Stage 2 Archaeological Assessment (Property Assessment)
Stage 2 Archaeological Assessment
(Property Assessment)
TTC Yonge Street Subway Extension Conceptual Design from
Finch Street to Highway 7, City of Toronto and Regional
Municipality of York, Ontario
Prepared for:
McCormick Rankin Corporation
2655 North Sheridan Way, Suite 300
Mississauga, ON L5K 2P8 hwang@mrc.ca
Tel: 905-823-8500
Fax: 905-823-8503
Archaeological Licence P264 (Kathryn Bryant)
MCL PIF P264-118-2010
ASI File 08EA-324
April 2011
Stage 2 Archaeological Assessment
(Property Assessment)
TTC Yonge Street Subway Extension Conceptual Design from Finch Street to Highway 7, City of
Toronto, Regional Municipality of York
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Archaeological Services Inc. (ASI) was contracted by McCormick Rankin Corporation of Mississauga, on behalf of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) to conduct a Stage 2 Archaeological Assessment
(Property Assessment) on lands with archaeological potential that will be impacted by the proposed extension of the Yonge Street Subway from Finch Street to Highway 7 in the City of Toronto and the
Regional Municipality of York, Ontario. The majority of the proposed subway extension will be below-ground; however, there are six separate locations of proposed surface facilities such as stations, bus loops and commuter parking lots, totalling approximately 18 hectares that require a
Stage 2 property assessment.
Two Stage 1 archaeological assessments of this study area were previously conducted by ASI in
2003 and 2008. These assessments identified several parcels of property along the otherwise heavily disturbed Yonge Street corridor that retained archaeological potential. The 2008 report made recommendations, with which Ministry of Tourism and Culture concurred, that six separate locations along the corridor should be subjected to a Stage 2 assessment.
In 2010, ASI undertook the Stage 2 assessment on all lands with archaeological potential identified in the Stage 1 Archaeological Assessment. This work was conducted in accordance with the
Ontario
Heritage Act
and the
Standards and Guidelines for Consultant Archaeologists
. In spite of a comprehensive test pit survey at 5 metre intervals, no archaeological resources were recovered in the study corridor.
In light of these results, the following recommendations are made:
1.
All project lands previously determined to have archaeological potential within the TTC
Yonge Street study corridor can be considered clear of archaeological concern, and no further archaeological assessment is required;
2.
If there is any alteration in the design of the proposed surface facilities, any new lands determined to have archaeological potential must be subject to a Stage 2 property assessment if they are to be disturbed by construction and/or staging activities; and
3.
Notwithstanding the results and recommendations presented in this study, Archaeological
Services Inc. notes that no archaeological assessment, no matter how thorough or carefully completed, can necessarily predict, account for, or identify every form of isolated or deeply buried archaeological deposit. In the event that archaeological remains are found during
subsequent construction activities, the consultant archaeologist, approval authority, and the
Cultural Programs Unit of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture should be immediately notified.
Stage 2 Archaeological Assessment (Property Assessment)
TTC Yonge Street Subway Extension From Finch Street to Highway 407,
City of Toronto and Regional Municipality of York, Ontario
ARCHAEOLOGICAL SERVICES INC.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT DIVISION
PROJECT PERSONNEL
Page iii
Senior Project Manager: Lisa Merritt, MSc [MTC license P094]
Senior Archaeologist, Assistant Manager
Environmental Assessment Division
Project Director
(licensee):
Kathryn Bryant, MA [MTC license P264]
Senior Archaeologist
Project Coordinator:
Field Director:
Sarah Jagelewski, Hon. BA
Research Archaeologist
Kathryn Bryant
Field Archaeologists: Elaine Cheng, Hon. BA [MTC license
P318] Staff Archaeologist
Andrew Clish, BA [MTC license P046]
Senior Archaeologist
Sarah Jagelewski
Caitlin Lacy, Hon. BA [MTC license 303]
Staff Archaeologist
Denise McGuire, MA [MTC license P315]
Staff Archaeologist
Aleksandra Pradzynski, BSc Hons
[MTC license R190] Staff Archaeologist
John Sleath, Hon. BA. [MTC license
R364] Research Archaeologist
Bruce Welsh, PhD [MTC license
P047]
Senior Archaeologist
Chris Ball, Hon. BA
Shawn Bayes, Hon. BA R356]
Miranda Brunton, Hon. BA
Elizabeth Matwey, Hon. BA
David Landry, Hon. BA
Sally Lynch, Hon. BA
Kayla Reynolds, Hon. BA
Isabel Ritchie, Hon. BA
Sean Ross, Hon. BA
Hillary Schwering
Report Writer: Lisa Merritt
Archival Research
Graphics Preparation:
Brian K. Narhi, MA
Project Historian
