a n v h cle started north , the gre at brewe ry o G m m n eorge S evern would co e into view . Thi s gre at industrial e stablish e t

' C h l in stood on the s ite now use d by the C anada Tire orporation , and t e s op g

$ runwaythat runs down from Yonge Street just to th e north Of Davenport m Road was the actual roadway le ading into the brewery . The illpond of

’ ’ B loor s brewery came up to the eastern extremity Of Severn s property . n m S evern did ot d epend upon wate r powe r to operate hi s grinding ills . A tall bric k chim ney gave evidence of e arly steam power

n The co ach , o its

northward j ourney , then entered th e Vill

age Of Yorkville . On the e a s t si de of Yonge Street there i s an anci ent leather working ' e stablish ment with its store front unchange d in the century that has

passe d . On on e or two of the stre ets running off Daven port Road there m ay still be see n very ancient corner stores that once played an im portant part in the T h e E l ms commercial life of stood on the e ast side Of Yonge Street where the Bake r Adverti sing Company has now this little village be

located . It was built by John Ros e who gave fore it was swallow , c the name to Rosehill Avenue . It was pu r hase d ed up by the exp and 1 0 TALE S O F NORTH T ORONTO

k village he would notice on th e left a dilapidated grave yard . The Yor ville

- fire hall now i s located right in the centre of th at once forlorn spot . This

enn les was the Potters Field , the resting place of the homeles s and the p y s poor who had died in Toronto without the benefit of friends or relative s to i see that their mortal remains were g ven a decent burial . It was i n thi s

field , and exactly under the site Of the pre sent Yorkville fire station where , the bodies of L ou nt an d Matthews we re pl aced after their untimely ex ecu tion in April of the ye ar 1 838 .

A F a mo u s Y o ng e S t re et Hotel ’ ’ O H allor an s Hotel on the south - east corner Of St . Clair Avenue and Yonge Stree t was a landmark of North Toronto

until it was demolishe d in 1 923 . It was originally operate d

by a Mr . Sellers .

The coa ch proceeded northward . A short distance after leaving York

ville the palatial country home of Sir David M acPh er son come s into view . ,

It stood on the north - eas t corne r of what is now M acPh er son Avenue and

- h ad Yonge Street The hous e was surrounde d wi th well kept lawns . It a . s wind mill pump that gave a water system unde r pressure , and farm land th at belonged to the estate ran for a cons iderable distanc e eastward into TALE S OF NORTH TORONTO 1 1

l e what is now Roseda e . It was in thi s old M acPh r son home stead that S t . Andrew ’ s College comm ence d operations in th e very early years Of the

pre sent century . Af ter a few years of very succe ssful operation there , a m new building was erecte d so e dis tance to the east , in Rosedale . Expand

ing growth soon called for additional extension s , and the college was move d

to its present site near Aurora . The second college building was torn

down and the lands turned into park space . Farm lands extended on both side s of Yonge S treet and the coach pass e d the Third Conce ss ion line

- (now St . Clair Avenue ) . On the north west corne r Of S t . Clair Avenue an d

- Yonge Street there was a well developed farm . Before the coach procee ded

’ ’ acros s th e conces sion line it made a sto p at O H allor an s Hotel on th e

T h e Buildi ng Th at Ro se F rom th e Rui ns of th e ’ F a mous M o ntg o m e ry s T av e rn

When the Davisville Hotel was demolished , thi s structure was erected over the found ations Of Montgomery ’ s T avern that had been burned by government troops during the 1 7 83 . M ackenzie Rebellion of December , 1 2 TALE S OF NORT H T ORONTO

- south west corner of St . Clair and Yonge S treet . Here there was full m accom od ation for man and beast . The mile an d a quarter j ourney from

' m il the Red Lion had been ade over bumpy , muddy roads , with steep b ls to

' ’ ’ be negotiated and a rest at O H alloran s was quite in order . As the visitor , refreshe d himself he could look out through the north windows of the m establishment and se e so ething that few , if any , farmers in the district coul d boast of $ a herd of tame deer that would come down to the corner of the farm property to be fed by vi sitors as the coach was making ready for its continue d trip to the north . Thi s herd Of tame deer became so

famou s that they gave the nam e to the dis tri ct . Ever since it has been

known as Deer Park .

T h e D av isv ill e Po st Offi ce in 1 900

The Davis family , from which Davisville was named , were

pioneers i n North Toronto . One branch Of the family ran

this general store and Post Office at the north - eas t corner

of Davisville and Yonge .

On the northeast corne r of S t . C lai r Avenue and Yonge Street there

was a curious sight for many years . In 1 91 0 the Dominion Bank d emolished the old s tone structure that had been the Head Office at King and Yonge

S treet , for many years . The demolition was made to cle ar the way for

the modern structure that i s now seen at King an d Yonge . The bank executives entertaine d an ide a of re constructing the old

stone building , in part at least, at S t . Clair and Yonge . For some years the massive stone figure s and othe r huge blocks of s tone were stored on the lot . Wh en it c ame time to erect the branch building the architects advised against the s cheme . The present m odern branch was erected and the ol d stone work carted away .

ack es e Th e author has often h eard his father , the late Price J , r call

an . incident in connection with the ancient tavern at St . Clair and Yonge

h C astlefield When . my fat er was a boy he live d at , a stately old home that stood on the west sid e 0 Yonge S treet a short distance 4 , of north Eglinton Ave nue .

The young men of th e family after they had graduate d from the local , school , were sent to Upper C anada College ; then located on King Street

W e est just where the Royal Al exandra Theatre is located today . Th e tim of this episode is i n the e arly sixtie s of the last century a time when

the Civil War was raging in the Unite d States .

At that tim e there was a line Of horse - drawn cars that went north

ar f l on Yonge Stree as f as Bloor . The young lads from C astle ie d were require d to walk down as far as Bloor and then take th e hors e c ar d own to King Stre et . Sometim e s on market days some obliging farmer returning , m from arket , would give them a lift northward from Bloor S treet .

It was on one of these rides that they drew up before the Old hotel and the f arme r told the boys he was going inside to get a s nack to e at tohold his appetite until he arrived home to his dinner It was a cool autumn afternoon and the boys went in to keep warm while the farmer c onsumed his “ snac k” .

To the amazement of the boys from C astlefield the farmer s at

down to a table and ate an entire roaste d duck . Th at was just a snack m to hold him until dinner ti e .

The coach proceeds , and not far above S t . Clair Avenue a country

- road leads off from Yonge Street . This road runs in a north westerly direction and at its junction with Yonge S tre et a little frame church has been e rected . This s ite today i s use d by the Toronto Trans p or tation ’ Commission for its Lawton loop . Chri st s Church the little , 1 4 TALE S OF NORTH TORONTO

Pleasant C emetary i s now fenced in , and when thes e farm lands were passe d the vi sitor on the north — bound stage coach entere d the Village of

Davi sville . The pos t Office and general stor e w ere on the e ast side of

“

- Yonge Street , and on th e south eas t corne r of D avisville Avenue and Yonge

- e S treet stood the Davisville Hotel . It was a two storey bri ck structur with a verand ah on the west and north sides with ample st ab E$ T RA ORDI NARY , ling accom modation at the s outh end Just to the north . T he M unici al M achiner of Nor th p y of the Davisville Post Office , about where the Imperial T or onto has S topp ed $

Bank stands today , the Davis ville Pottery W orks were you ARE lNV lI' ‘ El) TO COME AND same located . Thi s was one Of the

‘ busiest industrial sites on 25C. worth o Oil and a Flail f . Yonge Street of a century

TO THRES H OU T T HE ago . There was a great open air tank i n which the clay

. was mixe d and a great S ewerage and other Questions , wooden paddle was suspend AT THE e d Over it . This paddle was

' turned by the efforts Of a Rate a ers A ssociation M eeting p y hors e whi ch walked around

and around the tank . In the

Saturda E va Oct. 9111 y , rear of the property three great firing kilns had been A T T HE T OWN HALL

erected , and in these the

r e t rs ordered for the hall all sewer pi pes and the flower As there a e 50 x ra chai ot are welcome. pots and othe r forms o f p tery were fired and made

Execu tive Committee u eet at. 7 30.

ready for c ommerce . The east i s d e of Yonge Street , at Davi s D . D REID .

ville , was a large market PRE S I D E NT .

An Old Handbill of 1 909 garden , and one of the first Thi s handbill was distributed i n North greenhouses to be e re cted in

Toronto i n October , 1 909. The me eting North Toronto was . On this

- too k plac e in the old Town Hall , north west

property . The re was a few co rner of Montgomery and Yonge .

1 6 TALE S OF NORTH TORONTO

C astlefield m of Price , who had built , and at the ti e the rebellion was the now City Clerk of the then infant City of Toronto . These note s are very

’ , rare . Following the failure of the fight at Montgomery s Tavern persons who held these notes were quic k to burn them s o that they could not be

used as evidence against them . Mr . Pric e backe d M ackenzie with a gre at

T h e E llis Homestea d in B e dfo rd Pa r k d eal of m oney and as a consequence he was obliged to sell C astlefield in

1 842 . k It was purch ased by Franklin J ac es, who re sid ed there for ten

ack es years until hi s death in April , of 1 852 . Franklin J was the first

- Warden of York C ounty and held that office during 1 850 51 and part of 1 852 . Continuing u p Yonge Street the next s tructure of im portance to come

n r v e into vie w was the Methodist C hurch o pposite Gleng rove Avenue . Gle g o

Avenue was a d riveway leadin g into Glen Castle a gre at , rambling structure , of stone that stoo d j ust to the east of the pres ent John Ross Robertson

S chool . It had been built by the Ainsley fam ily and was not demolished

1 92 - until 5 . On the south side of the pine lined d riveway that is now Glen

a 1 7. grove Avenue , M r . King Dodd s erected a race track in the year 88 It

was back about three hundred yards from Yonge Stre et . It was not a

c fin ancial su ces s and was close d after two ye ars of operation . TALE S OF NORTH TORONTO 1 7

Between Gleng r ov e Avenue and L a e ence Avenue , Yonge S t re et wended

- f its way through rolling hills . On th e south east corner o Lawrence and

a Yonge there was a large farm operate d by M r . Frank L wrenc e . O n the

- s outh we st corner there was a rag carpet works operate d by David Bell .

