Imagined Futures and Unintended Consequences: An Environmental History of Toronto’s Don River Valley by Jennifer Leigh Bonnell A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of Theory and Policy Studies in Education Ontario Institute for Studies in Education University of Toronto © Copyright by Jennifer Leigh Bonnell 2010 Imagined Futures and Unintended Consequences: An Environmental History of Toronto’s Don River Valley Jennifer Leigh Bonnell Doctor of Philosophy Department of Theory and Policy Studies in Education Ontario Institute for Studies in Education University of Toronto 2010 Abstract This dissertation explores human interactions with Toronto’s Don River Valley from the late eighteenth century to the present, focusing on the period of intense urbanization and industrialization between 1880 and 1940. Its concentration on the urban fringe generates new perspectives on the social and environmental consequences of urban development. From its position on the margins, the Don performed vital functions for the urban economy as a provider of raw materials and a sink for wastes. Insights derived from the intersections between social and environmental history are at the heart of this project. The dissertation begins by documenting the industrial history of the river and its transformation from a central provider in the lives of early Toronto residents to a polluted periphery in the latter half of the nineteenth century. An analysis of the valley’s related function as a repository for human “undesirables” reveals connections between the processes that identified certain individuals as deficient “others” and similar imperatives at work in classifying difficult or unpredictable environments as “waste spaces.” Efforts to “reclaim” and improve the river are the subject of the remaining chapters. A series of initiatives between 1870 and 1930 aimed at reconfiguring the lower Don as an efficient corridor for transportation and industrial development reveal in their shortcomings and ii unintended consequences a failure to accommodate dynamic and often unpredictable ecological processes. Reclamations of a different kind are explored in the conservation movement of the twentieth century, through which the valley emerges as a valuable public amenity. The dissertation concludes by investigating how the valley’s history informs current plans to “renaturalize” the river mouth. Throughout, the Don functions as an autonomous and causal force in the city’s history. On this small river on the urban fringe, nature and society worked in mutually constitutive ways to shape and reshape the metropolis. iii Acknowledgments The mental image of the dedicated scholar labouring away in isolation is a misleading representation of projects such as this one. While I was the one who willed herself to sit still and write, a number of people helped to make that writing both possible and pleasurable. Thanks go first to a supportive committee who from the beginning infused the project with a sense of excitement and possibility, and whose faith in me didn’t flag even as I announced two pregnancies over the course of the project. My supervisor, Ruth Sandwell, helped me to see the possibilities of a place like the Don. Her insightful appreciation of key issues in historical practice, and her dedication to the integrity of past actors, challenged me to think more deeply about the people and places I studied. Just as important, her enthusiastic support for my work in various venues, and her sensitivity to the particular challenges of balancing dissertation work with family responsibilities, made working together a great pleasure. Bill Turkel’s interest in the project from an early stage, his expansive knowledge and his unconventional approach to academic endeavours nurtured the development of this project and helped to shape its guiding arguments. Finally, for her keen critical eye and her constructive comments as this dissertation has progressed, I would like to thank Cecilia Morgan. Generous funding provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council’s Canada Graduate Scholarship and the Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program granted me the luxury of unencumbered time to dedicate to research and writing. Later in the project, support from the Canadian Federation of University Women helped greatly in the final months of writing. The research and writing of this dissertation was greatly facilitated by the knowledgeable assistance of Toronto-area archivists and librarians. Thanks to staff at the City of Toronto iv Archives, especially John Huzil and Lawrence Lee, whose knowledge of the area helped to build my understanding. Michael Moir, Archivist at York University’s Clara Thomas Archives and Special Collections, provided generously of his time in sharing his detailed knowledge of the Toronto waterfront. I would also like to thank Jeff Hubbell at the Toronto Port Authority Archives, and Sean Smith at the Archives of Ontario, for kind assistance and support. Early on in my research, I found myself at the Toronto Reference Library, printing and taping together fire insurance atlases in an attempt to make sense of what was a dynamic and confusing industrial landscape. Generous and patient assistance from University of Toronto GIS and Map Librarian Marcel Fortin opened up a world of possibilities in using GIS to achieve the same ends. With financial support from the Network in Canadian History and Environment (NiCHE) and skilled assistance from University of Toronto Geography student Jordan Hale, we produced the Don Valley Historical Mapping Project (http://maps.library.utoronto.ca/dvhmp/), a database of geo-spatial information on the environmental and industrial history of the Don watershed. The project greatly facilitated my ability to interpret the historical geography of the area. It remains a resource for a broader community of researchers seeking geographic information on the Don Valley and Toronto’s east end. A number of other people deserve mention here. Gene Desfor supported this project in multiple ways, allocating funds for archival image purchases from his collaborative “Changing Urban Waterfronts” project (funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council), commenting on chapter drafts, and sharing his deep knowledge and passion for the history of Toronto’s waterfront. Wendy Wickwire’s passionate advocacy for her students is renown; I am thankful to have been one of them. I would like to thank Larry MacDonald, who many years ago now sparked my interest in history. Thanks also to John Wilson of the Task Force to Bring Back the Don, Helen Mills of Lost Rivers, and Adele Freeman, Amy Thurston, and Ken Dion of the v Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, for their support and assistance at various points in my research. For their understanding and encouragement, thanks to friends Kristin Lindell, Erika Cordes, and Anya Kater. Fellow graduate students in Canadian and environmental history brought great pleasure to the process of writing this thesis. Thanks especially to Ben Bradley, Jim Clifford, and Jay Young, who provided insightful comments on earlier drafts of this work, and helped me to draw out its major conclusions. Collegial support was also found at the meetings of the Toronto and Area Environmental History Reading Group, and the Changing Urban Waterfronts group. For revelry, gossip, and encouragement, thanks to the women of the Toronto Area Women’s Canadian History Group. Finally, thanks to Alison Norman, who would like to be remembered here as much more than an office mate. There are few other people I’d choose to share a closet- sized office with. Last and most, thanks go to my family. Support from Betty and Morley Singer gave me the opportunity to pursue graduate work. Gail Singer provided humour, good company, and fantastic meals throughout the project. My mother, Pam Bonnell, helped me to remember and celebrate the important things, and gave her big-hearted support to all of us over the course of the project. Will and Maya, who arrived like bookends near the beginning and the end of this project, brought joy and welcome distraction in many late afternoons at the playground, and never failed to remind me where my priorities lay. To Scott go my greatest thanks, for his encouragement and his endurance throughout this project, and for his willingness to create the time and space in a busy family life for me to think, and write. This thesis is dedicated to my father, Rick Bonnell, whose support for me and this project I could feel across the many long miles that separate Vancouver Island from Toronto, and whose faith in me I’ve never doubted. vi Table of Contents Abstract........................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents.......................................................................................................................... vii List of Figures.............................................................................................................................. viii Chapter 1 Moving from the Source: Methods for a River History...................................................................1 Part I: Headwaters Chapter 2 Pine Forests, Clay Pits and Running Water: The Don Provides, 1793