Toronto
From Familypedia
Toronto, in south-central Ontario, is Canada's largest city, with a population of over 2.5 million, in a region of about 8 million.
It has been one of the most favored arrival points for immigrants to Canada.
Contents |
[edit] History
TIMELINE 1600-1793
- 1615, Sept. 9 - Etienne Brule, one of Champlain's men, was the first European to visit Toronto.
- 1640-1690 - The Toronto carrying place, at the mouth of the Humber River, was visited by Dutch and British traders from New York, and by French explorers and priests.
- 1720 - The first French trading post was established at Toronto; it lasted about ten years.
- 1750-51 - A small royal fort was established on the lakeshore near what is now the south end of Dufferin Street; it was called both Fort Toronto and Fort Rouille.
- 1759 - Fort Niagara fell to the British; Commander Douville burned the royal fort and returned to Montreal.
- 1763 - The Toronto region and the rest of New France became British when the Treaty of Paris was signed.
- 1791 - a separate British colony of Upper Canada is created.
- 1792 - Revolutionary War veteran Col. John Graves Simcoe named as Governor of Upper Canada; certain that war with the Americans will be resumed, he moved the capital from Niagara Falls to Toronto.
- 1793, July 30 - Gov. Simcoe and his party established a small town site and fort on Gibraltar (now Hanlan’s) Point; Elizabeth Simcoe began writing her diary which was to cover the new settlement’s first two years, generously illustrated with her own sketches; her diary has become a significant chronicle of pioneer life in Canada.
N.B This timeline is based on “Dates in Toronto’s History (I)” in Kilbourn (1976).
[edit] Selected neighborhoods
[edit] East York
The Township of East York was incorporated on January 1, 1924. It is located largely to the east of the Don River, in its middle reaches. In 1924, East York comprised mostly market gardens, a handful of brick making yards, a specialty paper mill, and a race horse track that was located in the area bound by Oak Park, Lumsden, Chisholm and Danforth Avenues. A line of the Canadian Pacific Railway runs up the Don Valley in East York.
In its early years, East York's population consisted mostly of descendants of the original pioneers, employees of the local market gardens and brick yards, as well as returning World War One veterans and their families. East York's largest period of growth took place between 1946 and 1961 when the housing supply nearly doubled in size.
East York held the distinction of being Canada's only Borough until 1998 when it was amalgamated into the City of Toronto. The fact that East York chose to remain a Borough for so long rather than incorporate as a city speaks volumes for the neighborliness and small town friendliness that has been an East York trademark ever since its formation in 1924.
The early history of East York is described in some detail by Ann Guthrie in "Don Valley Legacy ~ A Pioneer History" (1985). It is an account of pioneers John Taylor (c1772-c1865) [1] and Margaret Hawthorne (?-1824) and their descendants.
[edit] Moore Park
Moore Park was subdivided in 1889 as an exclusive suburb in north Toronto for the very wealthy. The original developer was John Thomas Moore.
Moore had been instrumental in building the Belt Line Railway, Toronto's first commuter train. He personally oversaw the construction of the Belt Line's showpiece station in Mud Creek Ravine at Moore Park, near present day Moore Avenue. Moore leveraged all his money on the Belt Line, predicting it would bring many buyers to his Moore Park subdivision. However, shortly after the Belt Line opened Toronto suffered through a horrible Depression and the Belt Line went bankrupt. This setback delayed the building of homes in Moore Park until the early 1900's. By the 1930's, Moore Park was completely developed.
Mud Creek Ravine, the Heath Street bridge, and Our Lady of Perpetual Help school, along with other features of Moore Park are described in an interesting manner by Margaret Atwood [2]in her novel The Cat's Eye.
- Glenrose Avenue in Moore Park
Sculptors Frances Loring and Florence Wyle had a studio on Glenrose Ave. in Moore Park.[3] [4]
Dr. Clarence M. Hincks [5], founder of the Canadian Mental Health Association, lived on Glenrose.
This page is a "stub" and could be improved by additions and other edits.
Wade Hampton lived on Glenrose [6]