- of On the north we st corner stood the general store Mr . George Lawrence .

Lawrence Av enue and Y o ng e S t re et in 1 8 95 George Lawrence kept a gene ral store where the

Dominion Bank branch i s now located .

On the west side of Yonge , a bi t above Lawrence , there was a structure

that still stands and operates . It is the grocery and hardware store of the

Atkinson Brothers . Thi s i s the Oldest continuing business i n North Toronto and is a clear demonstration of what goo dwill can do against the onslaught

- Of the chain stores . On the north we s t corner of Bedford Park Avenue and

Yonge S treet was th e stately home of M r . W . G . Ellis , an d a little to the

north O f that was locate d the Be dford Park Hotel . A portion of thi s

c o . stru ture still stands , but the front has bee n m dernized into store s The next plac e of importance on the northw ard journey was York

Mills . Anothe r hotel was locate d there and als o a grist mill . The story of thi s mill is of suffi cient importance that a separate section of this book

has bee n devoted to it . 1 8 TALE S OF NORTH T ORONTO

The Mill At York Mills

OV E RNOR John Graves Simcoe when h e moved the capital of Upper ,

- ’ - Canada from Ne wark (Niagara on the Lake ) to York , in the ye ar

1 793, gave ve ry s erious thought to the e stabli shment of water power mi lls i n the vicinity of his new settlement . The first of the se mills to arise was the one whose ghostly walls still rise besi de the Humber near

Bloor Street . It w as originally a s aw mill but was l ater taken over by th e G ambl e fam ily enlarged and turne d into a grist mill . Within a few , years there were upward s of a dozen mills operating on the Don and

Humber rive rs . S ome of these had been started with government aid and

the others h ad been built and finance d privately . It was i n the ye ar 1 807 the same year in which work was starte d

su sibil on the Red Lion Hotel , that an a te s ettler s aw the water powe r p os

’ itie s i n the valley that i s now known as Hogg s Hollow . It i s true that there was no waterfall on the D on at that point but a high cliff to the north and seve ral acres on flat land acros s the s tre am indicate d that the water could be held bac k to cre ate a large mill pond with considerable

pote nti al .

The great e arthwork , whic h cross es th e meado w below the modern motor highway , was thrown u p and across the actual Don a dam of heavy logs was cons tructed . Th e northern face of thes e logs was anchore d into the clay bank which s till dis closes its great bare scar to the visitor .

From the southeas t corner of the mill pond a sluice was cut . This

was the mill race and brought the water from the pond to th e mill . Thi s old mill race i s still to be see n and the path beside i t , enclosed in cedar

’ trees , i s the famous lover s walk of York Mills today .

The map is me ant to make all this clear . The a ctual site of the mill is still marked by a s mall pile of rubble beside the stream and almost ,

below the viaduct .

The original mills , as built by Hoggs , was a f r a m e and log

s tructure . It was a grist mill for the most part thou h the re was a power , g

driven s aw for cutting logs into boards . Th e re ader must realize th at during the firs t half of the las t century there were stands of splendid

timb er to be found in many parts of what is now North Toronto . After som e fifty years of operation it was found th at the surplus water TALE S OF NORTH TORONTO 1 9

that spilled over the dam was eating into the clay bank and end angering

the anchorage of the wooden portion of the dam Over s everal years ,

franti c efforts were made to give the dam a stronger hold on the clay . But

at last th e store d up water , strengthene d by spring floods , was too much .

T h e M ill at Y o r k M ill s

Thi s was the last Of many mills on this site . The first mill

was ere cted i n 1 807 . This brick s tructure , destroye d by fire

- f some twenty fiv e ye ars ago , was u sed by the widow o a

form er Anglican bishop as a summer home .

The entire woode n portion of the dam was washe d away and when the flood of wate r had rushe d down the D on all that was left of thi s great work was the earthen portion Of the dam and the floor Of the form er .

mill pond a se a of m u d. 20 TALE S OF NORTH T ORONTO

A study of th e situation convinced the owners that the re placement

- of the washed ou t dam was not practic al . They decide d on a bold move W h The surrounding country was plentifully supplied with wood . y not d rive the mill with steam power and generate the s te am from wood fire s ?

S uch a bold sc heme as thi s required that much of the mill be rebuilt . Wh ile much of the original woode n structure was being replaced with stone and bri ck ; a steam engine and boiler was being constructed in

i ron works at the southeast corner of Adelaide and Yonge Streets .

Y or k M ills M ill Wo r ked This map shows the water power that oper

a ted the mill . The earthwork that forme d

th e millpond i s intact , and the raceway

may b e trace d through the trees . The mill was almost below the viaduct that crosse s

the river .

This sho p had built the first locomotives for th e Northern Railway, the

firs t steam line to op earte i n and ou t of Toronto . They built the ste am engine and boile r for the mill at York Mills . After a strenuous j ourney

up the mud road , th at was then Yonge S treet , the engine was installed n and the former mill pond turned into a potato patch . Thi s was o e of the

e arlies t applications of steam powe r to industry in C anada . TALE S OF NORTH TORONTO 21

But time marche d on , and as the ye ars past there was les s and les s whe at grown on the farm s bord ering Yonge S t reet to the north of the

mill . After almost a century of o pe ration the property was s old and the mill

- converted to a summer hom e for a well known Toronto citizen .

The author too k a picture of thi s mill in the summ e r of 1 923. The only reminder of its former gre atnes s was the great s quare chimney that

aros e on the north side .

One winter day, not long after th e picture referred to was m ade , the old mill was gutte d by fire and i n the passing years its bri ck w al ls

and the chimney have collapse d .

However , time has not dwelt s o unkindly with the earthwork and the mill rac e and the visitor has no difficulty i n s eeing how an old time

water mill worke d .

The Beginning of Confederation ORTH Toronto has some relics that playe d a part i n the very com

m encem ent of C anadian Confederation . Thes e relic s can be s een on th e s outh sid e of St . Clai r Avenue , a short distance we st of

Spadina Avenue . This i s the story

A fe w months after the close of the W ar of 1 81 2 - 1 5 one of the finest houses the Town of York had s een was ere cted at the southe as t corner of Queen and John Streets . Shortly after the completion of this hous e it was purchased by Sir John Beverley Robinson and bec am e known as “ ” Beverley Hous e . It was the centre of fashion for the Town Of York an and the inf t City of Toronto .

Lord Durham , who was appointed Governor after the term of o ffice S i r of Franci s Bond Head had expired , did not remain long i n thi s

country . He returned to England , presented hi s fam ous report on the of 1 837 rebellion , and the n retired into private life .

He was followed i n the governorshi p by Lord Sydenham ; and that gentleman took u p his offici al re sidence in Beverley House . The illustration Of Beverley Hous e shows two massive chimneys , one of at either end the main structure . Thes e w e re the outlets for gigantic e and laborate fireplace s . The one on the we st was in the gre at ballroom 22 TALE S OF NORTH TORONTO

locate d on the ground floor and the one on the e ast was i n the state

dining room .

Lo rd Sydenham had his de sk , and the desks of his secre taries near , the fire pl ace on the west as depicted on the righthand side of the

illustration .

A n Old Ho u se M ov es No rth Beverley House that stood for 1 00 years at the corner of Queen

and John Streets was demolishe d i n 1 91 5. A new hous e was

built by the owners on the south side of S t . Clair Avenue just ,

wes t of S padina . Much of the Old material was inc orporated

in the new hous e , including the two great fireplaces . In 1 840 , Lord Sydenham sat before the gre at fireplace on the we st and

drew up the Act of Union , whic h was pas sed in 1 841 and united

Upper and Lowe r C anad a . This was the first ste p toward

Canadian Confe deration . The St . Clair building i s now use d

as a s chool by the Ursuline nuns .

h The ye ar was 1 840, the conditions of t e c ountry were unsettled m following the re cent political tur oil . Lord Sydenham arrived at th e conclusion that much good might result if the English s peaking people of Upper C anada and the French speaking pe ople Of Lower C anada

24 TALE S OF NORT H TORONTO

The Schools of North T oronto

HE first s chool to be erected i n wh at i s now North Toronto was located on the site now use d by the Consumers G as Company as a

show room at St . Clements and Yonge . It was a log structure an d

was opene d in the year 1 842 . The on e room was divide d partially in two by a low partition whi ch did not reach to the front Of the room . m This partition , however did serve as a e ans of keeping the girls and , boys apart but allowed the teache r to keep a sharp eye on both clas ses . There was a further division of the pupils in e ach of these two main

’ se ctions . Pupils of different ages we re divide d into clas se s in the two

divisions . One teacher was em ployed and it i s evident that in th e very early days

this teache r was a man . His s alary was at the rate of fifteen dollars a

month . This s chool i s referred to in the re port on th e Indian remains ,

1 — 886 7 . made by David Boyle , He state s that the school teacher , at that period , was a Mis s Marshall and that s he had been very active in gathering and collectin g s pe cimens of the remains of the great Indian

village that was located to the rear of this school . It i s too bad that her not collection was given proper care . It , like many other collecitons of

these Indian relics , have vanished . There was a gre at collection of spe ci

a mens that were exhibite d in the hallway of C stlefi eld for many years . I n the ye ars that have pas sed this great collection has been broken u p

and vanished .

The log s chool was re placed by a bri ck structure th at was erecte d

’ 1 880 s i n the late Of the last century . This brick s chool i s still standing , at the time Of writing . It is now the O range Hall that i s located immediately

in the rear Of the C apitol Theatre . This building was als o the birthplace of many of the great churches which now adorn North Toronto It c eased . to be a publ ic school shortly after the public school building was erected on Davisville Avenue , just to the east of Yonge S t reet Th e Davi sville . school was the first prope r s chool building that North Toronto had seen . Pupils came to i t from as far north as Lawrence Avenue Old photograph s . of this structure show that the exterior has been littl e changed i n the pas t sixty years . The interior has bee n modernized in as far as i t is , pos sible , to kee p pace with the growing trends of e ducation . ' TALES OF NORTH T ORONTO 25

The next s chool in the north end was the Dee r Park S chool and as the of pres ent century g ot unde r way some Of the s chools in the vicinity H Eglinton Avenue were ere cted . The first igh School was the present North Toronto Collegi ate Institute but the present structure i s the outcome of a very small commencement in on e or two rooms . The Northern V ocational S chool was the next centre for advance d education and it was

followed by the Lawrence P ar lq C ollegiate . T his last name d structure has seen seve ral additions made to it since it was opened and at the pre sent time very extensive additions are contemplate d for this centre of

the community .