Sarina Finlay, Hon. BA
GIS Technician
Blake Williams, MLitt, [MTC license R344]
Report Reviewer:
Staff Archaeologist/GIS Technician
Robert Pihl, MA, CAHP [MTC licence P057]
Partner and Senior Archaeologist
Manager, Environmental Assessment Division
Stage 2 Archaeological Assessment (Property Assessment)
TTC Yonge Street Subway Extension From Finch Street to Highway 407,
City of Toronto and Regional Municipality of York, Ontario Page iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Steeles Avenue Station Area A – West side of Yonge Street (25-35 Crestwood Road) (Figure 3,
LIST OF TABLES
LIST OF FIGURES
LIST OF PLATES
Stage 2 Archaeological Assessment (Property Assessment)
TTC Yonge Street Subway Extension From Finch Street to Highway 407,
City of Toronto and Regional Municipality of York, Ontario Page v
Stage 2 Archaeological Assessment (Property Assessment)
TTC Yonge Street Subway Extension From Finch Street to Highway 407,
City of Toronto and Regional Municipality of York, Ontario Page 6
1.0
INTRODUCTION
Archaeological Services Inc. (ASI) was contracted by McCormick Rankin Corporation (MRC) of
Mississauga, on behalf of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) to conduct a Stage 2 Archaeological
Assessment (Property Assessment) of lands with archaeological potential that will be impacted by the proposed extension of the Yonge Street Subway from Finch Street to Highway 7 in the City of Toronto and the Regional Municipality of York, Ontario. The proposed 6.5 km underground subway extension would run from the existing Finch station to a proposed station at Richmond Hill Centre, located near
Yonge Street and Highway 7, with stops at Cummer Avenue/Drewry Avenue, Steeles Avenue, Clark
Avenue, Royal Orchard Boulevard, Longbridge Road/Langstaff Road and Richmond Hill Centre. In six separate locations, proposed surface facilities (i.e. stations, bus terminals, and passenger pick-up and drop-off facilities) at the Cummer Avenue/Drewry Avenue, Steeles Avenue, and Langstaff stations, and the proposed bridge over the East Don River, impact lands that were identified as having archaeological potential during the Stage 1 Archaeological Assessment completed by ASI in 2008 (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Location of the Stage 2 assessment study areas for the TTC Yonge Street Subway Extension
[NTS Map 30 M/14, Markham Edition 9]
Stage 2 Archaeological Assessment (Property Assessment)
TTC Yonge Street Subway Extension From Finch Street to Highway 407,
City of Toronto and Regional Municipality of York, Ontario Page 7
This assessment was conducted under the project management of Lisa Merritt (MTC license P094), and the project direction of Kathryn Bryant (MCL license P264), both of ASI as required by the
Environmental Assessment Act (2005). All activities carried out during this assessment were completed in accordance with the terms of the Ontario Heritage Act and the Ministry of Tourism and Culture’s
Standards and Guidelines for Consultant Archaeologists (2011).
Permission to carry out the activities necessary for the completion of the Stage 2 archaeological assessment was granted to ASI by MRC on October 27.
This report briefly summarizes the results of two previous Stage 1 assessments, presents the methodology and results of the current Stage 2 archaeological assessment (property assessment) and makes three recommendations stemming from these results.
2.0
PROJECT BACKGROUND
This section presents a summary of the two Stage 1 archaeological assessment reports completed by ASI in 2003 and 2008 for the Yonge Street subway extension and summarizes previous archaeological assessments completed in the Stage 2 study areas.
In 2002, ASI was contracted by the York Consortium, on behalf of the Regional Municipality of York, to conduct a Stage 1 archaeological assessment as part of the environmental assessment of the proposed
Yonge Street Transitway between Steeles Avenue and 19th Avenue (ASI 2003). The assessment revealed that seven archaeological sites had been within 50 m of the Yonge Street Transitway study corridor. The assessment concluded that due to the presence of several watercourses in the study area, including
German Mills Creek and the East Don River, the close proximity of several additional watercourses, and the intensity of historic land use along Yonge Street, there was potential for the recovery of Aboriginal and Euro-Canadian archaeological remains within the study corridor (ASI 2003).
In 2008, ASI was contracted by MRC to undertake another Stage 1 for the proposed TTC Yonge Street
Subway Extension from Finch Station to Highway 7 (ASI 2008). This report identified six areas along the study corridor that have potential for Aboriginal and Euro-Canadian archaeological resources and therefore needed to be subjected to a Stage 2 archaeological assessment.