W ithin re cent month s the s ection near St . Clair an d Bathurst has of seen grea t schools arise . Thes e are under the direction the Roman

Catholic Church . The schools in Bedford Park and Le aside came as a dire ct result of m the growing popul ation . They were built at a ti e when school design

“ was more Or les s standardized and are in strange contrast to the great

- s chool that has be en erected ne ar th e corner of Wilson Avenu e and r One Avenue Road . Thi s i s the Amour H eights Memo i al S chool and i s

‘ of the most modern educational structure s to be seen north of B loor S treet .

The large hous e on Sheldrake Blvd which i s now th e Preventorium , , W a s . . some fifty years ago , the hom e of Mis s Booth She followe d her

famous father as the head O f the S alvation Army .

Many person s now residing in North Toronto are unaware that in th e 1 91 2 year the late m ayor, H . C . Hocken , was approached by a group of North Toronto citizens asking hi s interest in a proposed subway that

was to give rapi d trans i t to Toronto , on a single fare . This s cheme

re ached th e planning stage .

The large hous e on Blythewood Avenue , dire ctly behind the Hyland

Motors faced Yonge Street for many years . A new foundation was

constructed on Blythewood and the hous e was moved back . There were also many houses moved to new foundations when Duplex Avenue was

cut through . 2 6 TALE S OF NORTH TORONTO

William Lyon Mack enzie W I L LI A M LY ON M AC K E N$ I E played a very important part in

the history of North Toronto . To pro perly set forth this story i t is neces sary to consider hi s pl ace in th e story of Toronto

m c generally . His na e i s losely conne cted with the rebellion of

Decem ber , 1 837 ; and he has to some extent gone down upon “ the page s of history as the in little rebel . It is not the

tention of the author , at this

time , to delve into th e political

issues of long gone years . I think i t i s safe to suppose th at during the years that have pass ed since he was s o active on the scene O f present day North T O ronto that his admirers h ave grown in num ber while hi s de

tractors h ave d iminishe d . Re cent ye ars h ave s een a monument ere cte d to his memory on th e lawn to the west s ide of the Parliam ent

Buildings , i n Toronto . His first printing shop , at Queenston , has been on restore d by the orders of the Ontario Government and hi s last home ,

Bond Street , in Toronto has bee n turned into a civic shrine . He must , f have left a lasting imprint on hi s gene ration . His ideals were o a high

orde r but his method s may have been at fault . There can be little doubt ,

howeve r , that from his faulty methods gre at and beneficial fruits ripene d .

He was born in the small settlement of Springfield , not far from th e f i o h 1 . city Dund ee , n S cotland , on March 1 2t , 795 A s he gre w into boyhood he was sent to th e l ocal parish s chool and about the age Of fifteen ye ars

’ he was given a clerk s pos t i n a Dunde e shop at a very meagre stipend . TALES OF NORTH TORONTO 27

Fifteen years of age would bring the story to the ye ar 1 81 0. Unknown to the young clerk at that time there was a British general , by th e name , ,

of of S i r Isaac Brock , in the far away land Upper C anada , who was telling

his fellow citizens to get ready for an impe nding war . The war came in the summ er of the year 1 81 2 an d continue d until the end Of the year 1 81 4. During those two years the British newspapers carried some small accounts

of the events that were taking place in Canada . It i s true that the

s truggle wi th Napoleon filled most of the news . But the struggle that was taking place i n Uppe r and Lower C anad a di d not go unre corde d in the

British newspapers .

Thes e accounts of events in the far away land Of Upper Canad a arouse d the interest of the young clerk an d he commenc ed to carefully hoard his 1 81 9 me agre earni ngs toward the cost of journeying there . In the year , he had gathered sufficient fund s to pay for a pass age from Glasgow and arrive d in the town of York Upper C anada in the s pring Of 1 820. There , , i s very little record of what he di d i n th e little settlement that was to

- grow i nto the city of Toronto during hi s fir st two ye ars here . Within two years he had gathered suffi cient re sources to enable him to go into

L . partnershi p with a Mr . eslie On the north si de of King Street , two n doors west o f Frederick Street in a brand new building , o e of the first , brick buildings to be ere cted at York they opened a combined drug and ,

-s book store . Mr . Le slie and his sons looke d after the drug intere st and

William Lyon Mackenzie ran th e book store end of the venture . This was the first drug store in Toronto and one of the very early one s of

C anada . The reader is aware of the trend of some modern drug stores to fo offe r r s ale , items that do not appear at first h and to be directly , ,

connected with the drug trad e . This i s by no means a modern innovation .

In a printed poster , announcing the Opening of thi s c ombine d drug and book store venture ; the fact i s proudly displaye d that the firm dealt i n

’ books , stationery, drugs , h ardware cutlery j ewellery toys carpenters tools , , , , ,

nails , grocerie s , confe ctionery , dye stuffs paint and othe r items It i s , “ quite evident, there fore , that the department store atmosphere that ” overhang -s so many mo dern drug store s i s another one of the inventions

that must b e recorded to the credit of William Lyon Mackenzi e .

This venture prospered but i t must not be suppos e d that there was much resemblance to thi s pi oneer drug store and a modern establi shment . 28 TALE S OF NORTH T ORONTO

The building was of two and a half storeys but there was no modern shop

front to the store . A flight of steps le d up to the central doorway and two

ordinary shuttered , windows were dis plays on either si de of the front ,

door . Across the front of the building a sign had bee n painted . It read

Lesli e S ons Mackenzie .

In December of 1 822, the firm ope ned a branch store in Dundas and

Mr . M ackenzi e went there to conduct the business . The following year ,

1 823, the Leslie s bought ou t the interests of Mr . Mackenzie for the sum of £625 . Wi th this capital he moved to Queensto n and opene d a general s tore . Again goo d luc k was with hi m for withi n a few months h e re ceived an offer to sell thi s busines s at a figure which represente d a cle ar profit .

’ M o ntg o m e ry s T av e rn

Ere cte d in 1 830, it s tood on the site now used by the North

Toronto Post Office . It was burned to the ground by government

troops on D e cembe r 7, 1 837.

M ackenzie ac cepted the offe r and then decided to vi sualize an i dea that had be en taking shape since hi s first book store venture in the town of

York . In a nearby stone building h e set up a printing pre s s and commenced to engage , not only in general j ob printing, but in e diting and publishing TALE S OF NORTH TORONTO 2 9 th e first e ditions of the Colonial Advocate ; a paper that was destined to stir up all the political animo sity and to s pread his fame in the years ,

that were to follow . Some years ago this original stone building at Queenston became , , dela id badly p ated . A little granite shaft had been plante d i n the adjoining

’ M acke nz i e s Ho m e Dur i ng th e S tor m y D ays of 1 8 37

W the Of 1 834 hen Mackenzie be came first Mayor Toronto in ,

He bought himself a hom e on the we st s ide Of York Street ,

between Queen and Richm ond Streets . Thi s was a new

and fashionable district that was then opening up . He lived

here during the stormy days of 1 837 . soil and the face O f the shaft told the visitor that this rui n was the first n printing plant of W illiam Lyon Mackenzie . In rece t years th e Queen

Victori a Niagara Falls Park Commis sion have re store d the building , and

it is kept open during the summer s eason as a tourist attraction . As far as has been pos sible the interior has bee n restored to resemble an ancient 30 TALE S OF NORTH T ORONTO

not printing shop . Howeve r the i ron pres s that i s dis playe d there i s the , m pre s s that was use d by Mackenzie . S o etime during the clos ing years of the last c entury the original pres s use d by William Lyon Mackenzie fell into the hands of the late John Ros s Robertson and Wa s dis played for some time i n on e Of the Melind a Street windows of the Telegram . Later , Mr .

Roberts on presented it to the Normal S chool Museum . i n Toronto , and i t

c was on display there until the building was take n over , e arly in the Se ond

World War for the traini ng Of technical air force men . Many years ago ,

’ M ack enz i e s F ifrst Printi ng S ho p in T o ronto Whe n Mackenzie moved hi s printing shop from Queenston m stru c to York in 1 825, he set up ho e and shop in this log

ture on the north - west corner of Front and Fre deri c k Streets It was this plac e that was attacked by the m ob

who threw hi s type into the bay .

the author photographe d thi s Old pres s . It was made of wood for the most part . I t was probably built about the year 1 800 and Mackenzie m s ecured it fro the United States in 1 824, wh en he opened his sho p at

Queens ton . The iron pres s now displayed at Queenston , and repute d to be

the pres s of Wm . Lyon M acke nzie was manufactured about the year 1 850. There i s a duplicate of i t on di splay in th e hal lway of the Graphi c Arts

T H E F A M O U S I

T H E G AT EW AY T l

This famous hostelry stoo d on the east si de of Yonge Street a for the stage coaches that connected with th e numerous mu$ commenced in 1 807 and num erous additions were m ade during a gre at ball room and this room was the political h eadq u ar te C om pact candidate on numerous el ections preceding the arr

34 T ALE S OF NORTH T ORONTO

Unknown to the mob that attacked his printing plant ; there were

’ s eve ral of M ackenzie s friends who witne ss ed the unlawful attack . They quietly mad e note Of who was present and what certain partie s did during

the fracas . A few we eks later Mackenzie won a court action agains t

certai n parties and wa s awarde d damage s to the extent Of £700. This money was used to refurnish the plant and to extend the circulation of

( 1 0 0m u oin m . $ 8m 3 st Q ( ' ‘ im am nwmlnm 21 tSb l. , ® , ( l,» Sm fi mm mb “ u n M ode al N ,

l 50 m i n gm ll“ n» nolm m in d. , fi , i

r E nteredbythe Secreta y.

m roller Em minal bythe Co pt .

ro (a n. 0 0 . Cha irman p . Ex.

Pa p e r M o ney of Lo ng Ag o u This note is date d December 27, 1 837, and was made o t at m Navy Island . This was al os t three wee ks afte r the battle f ’ on north Yonge Street . It suggests that many o Mackenzi e s

' backers in T orontO h ad not lost faith i n the rebellion i de a .

i n the paper . By th e year 1 828 the fame o f Mackenzi e and wh at he was fight g for b ad re acted to such an extent with much Of the populace , that , Mackenzie was asked to stand for el ection to th e legi saltu re as one of the

members for York County . It is at thi s point in the story where he enters

North Toronto . His politi cal headquarters was the Re d Lion Hotel . In

an earlie r portion of thi s booklet , in the s e ction th at des cribes a tri p up

m f f . Yonge S treet a century ago , ention has been made o this amous building

It s tood on the e ast si de of Yonge S treet just north of Bloor Street . The ,

’ exact site i s now used by W oolworth s and the row of modern stores that

’ B ritnell extend s up to s book sho p . In the years 1 797 and 1 798 the Crown made large grants of land in

the vicinity Of what is now Bloor and Yonge and St . Clair and Yonge . In TALE S OF NORTH T ORONT O 35

1 798 Daniel Tiers was granted two hundre d acre s that spread along what is now Bloor Stree t E ast and up along the e ast side of Yonge S treet . In the year 1 807 he ere cted the central portion of the Red Lion Hotel and during the years that followed he mad e additi ons to the south and the north of the y original central structure . Busine ss , at first , could not have bee n ver of bris k . In 1 808, one year after he had put up the first portion the Red

Lion h e offere d the hotel and the two hundred acre s of land for sale . ,

Th e price asked for the land and building was four hundred dollars . He “ of almost g ot a sucke r down i n the town of York to buy it . Friends the would be purchaser warne d h im of the great ri sk he was taki ng in investing in this land away out that might never amount to anything and the de al c fell through . Tiers kept his land and the hotel and the would be pur haser of 1 81 2 kept hi s money . A short time prior to the outbreak Of the War Of the government placed a toll gate outs ide the Red Lion and it , by re ason

e this , b ecam e th e starting point for the stage coach s that operate d up

and down Yonge Street .

When it be came known to the Family Compact that Mackenzie was

standing for election in York C ounty to the Upper C anada legi slature , they , $ gi rde d their loins and de cided to try and prevent hi s election . They did

1 828. not like hi s ideas on re form . Thi s ele ction took place i n the ye ar The Red Lion Hotel was the polling place and when the votes were counted

it was found that M acke nzi e had bee n electe d by a very large majority . With this publi c b acking h e ste pped up the tempo of his e ditorials

- in his newspaper . During 1 831 his e ditorials h ad become s o pointe d that the Compact members of the legislature declared that he had committed a libel against th e house and ordere d the Sergeant to expel$ him from the

e legi slative me tings and declared hi s se at open . A second election was c arried ou t and Mackenzie stood for ele ction

again to the vacant seat . An account of this ele ction written at the time , , states that upwards of five thous and people mille d about the Red Lion Hotel

on - that eventful day . The Family C ompact were somewhat abashed to learn that the followers of Mackenzie i n York County had swept him to , ,

e a s cond vi ctory . When he took his seat in the le islature following this g ,

se cond victory, he was ordere d to be expelled again . Thi s election pro cedu r e followed again and again and during th e next two years he was

re - expelled and elected a total of five times . In each of thes e ele ctions the central polling place was the famous Red Lion an d at this passage of 36 TALE S OF NORT H TORONTO time it seems strange that the Compact could not realiz e that a large section of the voters we re supporters of the reform programme . The

“ voter at that time were not riff raff as has so often bee n charged , by

those who would defend the Compact . The voters were solid citizens , all

land owners .

Mackenzi e had married in 1 822 , shortly after the busines s venture

' of the drug and book store had indicate d that it was to develop into a i profitable investment . H s growing printing busines s had left him crampe d , together with his increasing fam ily i n the one storey log structure at , m Front and Frederi ck Streets . During all the election e xcite ent he had found tim e to remove to larger quarters and he had opened a com bined printing busi nes s and boo k store at 1 73 King S t ree t (east) ne ar the pre sent

St . Lawrence M arket . At first he lived above the book s tore here but by 1 833 the expanding b u s i n e s s i force d h m ou t . A new and some what fashionable district was open

' ing up i n the town of York in those days ; and M a ckenzie took over a mode st bric k house on the we st side

of York Street , between Richmond

and Queen Streets .

Early in the year 1 834, the legislative pass ed a bill that would enable the citizens of the town of York to incorporate under a city

of charter . On the 6th day March , T h e F i r st C o at of A rms

of To r o nto 1 834, th e Town of York became the

In 1 8 3 4 Mackenzie ordered City of Toronto . In the elections W OOd blocks to be made from that h ad preceded the incorporation

this des i gn . William Lyon Mackenzie had been

ele cted an alde rm an . There were two type s of civic re presentative s .

There were ald erm en and councilmen . C are fully preserved in the vaults

of the pre sent day City Clerk in the C ity Hall , are the minutes of

that first civi c council . On page one it i s recorded that Franklin Jack es (a grandfathe r of the author) stoo d u p and move d that William

Lyon M ackenzie be elected by the Council at Mayor . This motion TALES OF NORTH T ORONTO 37

. was s econded and carried . That is how Toronto got its firs t Mayor The of next ste p was to raise s ome cash . There was i n Toronto that d ay a n stone bank building which still stands at the time of writing , o the north ,

east corner of Frederick and Duke Streets . In 1 834, it was the head office

of the Bank of Uppe r C anada . The council approache d this bank with the

obj ect of s e curing a loan . Agai n the Family Compact showed its hand and advis ed the bank to have nothing to do with the brand new city s o long as

it was under the dire ction of Mackenzie , as mayor .

At that time , in Toronto , there was another smaller bank known as

’ the Farmers Joint S tock Bank . The counci l approache d thi s bank and was informed they could have the money if each individual member of the Council would sign a note to guarante e its repayment . This was done and the bank advanced a loan to th e city of ten thousand S panish dollars .

In 1 834, the Town Hall of York and the first City Hall of Toronto was a small frame struct ure that stood on the south side of King S treet where

the St . Lawrence Market stand s today . The lower portion of the building was give n ove r to market s pace and butchers ’ stalls and the upper floor

containe d the hall and the busines s offices . Market Stree t ran southward from King to the immediate wes t of the first Town Hall . On the we st of sid e of Market S treet , about the year 1 833, a man by the name John Sl eigh built a thre e and half storey brick hotel and opened for busine ss

“ ’ ” under the name of John S leigh s Hotel .

One warm afternoon , in the s pring of 1 834, M ackenzie s teppe d into this hotel to refre sh himself be fore starting th e long walk home to northern

York Street . He was surpri sed to see a gathering of men about a stoope d n figure o the floor of the bar room . This man had a pie ce of chalk in his

hand and was drawing various obj ects as as ke d for by the crowd . The man had talent and Mac kenzie called him to one sid e and aske d him if he would prepare a design for a civi c coat of arms for the new C ity of

Toronto . A piece of sheet metal an d some paints and brushe s were s ecured

for the wandering arti st and he commence d to work . The design was on painted the metal sheet an d from it Mackenzie had a wood block made . He als o commis sioned the artist to paint the picture of the crest on the

back of the chair whi ch he used i n the council chamber . This chair and cre st has be en pres erve d and may b e s een today i n the Mackenzie Museum on Bond S treet . 38 TALE S OF NORT H TORONTO

In 1 834 John Sleigh changed the name of hi s hotel to the City Arms ,

Hotel . The original sheet metal pl ate , upon which the wandering artist

n of had painte d the civic arms , hung for many years o the wall the bar

room . At the time of writing 1 951 thi s structure was standing and was , , Th e used as a wholes ale fruit warehous e . e north as p ct dis plays an ancient

t o gateway that formerly le d to the coach yard s . This addition the hotel was ad ded late r and over the doorway is dis played th e wording “ John

’ Sleigh 1 840 Sometime i n the 1 86 0 s Sleigh gave u p the management of , ,

thi s hotel and moved with hi s d aughter to Yorkville . Many years ago I made enquiries concerning the metal p late that containe d the origin of

’ Toronto s civi c cres t and w as informe d that it had been taken to Yorkville , r during the moving , and h ad bee n sto e d in the attic . After many years

it had been tos sed ou t i n the garbage .

During 1 834, Mackenzie had devoted his time to civi c m atters and the

publi shing of his newspape r . In 1 835 the voters of York County asked him n to stand once more for ele ction to th e legislature and o ce again , at a

d . pollin g held in the Re Lion , he was declare d the vi ctor It was during

the e arly part of the year 1 837 that the ide a of a resort to arms , as a

means of carrying ou t his reform programme firs t crystalize d i n h i s min d . , Dis cus sions with s everal of his supporters convince d him that the i dea

was s ound .

The suggestion has been made that it was merely the riff - raft of the Uppe r C anada population that were behind Mackenzie i n his desperate

bid for responsible government . . In Toro nto one of hi s main b ackers was $ w f John Doe , who live d i n a large frame house on the north et corner o

e Adelaide and Bay S tre ts . Doel was a brewer , in the rear of his house

he had erecte d hi s extensive brewing vats . Under thes e vats , during . the dark autumn evenings of 1 837 several me etings were held where the ,

of aspects the forthcomin g arme d rising we re dis cusse d and planned .

Up Yonge Street . just wh ere the Newmarket Road turns to the right ,

stood the dwelling and blacksmith shop of S amuel L ou nt . He had been

there for many years and was a highly res pe cted member of the com ‘ munity Down toward the village of Pi ckering there was a prosperous

farmer by the name of Peter Matthews . He had b een a captain in th e

armies of Gene ral Brock during the War of 1 81 2 . There was James , wh Hervey Pri ce , o live d at C astlefield, in Eglinton , and who was the City

40 TALES OF NORTH TORONTO a lot of real folks who were either definitely with him or intere sted i n his

fi ght for res ponsible governm ent . At thi s late date it i s not pos sible to ascertain with any degree of

’ accuracy the number of men who gathered at Montgomery s Tavern

during the first we ek of December 1 837. I have examined all the various , accounts of this gathe ring that I have seen ; and have come to the con i clu s on that at no tim e the force exceeded eight hundred men . I am of the opinion that not more than two hundre d me n marched down Yonge S treet to meet the militi a com ing up from the city under the command of Col .

M acNab . I do not think that there were more than two hundred muskets f availabl e for the entire as se mbly . I think that a force o about four hundre d men remained behind at the tavern and that they were armed only with

axe s and pi ke s .

It i s not gene -rally known that W illiam Lyon M ackenzie printed his own

money to finance the uprising . This was in the form of promis s ary notes

in the denomin ation of ten S p anish dollars each . Thes e were made out in the name of the Provisional Government of Upper Canad a and we r e

exchanged for hard cash . Thes e note s are now very rare . Following the

of ’ failure the affair at Montgomery s , thos e that had , them destroyed them

as s oon as they reached home , s o that they could not be used as evidence

against them i f they fell into th e hands of government s earchers . The exact amount o f money that was rais ed by means of these note s is not now

known . The lists showing to whom payment was due were d estroyed by

fire on the Sunday morning following the clash of arms . I have s een one or two s pecim ens num bere d i n the eight hundred s and that would indicate that the war fund was something betwe en eight and ten thousand S panish dollars or a total of about

What happened after the flight of M ackenzie ? The government troops sought to take as many pris oners as pos sible and within the days that followed the gaol at King and Toronto Streets was packed with prisoners .

’ ’ Montgomery s Tave rn was put to the torch . C ol . Gibson s home was burned

and there was much burning and pillage throughout York County . The

home o f Mackenzi e on York Street was se arched and searched agai n . On , the Sunday morning following th e armed clash ; the mother - in - law of Mackenzie appe ale d to the authoritie s for a re s pite of thes e s earchings

during the hours of Divine service . This was grante d and sh e used the TALE S OF NORTH TORONTO 41

’ e ci pr ous time to destroy the lists of Mackenzie s supporters . By thi s act of bravery she removed the wrath of Francis Bond He ad from hundreds

of hom es that might otherwi s e have felt his fury .

A full report of the uprising was forwarded to the Colonial O ffice in

England . It was sent by the government and it may have been a bit biased . In the few years that h ad pre ceede d th e uprising Mackenzie had presented the B r i t i s h g overnment with several addres ses s e t t i n g forth his views of the state of affairs in Upper Canada . In some manner the Compact always manage d to ge t in a

counter address . When news of the arm ed ' u p rising reached London the British govern ment decide d that the time had come to m ake an impar tial investigation of the mat

ter . They appointe d John f George Lambton , the Earl o

Durham , to proceed to Upper C anada as Governor i n place i of S r Francis Bond Head . He arrived in C anada during M ’ the e arly summer of 1 838 . ack e nz ie s Last Ho m e i n T o ro nto He was in Toronto one d ay 1 849 In , twelve years after the Rebellion , 1 7 H Queen Vi ctori a sign ed a bill which granted only July th , 1 838 e was a full pardon to all who had take n part i n not i n the country very long

th e Rebellion . Mackenzi e returned to and without being re called Toronto and his friends and admirers n or resig ing returned to Eng bought him this house on the west side of a d S land n presented the now Bond treet , just south of what is now

. famous Durham Report to the Dund as Street While h e lived here , his friend s in P arli ament forced through a bill British government . H e h ad granting him full back pay for the many many p r i v a t e conference s time s he h ad been elected to Parliament with British cabinet minis ters m during the stor y days preceding 1 837 . 42 TALE S OF NORTH T ORONTO

and was also called before Queen Victori a to state what he had seen . 41 Th e result of his visi t and report was the Act of Union of 1 8 , which united the colonies of Upper and Lower Canada into the Unite d C anadas . There were many other change s which were no tto the liking of the Family Compact and in 1 849 an Amnesty Bill was passe d which restored all rights of citizenshi p to those who had taken up arms i n 1 837 . It wa s unde r th e protection of thi s Bill that W illiam Lyon Mackenzie returne d to Toronto and his friend s bought him a home on Bond f . o S treet His friends also suc ceeded , d espite the violent opposition th e remnants of th e Compact , to have him voted by the legislature the monies due him for his ele ction to the legi slature during the stormy days of the five

ele ctions that he won i n York C ounty . In 1 851 two ye ars after hi s return , to Toronto he stood for ele ction as member for H aldimand County and

was elected . Shortly after his return to Toronto he did what could be done to pay some las t and proper res pects to the bodies of L ou nt and Matthews who

e c had bee n executed in Toronto in April of 1 838. After th e ex ution their ,

bodies had been placed in the Potters Field . The exact site of their buri al

was under the site of the Yorkville Avenue Fi re Station . One dark night i n 1 849 Macke nzie and some of hi s friends removed the bodie s of the two patriots to the Necropoli s C emetery and had a de cent head stone erected

to mark th e sit e . Mackenzie died at his home on Bond S treet , Augus t 2 8th , 1 86 1 .

S L u n amuel o t was the elde st son of th e late Gabriel L ou nt , an English man , who emigrated to Pennsylvania in the middle of the Eighteenth of century, and Philadelphi a Hughe s his wife a Quakeres s . He emigrated , ,

4 r e r e to Upper C anada and settled near Newmarket in 1 81 1 . In 1 83 he p s ented the County o f Simcoe i n the Upper Canada Legislature and served

for two years . In 1 836 h e became a candidate again and was de fe ate d by of corrupt practice s use d by his political opponents . A petition people

asked for a reprieve which was re fused .

‘

Peter M atth ews was the s on of Peter Matthews , S r . , a United Empire

Loyalist who fought on the Briti sh side in the Revolutionary War , and at its clos e settle d with his wife and family in the townsite of Pickering in

’ s n B rook s the (then County of York . P ete r Matthews the o , belonged to ) , volunteers during the war of 1 81 2 to 1 81 5 and fought i n various battles in TALES OF NORT H TORONTO 43

Upper Canada of that war . He was known and res pecte d as an hone st and

prospero u s farmer .

m n John Montgo ery was o e of a group sent to Fort Henry, at Kingston ,

n to await transportation . They du g u der the walls of the prison fort and

escaped to the United States .

A Great Pioneer of North T oronto

Jam es Hervey Price was one of the leading pioneers of North Toronto . He c ame to the T own of York just ten years after the close of the War of

- 1 81 2 1 5. When he arrived , the town was jus t rebuilding after the devasta

tion resulting from two enemy attacks during that c onflict . He opene d one of the first law offices in what m i s now Toronto . He made nu erous journeys into the country surrounding

York and cam e to the conclusion ,

eve n at that early date , that the ulti mate growth would be toward the

north . He se cured two large tracts of land $ one of the se include d what is now the north side of E glinton

Avenue , betwee n Yonge Stree t and

Avenue Road ; th e ~ oth er was a large tract of land that ran through from Yonge Stre et to Bathurst Street It . was on thi s lot that he built C astle

field in 1 830. He was appointe d City

Clerk when Toronto was incor p or ~

p orated in March , 1 834. He loan ed large sums of money to William Lyon

Mackenzie , and as a cons equence was oblige d to sell C astlefield to Franklin k Ja c es i n 1 842 . Price S treet , running

James Herve Pr ce east from Yonge just below th e CP R . y i

crossing, i s named after him .

His co achman was John Montgomery, and Mr . Price gave him a plot of on ground Yonge Street , upon which John Montgomery e recte d the famous

’ Montgomery s Tavern . 44 TALES OF NORTH TORONTO

T ransportation

N a growing com m unity transportation plays a very im portant part . In , an e arlier portion of thi s book attention has been drawn to the stage coach that ran u p Yonge Stree t from th e Re d Lion Hotel to Richmond d H ill . In the year 1 884, the Metropolitan Railway Company commence to make us e of the franchise that h ad b een granted to it . Tracks were laid b etwee n the s team lines of the Canadian Pacific Railway , whe re they cross m Yonge S treet a little to the s outh of Su merhill Avenue , to the Eglinton

Yon e S tr eet . Town Hall at th e corner of g , and Montgomery Avenue Horse drawn cars were operate d on thi s track by th e Metropolitan Railway m Co pany for s even years . In the year 1 891 the tra cks were electrified and

extende d to Gleng r ov e Avenue . This was the first ele ctrified railway in

the vicinity of Toronto , and as far as my researche s have i ndicated , the first not electri c railway to be ope rated in C anada . Th e first ele ctri c cars did m ake an appearanc e on the tracks of the old Toronto Street Rai lway m C o pany until the year 1 893 . The first of their lines to be electrified was

' the Church street line . During the seven years in which the Metropolitan was running its horse

drawn cars u p and down north Yonge S treet , there was another ambitious m trans portation sche e in the making . This was the Toronto Steam Belt Line Railway that had be en granted a c harte r in the year As there m m are so e re nants of this old line still vi sible in North Toronto , the story

of this great undertaking will be outline d here . Th e d ire ctors and prom oters o f th e line prepared some very dazzling and attractive posters and othe r literature to induce the working man to

turn his bac k on his home in Toronto amid the dirt and grime of the city , , and take u p hi s resid enc e in the open country where fre sh air abounded

m — and taxe s were al ost as nothing , and where the home grown vegetable s and hen fruit would cut his living costs to a point where he could put m al ost his entire wage s in the savings b ank . In addition to all these bene fits the directors of the Steam Belt Line Railway offere d to transport him quickly and cheaply from his abode in the pleasant countrys ide to his place of m e ployment in th e city . T h e original plan s called for a line of track that would run e ast and west from the old Union Station on Front Street and e n circle the city by way of the Humber and Don Valleys and join TALES OF NORTH TORONTO 45

these two valleys by a line that rambled acros s the north end , reaching as far as Eglinton Avenue at one point . W hen the promoters of the line received their charter they went out in

the ci ty to sell stock in the enterprise , and quite a bit of stock was sold and

[cu /v r od $ vl

T h e S tea m B elt Li ne Railw ay The stations were $ (1 ) Union Station ; (2) Church Street ; (3) Berkeley S treet ; (4) Don ; (5) Winchester Street ; (6 ) Rose d ale ; (7) Moore Park ; (8) Merton Street ; (9) Uppe r C anada C ollege ; (1 0) Eglinton ; (1 1 ) Davenport ; (1 2) Spadina Avenue ;

(1 3) Swans ea ; (1 4) S t . Clai r .

paid for . But history was repe ating its elf in a som ewhat reverse manner . Many readers of this story will recall the effort that was made a few ye ar s 46 TALE S OF NORTH TORONTO ago to raise money for a North Toronto Community Centre and how it , “ ” appeared that some of its money was used up i n promotional expens es , an d when the remaining cash was counted there was not enough left to build mo the hall . The pro ters of th e old Ste am Belt Line Railway appear to have

“ ” been able to present some rather healthy bills for promotional expense s , and when the time came to build the line there was not enough money left .

But in their case a good angel stepped into the picture . The Grand Trunk Railway offered to take over all the as sets of th e Toronto Ste am Belt Line

Railway , build and complete the line and operate it . The original stock in the S t eam Belt Line Railway was exchanged for G rand Trunk Railway paper which did not re imburs e the original inve stors and considerable money was ,

lost in the trans a ction .

Howeve r , the Grand Trunk di d build and complete the line . The only important ch anges made i n the original plans were th at instead of one loop

they built two . One loo p was known as the western o r Humbe r loop , and

the othe r was known as th e eastern or Don Valley loop . A s pur line

joine d them together some distance to the north of St . Clair Avenue and it w as possible for trains to operate from one loop to the other .

As soon as it be cam e known that the Grand Trunk Railway h ad taken over the prospe ct there was a great activity i n re al estate at various points

along the line . What i s now known as Moore Park was laid ou t in lots , and much of what i s now Forest Hill Village was surveyed and staked out . The important suburb o f S wanse a owe s it beginning to thi s real estate fever that swe pt acros s the confine s of suburban Toronto .

The line commenced busine ss in th e sum mer of the year 1 892 under the l fu l control of the Grand Trunk Railway . The eastern loop employe d the main line of the Grand Trunk between the Union Station and the Don . The

line then ran northward be side the Don to Winchester Street . It then

ff - struc k o to the north we st , using a natural ravine for most of th e right of

way . It came through Mount Pleas ant C emetery and continued we stward

' along th e sou th sid e of Merton Street and was carried acros s Yonge Street o n a bridge . The original Yonge Street bridge , like all other bridges on the

f m e a old Belt Line Railway was m ad e o ti bers . This has been r pl ced by the ,

iron bridge that now crosse s Yonge Street . From Yonge Street the line continued i n a northwe sterly direction until it ran under th e Fourth C on

h f . c es sion lin e (Eglinton Avenue ) , in t e vicinity o what i s now Spadina Road

48 TALES OF NORTH T ORONTO

Th e Toronto Belt Line Steam Railway continued to ope rate until the

year 1 894 . From a revenue standpoint i t was a failure . The exodus that had been planned did not materiali ze and many real es tate speculators were

r trying franticallyto unload the lots that h ad been bought o optioned .

On the eastern loop there were numerous stations at which the working

e man coul d board the trains . There were stations at Church Street , Berkel y

Street , the Don , Winches ter Stre et, Rosedale , Moore Park , Yonge Stree t ,

n . Upper Canada College , Eglinton , Davenport , Parkdale , a d S padina Avenue The Yonge Street s tation stoo d on the s ite now used by th e Milnes Coal f Company , and the Moore Park s tation stood beside the trackles s right o 1 945 way just to the south of Moore Avenue . It was not demolished until and had been us ed for dwelling purpose s for some time prior to its demo li i n t o .

In the ye ar 1 921 a local engineering fir m was give n th e tas k of making

“ a full report on the conditions of the right of way of the old Toronto Steam

Belt Li ne Railway . The last pas senger trains to operate on this line tooted

- their way from station to station in the late summer of 1 894. Twenty seve n years had elapse d between that date and th e making of the en gi neering

- re port in 1 921 . Twenty s eve n ye ars of neglect can lay heavy havoc on an i undertak ng of this nature . The report states th at on the Humber loop

there were a few s ections of the track then i n place . The wooden bridge s

o had decayed to a point whe re they were uns afe . Some sections f the line

n h ad reverted to the municipality in d efault of taxes , a d in some place s the own ers of adjoining property had extended their fences acros s the right of

way . Th e line from Davenport Station to Mount Ple asant Avenue was still

in ope ration and was us ed for the trans port of coal , woo d and other heavy

freight . The old wooden bridge cros sing Yon ge Street , at Merton Street ,

had been replace d by a steel structure . Between Mount Pleas ant Road and Winche ster S tre et the dilapidated condition of the line was a repe at of con di ions t th at had been found on the Humber loop . At the tim e of writing the author found one of the massive timber bridges that once span

l of ne d thi s o d steam line . This bri dge crosse s the right way about one n hundred yard s south of Moore Avenue . It has long since been condem ed , but an examination of its massive timbers g ive some re pre sentation of the e ngineering skill expended on the li ne by the G rand Trunk Railway . When th e Grand Trunk was take n ove r by the C anadian goverment and formed TALE S O F NORT H TORONTO 49 one of the lines that now make up th e Canadian National Railways ; what remained intactof the old S team Belt Line be came part and parcel of the Can

adian National System . That i s why they still operate the line as a freight , s pur , that cross es Yonge Street at Mount Pleasant C emetery . In more recent years a portion of the wes tern loop right of way was use d by the

Toronto and Guelph Electri c Radial Railway to give entrance to We st

Toronto . That line is now nothing but a right of way . Over the past fe w years several suggestions have been made for the us e of the old right of way between Moore Avenue and Winchester Street for a motor hi ghway . It would certainly be a s cenic route and might withdraw traffic from the overcrowded streets that must be use d at present in driving from North

Toronto to the eastern sections of the city .

The Beginning Of Leaside E A S I D E and Fore st H ill Village although both separate municipalitie s ,

“

from a history standpoint , may be consi dere d as part of the area

covere d by thi s book . Fores t Hill Village had its birth in the great real estate boom that

developed as a result of the proj ection of the ste am Belt Line Railway , some sixty years ago . Moore Park is anothe r s ection of North Toronto m which owes its start to the same trans portation s che e . W W ith Le aside , the story i s different . hen the trains were running around the Belt Line , what i s now the sple ndid muni cipality of Leaside was m mos tly farm land , and re ained s o for s ome years after the old m Belt Line became a me ory and a s et of rusty tracks .

There were three land marks of early Leaside . One of these was on a roadhouse Bayvi ew Avenue . Thi s was a white stucco structure that stood on the west side of the road and which anished about 1 2 v 9 6 . h W e re Bayvie w Avenue runs north from Ros edale , and jus t acros s i from the new s chool wh ch has been erected , there stands an ancient of house red brick . This hous e i s a duplicate of a similar hous e that

on of stood the north west corner S t . Clair Avenue and Yonge S treet . Both hous es were built from the same s et of plans . 50 TALE S OF NORTH TORONTO

‘ W hat m ay be consi dered to be the actual beginning of Leaside is the

n old Jones homes tead o Bayview Avenue The farm , of which thi s ancient m building was the far house , extended for many acres . The Jones house

was purchas ed and modernize d by the H on . Dr . Herbert Bruce . The firs t factories of Leas ide com m enced to ari se on what i s

' now the north end of La ird f drive . One o the first large factorie s to oper ate was that of the Durant Motor Car Com f pany . One o the pio neers of the dis trict was n William M a cL ea , who published the Toronto

world for many years . For years he advocate d the erection of the great The old Jones homestead on Bayv iew bridge that crosse s the

Avenue as it appeare d a ce ntury ago . This D o n betwee n Leas i de hous e was purchas ed and modernize d by and the D a n f o r t h the Hon . Dr . Herbert Bruce .

Avenue . The b a t t l e waged by th e Toronto W orld for the construction of this bridge was M acL ean bitterly oppose d by s om e of the other Toronto papers . William “ ” T mi was cartooned and lampooned as the man with the Big Eyes . e has dis close d the fact that this bridge was one of the bes t munici pal inve st “ m ” ments made in the Toronto area i n m any years . It ade Leaside and

during World War II its industrial potential grew apace . Since the war many of the war time industrie s have been converted

to peace time channels . It mus t not be overlooked , however , that the

Dom inion gove rnm ent keeps a small pilot plant operating i n Le aside . This plant is ready to expand upon a m oment ’ s notice should international

conditions suddenly turn for the worse . But let us hop e that the crowds of c itizens who enjoy shopping in the s ple ndid shops of Leaside may long enjoy s eeing the district expand without the neces sity of gre at and sprawling plants again turning out

the equipment for war . TALE S OF NORTH TORONTO 51

North Toronto Churches

HEN the W ar of 1 81 2 - 1 5 came to a clos e there were many veterans to whom an appre ciative government gave land grants in many parts

of what i s now North Toronto . M any of thes e veterans were from Great Britain and some had been treated i n a gene rous manner by the i n c. Earl of Eglinton before they set s ail acros s the stormy . Atla t The

Earl , ou t of his private purse , had s een that hi s men were supplied with many items that were not included i n th e regulation military k it . As e a token of esteem towards their patron , th se new veteran land owners 1 u decided to give the name of their benefactor to th e di strict . From 1 8 6 o not ward it became known as Eglinton . In later ye ars thi s name applie d , to now the entire di strict , but to a certain portion of North Toronto which

bears that n ame . 1 1 In 8 6 there was one church in this portion of Uppe r Canada . That was the log structure that had be en erected at the corner of Church an d 1 ’ King Streets i n 803, and has since grown into the stately St . James

Cathedral .

Thes e new comers to th e north gave much thought to church matters , n but the re was o e great difficulty .

In the very early . legislation of Upper Canada , Governor S imcoe had set aside a gre at many tracts of lan d that were meant to form the b asi s “ for the financial support of a Prote stant clergy . The words Protestant ” Clergy are used in the bill , but by the year 1 81 6 the Anglican Church

had exercised a monopoly on their a dministration . There were many of

the s e clergy re serves u p and down Yonge Street . One of the last to be of disposed was the lot where the Gleb e Manor apartments now stand .

Whe n the ne w veteran land owners suggeste d to the Anglican bishop , in the town o f York, that the re was room for a church in thi s new d istri ct , not he di d wish to disturb these clergy reserves . He did , howeve r, give some aid and shortly after the se veterans had com mence d to clear their

ground a littl e frame church was erected at York Mills . It was given of ’ the name St . Johns . For many years there we re no churches between

one ’ this and S t James on King Street .

The frame church of St . John served its purpose for s ome sixteen ye ars “ b . when it was replace d y the present structure . Thi s church i s well 52 TALE S OF NORT H TORONTO

l worth a Sunday afternoon vis it . The o d fittings are i ntact and there is no structure in North Toronto which can compare wi th this as an example

of early North Toronto pioneering .

It is not to b e supposed that all thes e new s ettlers h ad leanings toward m th e Anglican Church . There were any mi ssionarie s of the Methodis t

T h e O ri g i na l C h rist C hu rch

It s tood just where th e Lawton loo p of the T . T . C . i s now located

just to th e north of S t . C l air Avenue . Thi s church was put on

sleds and pulled over to form the b eginning of Grace Church . It was then taken down to Danforth Avenue and Main Street

vicinity where it i s s till i n use .

faith that visited the district . In fair we ather meetings we re held outdoors and when this was not pos sible the farm hous e with the large st kitche n

was use d for servi ces .

By the ye ar 1 830 the Methodist following in what i s now North Toronto

had expanded to an extent where it was d ecided to e rect a church . A TALE S OF NORTH TORONTO 53

lot was s ecured on the east side of . Yong e S tre et opposite what i s now

Gleng rov e Avenue and a mode st structure erected upon it .

A second Methodis t Church soon arose i n the town of Davisville . A portion of this structure still stand s although m uch of its original front

m of has been sheared off to per it the wi dening Yonge Street .

’ No rt h T o ro nto s F i rst M et hodist C hu rch Eglinton Methodist Church was ere cted i n 1 830 and

stood where the Hydro sub - station is located across v ‘ 1 2 from Gleng ro e Avenue . In 9 5 it be came the n E glinton United Church , and the new structure o

Sheldrake Boulevard was ere cted .

Then the Anglicans steppe d into the chunch picture once again .

A short dis tance north of S t . Clair Avenue a wi nding road came down , and j oined with Yonge Street at this junction a fram e church w as erected ,

which was a landmark of North Toronto for many years . It was given the m na e of Ch rist Church . When the Toronto Transportation C ommis sion were extending their

rails up Yonge Street in 1 922 , they decided that th e site of this frame

church would make an i deal loop . In the meantime the congregation of Christ Church had far outgrown the original fram e structure an d work was progres sing on th e splendid

s tone structure ne arby .

The original fram e Christ Church was not demolishe d An Anglican . on a Church Elm Street , in centr l Toronto had been s old . This was known 54 TALE S OF NORTH TO RONT O

as Grace Church and as many of the form er congregation h ad move d northward it was de cid ed to us e the purchas e money for the ere ction of a

new and modern s tructure . They had secured a lot in Fore st Hill village ,

and they had the money to proceed . Time i s require d to build a stately

church ; and to hold the congregation togethe r and to make a definite start ,

“ ” it was decided to make a bold move . The old frame Christ Church was

lifted from its foundations an d powerful sled s ins erted under it . Many horses were harnessed and at th e first fall of s now the proce ss ion started

down Yonge Street and along S t . C lair Avenue . This original Chris t Church , moved to the new location was the firs t church home of Grace Church on

the Hill . In th e new ediface there i s a bras s plate which states His Royal Highne ss the Duke of C onnaught stood below thi s plate as h e laid

the corner stone for the new structure .

But th e original frame church that had centered the founding of two

gre at congregation s i n North Toronto , was not finishe d with its pioneer

work . As soon as Grace Church on the Hill was ready for service the sleds were again inserted under the old re d frame church and it was sledded down to the vi cinity of Danforth and M ain Streets where it i s

still used for s ervice . The Baptist congregation of North Toronto present a story that i s

‘ somewhat different from that of th e other congregations . W hile many f o the Baptis t Chu rches , i n this s ection of the city , hav e had to struggle up to their pre sent important pos ition there i s on e North Toronto Baptist , Church which emerged without much of the pioneering effort that forms

the story of the others .

F or many ye ars there was a large Baptist Church on Bloor Street

. not W e st at the corner of S t . Vincent Stree t You will find that street

there now for it was swallowe d up in th e great street extention of the

’ e arly 1 920 s that cut the present Bay Street through the city from Queen

to Bloor . This extension dre w the eye s of big busines s to the property

of the Bloor Street Baptis t Church . It was sold and arrangements were

made with th e late M r . Elias Rogers to erect a ne w and imposing church

on his property in Deer Park . The great church that stand s there today is York Minister Baptist Church

On the othe r s ide of the story , showing something of th e faith and l fi struggle of the early settlers i n North Toronto , C ast e eld Avenue Baptist

56 TALE S OF NORTH TORONT O

at the corner of C astl efield and Yonge S treets . This was known as the

Yonge Street Baptist Church .

’ The early 1 890 s of th e last c entury we re an era of hard times and the little congregation was forced to close the doors and revert to the f o Town Hall for s ervice s . Some o the land surr unding the frame church was sold and thi s m oney used to re open the frame church and to install

C astlefield an organ . In 1 91 1 a plot of land was purchas ed in the rear of , the s tately old structure that had given the distri ct its name . Work was commence d on a new church building and th e original structure has sinc e be en enlarged twi ce Until recent months there were a num ber of stately elm tree s to

e b e seen just to the e ast of C astlefi ld Avenue Church . T hos e elm trees

‘ once formed the border of the driveway that led up to C astlefield from

Yonge Street . I wonde r how many of the present congregation o f the church realize that as they worshi p in th e church they are s itting directly above the re ar of old C astlefield were a group of government troops seeki ng William

Lyon Mackenzie after the battle of De cembe r 7, 1 837, were stopped in their m search by an Irish cook ar ed with a hefty rolling pin . She had hidden

Mackenzie in a large cradle i n the kitchen Of C astlefield and dared the “ ” n soldiers to wake th e baby . That nig h t M ack e zi e was given horse and

C as lefi el saddle from t d and started his flight to Navy Island . The story of the Presbyterian Church in North Toronto has a com m encem ent not unlike the story jus t related . In 1 879 the Pre sbyterian mis sion rented the old fram e school building on the site of th e Consumers

G as show rooms . After 1 0 years service here with considerable aid from a Pre sbyterian

Church near Yonge and St . Clair , it was decide d to organize a congrega

tion in North Toronto . Worship was held in the Town Hall and the old

hall (now the Orange Hall ) . In 1 898 the Eglinton Pre sbyterian f Church bought thi s property for In 1 899, the first year o worship

i n the hall , it was re ported that the total re ceipts from the congregation were

’ The annual re cei pts of S t . G eorge s United C hurch (which grew out of thi s early Presbyterian effort) are in the neighbourhood of

I n March of 1 909, th e Eglinton Presbyterian Church , having sold TALE S OF NO RTH TORONTO 57

. the Orange Hall , opene d their new church at St Clements and Yonge

i c Streets . Thi s i s now the branch Publ Library

In 1 921 work was starte d on a new church building on Lytton Boulevard . In 1 925 the m aj ority of the congregatio n vote d in favour of j oining the

United Church . There were groups in the congregation who were not in favour of this am algamation and many of thes e minority groups with drew and gave their support to those who wanted the Presbyterian Church to continue . The s e groups held service s for some tim e in the Capitol The atre and then centre d their energie s on the e re ction of the charming building on Glenvi ew Avenue near Yonge Stre et . While the Anglicans were the firs t denom ination to organize church

service s in North Toronto , there can be little doubt that priests of the Church of Rom e conducted service s here before the firs t An glican Church

was built at York Mills . c of f In another se tion this book the story .o transportation h as been told but there i s one phase of transportation that has been held back to appe ar he re This i s the batteaux route of the great North West Fur

Company , with head quarters at Fort William .

In the early days of the last cen tury the supplies for the head offi ce were sailed up from Montreal to

York . They were then placed on batteaux and floated up the Don

River to York Mills . From that point scores of husky boatme n

carried the supplies , by pack sack ,

to Holland Landing , where they were loade d into the great canoes

r a ‘ ’ for t n sp oration to Fort William m n rc T h e F i rst S t . C l e e t s C hu h There can be h ttle dOU bt that This brick structure , bui lt i n the ’ th l S route was Ofte n u sed by 11 1 1 8 early 1 880 s at a (30 5 1; Of $3H 500 00, was the commencement of the sion ar i es of the Church of Rom e ’

f . stately St . Clement s o today and that services were held en

route amongst the se voyageurs . W ’ hile the Anglican congregations of Christ Church and S t . John s at m m York Mill s were growing , the e bers of the chu r ch in the town of 58 TALE S O F NORTH TORONT O

Egli nton com m enced to think of a church of their own . In 1 888 service s were held in the Orange H all where so many of the local churche s had been

organized . m Beside the mai n doorway , Duplex Avenue , of S t . Cle ents Church there

i s a stone with the date 1 891 cut d eeply into it . That i s the corner

’ ar ou t stone Of the first S t . Clement s Church that gre of the preliminary service s held for three years in the Orange Hall in the rear of the present k C apital Theatre . The first church was of red bric and stood on the 1 2 southern portion of the lot . A comparison of building c osts in 95 as

compare d with 1 891 are of interes t . It cost to build the first St . Clem ent ’ s Church i n 1 891 That sum today would hardly pay for a

’ - four roome d s hack . T h e present S t . Clement s Church was erected in 1 925 at a cos t of Since 1 925 additions have been made an d

plans have been complete d for very extensive expansion .

Howeve r , the ,C hurch of Rome , a s established congregations , we re

l ate i n organizing in North Toronto . In the early years of the pre sent

century the Rev . Fathe r Playe r , did a great deal of mis sionary of 1 work in the di strict just to the North Eglinton Avenue . In 906 he h i ’ s aw s labours blos som into fruit with the erection of St . Monica s

Church on the north side of Broadway Avenue . W ithin twenty years of the e stablishment of this church , the Roman C atholic$ population of North Toronto had i ncreas ed to a point where additional points of service were neces sary . In 1 926 the Bless e d S acrament

Church was ere cted on the west sid e of Yonge S t reet , overlooking Lawrence

Park . Also about that time the Roman Catholi c Church se cured the

large hou se and grounds that h ad been the home o f R . J . Fleming , the

genial general manager of the old Toronto Street Railway C O. The Old

Fleming hous e , at the time of writing (1 952) i s still intact but extensive

educational buildings have been ere cted on the re ar of the property .

’ Thes e house the Holy Rosary S chool and St . Michaels College High

. School The Ursuline Nuns also operate a school on S t . Clair Avenue , one of but as thi s i s the mos t historic buildings in North Toronto , a s pecial se ction of this book has been devote d to i t under the heading “ T h e ” Beginnings of C anadian C onfederation

F or many years s eve ral of the Jewish congregations of Toronto

have u se d the we stern sections of S t . Clements Avenue for burial purposes . It i s , however , only within re cent years that they have erected TALE S O F NORTH TORONTO 59

e have places of worshi p in the north end . Som very fine structure s arisen n Bathurst Street As the author looks on these new and o . inspiring structure s the question has often aris en i n his mind concerning ' m the great temple built by King Solom on , in Jerusale , some three thou

s and years ago . I have often wondere d how many of the worshippers in thes e new

’ Synagogue s realize that a fragm ent of Solomon s temple i s still in existence .

It is a fragment from one of the elaborately carved pillar heads . It i s overlai d with gold and was dis covere d in B abylon (Me sopotamia) by a

i

British archeologi cal party s om e years ago . Thi s interesting fragment

’ has been inserte d in the basement masonry of S t . Paul s C athedral , in

London . Its ex act location is at the bottom of the circular stairway that leads

’ down to the crypt . An engrave d bras s plate i s also inserte d i n the stone

work . The plate reads $

“ The only known fragment oi the gre at temple erected ” in Jerus alem by King S olomon .

The plate , in smalle r type , the n sets out the information as above . The temple of Solomon was destroyed by Nebu ch adnez ar after serving the

Jewish people for some 400 years . Much of the loot was carrie d away

to Babylon .

Early Fire Engine

m - The gleaming , otor driven fire engines which now roar through the

streets of North Toronto h ad , like many other things a very humble begin ,

’ ning . North Toronto s first fire engine was housed in a metal shed that n stood o Montgomery Avenue , just

behind the Eglinton Town Hall . It

- consisted of a two wheeled c art , with

a seat for two men , and was drawn

ne by o horse . The c art carrie d about 200 of W feet hose . hen this fire engine ope rated there were a few

on su ll e hydrants Yonge Street p p d ’ No rth T o ro nto s F i rst F i r e E ng ine from a water tower at Roselawn and It was house d in the metal she d

. Avenue Road behind the Town Hall . 6 0 TALE S OF NORTH TORONTO

M unicipal S ervices In 1 895 a great artes ian s pring that spilled its waters near what i s now the corner of Roselawn and Ave nue Road was sele cted as the site f o the firs t water works in North Toronto .

A large storage tank was erecte d and a steam pump installed to rais e m the wate r from the spring to the tank . A se parate engine and dyna o were al so housed in the she d and this curre nt was used to light a few arc TALE S OF NORTH TORONT O 6 1

c lamps on a small se ction of Yonge Stre et . Shortly after this e arly ele ctri s ervice commenc ed to operate a fire damaged the dynamo and it was neces sary to construct temporary power line s to a plant that was supplying

th e Fairbank district , some distance to the wes t . 1 907 An election po ster , which was circulate d in the late month s of ,

gives a vivid picture of municipal matters in North Toronto at that time .

on The question of water supply is uppermost . The artesian spring

Roselawn Avenue is not able . to give proper supply to the growing

r e- e communi ty . The poster states that the c andidate , se eking el ction for municipal office has succeeded during 1 907 in having a proper engine ering ,

office installe d in the Town Hall . The poster state s that the gigantic sum of five hundre d dollars has bee n expended on this office and that it is

m neces co plete with draughting tables , filing cabinets , des ks and all other

sary furniture .

The engineer at that time was the late E . A . James and he was giving much thought to the linking up of a num ber of wells on the east of

. . d the J R . Strathy property He propos e that the water from the se numerous

sources be gathered in a central tank and the n pumped , by steam , over to t Yonge S re et . The e stimated cost of this s cheme was placed at

c r - The andidate , seeking e election , in hi s poste r is all for drawing a water supply from L emonville at a cost of He paints a vivid f “ ” picture o this supply which he des cribes as pure and never failing .

“ ” This candi date is also out for turning darkne s s into light . He propose s that th e electric current supply be supplemented s o that the householders

may have ele ctri c light in their home s .

He also swings hi s axe at the condition of the road s , including Yonge ” Street . He calls the roads quagmire s and proposed drastic action (short ” of - paving) to end this abuse . He is al so ve ry much let u p over the fact that high s chool students are obliged to attend clas se s in what h e

r describes as one o two unsati sfactory cl as s rooms He prom ise s , if

electe d , to see that a proper high school i s erected .

m - And in due time i t all ca e to pass . The North Toronto High School

. a was erected W ter Servi ces , not from Lemonville but from Lake Ontario, ,

flowed into the area .

The streets were paved and the Toronto Hydro - Electric System was

extended to end the household darkness . 6 2 TALE S OF NORTH T ORONTO

North T oronto Real Estate

HE RE are fe w sections of Toronto which have s een real estate values i ncre ase in a greater proportion than has been the c ase in of North Toronto . Reference h as been made , in an e arlier se ction , f on h ow the owne r of the Re d Lion Hotel; with 200 acres o land , the north east corner of Bloor and Yonge S treets , was unable to s ell the lot

“ dA v / N o .6

J e c x f s £ 5 7 A7 £

E G L / N T O N A V E N U £

’ A M ap of No rth To ronto in th e 1 87os

TALE S OF NORT H TORONTO

APPRECI AT I ON

The following North Toronto firms have aided in the rese arch and illustrations for this book $

T HE DO MINION BANK and its 1 0 branches in the area covered in

this book .

TRULL FUNERAL HOME S , 2704 Yonge Street .

. PARKE S , M cvI T T I E S HAW General Insurance , 2436 Yonge Street ,

BELYEA BRO THERS LTD . and Alderman Roy Belye a . , ,

$ BELSI E JEWELLERS , 1 977 Yonge Street .

M I L WI N of RADIO APPLIANCES , 31 45 Yonge Street . All type s

radio and electrical hous ehold appliance s .

S . R . CARDIS H , FURS , 26 05 Yonge Street .

E MPIRE WALL PAPERS LTD . 251 2 Yonge S treet . , , %

HYLAND M O TORS , LTD . 26 73 Yonge Street . ,

RUTTLE RUT TLE , Real E state Dealers in North Toronto for

30 ye ars .

2 C ONFEDERATION LIFE AS S O CIATION R . N . Bray, Manager , 8 ,

Eglinton Avenue W est .

’ THE CAPITOL THEATRE North Toronto s First . ,

’ ’ T H E E AN AL I NE m . V G SHOPS , Vi o en s Wear and Acc es s orie s

POLL ACK S HOE S LTD . and their numerous store s in the area , ,

covered in thi s book .

30 RO S S KNOWLE S C O . complete investment s ervice , 3 ,

Stre et , Toronto .

MILNE S C O AL C D . , on the Old Belt Line .

HONEY DEW C OFFEE SHOPS numerous store s in the are de scribed . , a F or o th FRAN RES TAU RANT and DINING ROO M , g od e ating in Nor

and on . To ronto 21 S t . Clair Avenue We s t ; Yonge Eglint , 425 WM MITC HEL L 2 ' hardware stores Fairlawn and Yonge and 2 . , ,

Yonge Street .

. B RROU GHE S C O. 529 B a i F. C . U FURNITURE , yv ew Avenue

YONGE AN D S T C LAIR BUSINE S S AND PROFES SIONAL

AS S OC IATION .

’

r n . PETE WOODS 2500 Yonge S treet , me n s fu nishi g s ,

’ 1 4 r de st J. ATKINS O N S ONS 3 6 Yonge Street , No th Toronto s ol ,

groce rs .

m to S . BAS SIN olde st tailoring establish ent i n North Toron ,

r E s b ed PARKERS D YE WORKS CLEANERS 791 Yonge S t eet, ta li sh ,

1 876 .

CONTRO LLER LO UI S S HANNON , QC 357 Bay Street.

T D . R . B . RIC E S ONS L , 206 9 Yonge S treet .

M 287 . EARLE ELLIOTT FUNERAL HO E S , 2 Yonge Street

EG LINTON THE ATRE , 400 Eglinton West .

5 I . D . A. Drug gi sts in North Tor onto

LILLIC O PHARMACY, 261 9 Yonge S treet . R H LAW ENC E PARK P ARMACY Yonge at Lawrence . ,

J . M . M ERRICK Avenue Road and Fairlawn . ,

FORES T HILL PHAR M AC Y , 521 Eglinton West.

’ YOUNG S DRUG S TORE , 26 5 Eglinton West.

S L T D . M PIGO TT MOT OR (C ANADA) , Buick , Pontiac C O T r ucks , ,

2424 Yonge S tree t .

LITTLE PIE SHOP Wedding and birthday cake s choice pas tr , , y,

256 8 Yonge S treet.

S AMPS ON M ATTHE WS LT D . , 1 1 89 Yonge S treet .

WE . 2 LS H LUMBER C O LTD . , 2 1 9 Yonge S treet .