2.1
Registered Archaeological Sites and Previously Assessed Portions
The Ontario Archaeological Sites Database (OASD) maintained by the MTC, and the City of Toronto and
York Region Archaeological Master Plans indicate that 10 archaeological sites have been registered within 1 km of the study corridor, three of which are located immediately adjacent to it (Table 1).
Table 1: List of registered sites within a 1 km radius of the study corridor
Borden # Site Name Cultural Affiliation Site Type Researcher
AkGu-14 Thornhill
AkGu-17 Doncaster 2
AkGu-18 Ladies Golf Course
Aboriginal – Woodland
Aboriginal – Woodland
Aboriginal
Campsite
Campsite
Campsite
A.J. Clark, 1925
D. Boyle, 1889
R. Hazzard, 1972
Stage 2 Archaeological Assessment (Property Assessment)
TTC Yonge Street Subway Extension From Finch Street to Highway 407,
City of Toronto and Regional Municipality of York, Ontario
Borden # Site Name Cultural Affiliation Site Type Researcher
Page 8
AkGu-56 Two Pines Aboriginal – Huron
AkGu-61 Soules’ Inn Euro-Canadian
AkGu-69 MacDonald Horse Barn Euro-Canadian
AlGu-94 Russell
AlGu-95 Langstaff Jail Farm
AlGu-118
Euro-Canadian
Euro-Canadian
Aboriginal -Archaic
Cabin
Inn
Homestead
Farmstead
Farmstead
Isolated Find
T. Arnold, 1994, 1995
G. Warrick, 1993
ASI, 1995
ASI, 2002
ASI, 1987, 1989
MTO, 1991
AlGu-120 Over Aboriginal -Late Woodland/
Euro-Canadian
Iroquoian Village / Historic
Industrial Complex
MTO, 1991
Sutton 1996
* sites in bold are located immediately adjacent to the study corridor.
The Soules’ Inn site (AkGu-61), an early to mid-nineteenth century public house, was discovered by ASI during a test pit survey of the Soules’ Inn property at 8038 Yonge Street (ASI 1995). The assessment resulted in the documentation of three areas that produced artifacts related to the nineteenth century landuse. Additional work was undertaken at the site to further understand the nature and extent of the site
(ASI 1996). The original 1830’s structure can still be seen today, although two modern additions have been added to the property. The building is set back from the Yonge Street ROW and will not be impacted by the proposed subway extension.
A review of archaeological assessments done previously in the vicinity of the study corridor was undertaken to ensure that there was no overlap of lands previously subjected to archaeological assessments. An email communication from Teresa Wagner, MTC Database Administrator, dated
November 3 2010, indicates that several archaeological assessments have been undertaken on lands within the study corridor. Of particular importance are a series of assessments that were undertaken in advance of the construction of Highway 407 by the Ministry of Transportation’s (MTO) Archaeology
Unit (MTO 1991, 1994). Approximately 20% of the present study area of the Langstaff commuter parking lot and the entire area of concern for the proposed Langstaff Station were previously assessed during the 1994 assessment of lands between the East Don River and Yonge Street below Highway 7
(MTO 1994). The assessment also resulted in the discovery of two archaeological sites, the Over site
(AlGu-120) and the Two Pines site (AkGu-56).
The Over site (AlGu-120) was located by MTO archaeologists in 1991 on the northeast corner of Yonge
Street and Highway 7 (MTO 1994b). Subsequent Stage 3 and 4 salvage excavations were conducted by
Scientific Excavation and D.R. Poulton and Associates Inc. (under MTO contract) between 1991 and
1993, and they revealing a 0.8 ha, early 15 th century ancestral Huron-Wendat village. The salvage excavation is complete, and no further work is recommended for the site (Sutton and Poulton 1996).
The Two Pines site (AkGu-56) was an ancestral Huron-Wendat cabin site discovered by MTO archaeologists in 1991 during the Stage 2 archaeological assessment of the proposed Highway 407. The site was located directly in the highway ROW on the east bank of the East Don River and further work was recommended because the highway route could not be altered to avoid it. It was subjected to a Stage
3 assessment and a Stage 4 salvage excavation in 1994 by Tom Arnold and subsequently cleared of any additional archaeological concern (Arnold 1994 and 1995).
Stage 2 Archaeological Assessment (Property Assessment)
TTC Yonge Street Subway Extension From Finch Street to Highway 407,
City of Toronto and Regional Municipality of York, Ontario Page 9
2.2
Potential for Archaeological Resources
Although much of the Yonge Street corridor was found to be extensively disturbed by typical road and urban construction activities, the 2008 Stage 1 report noted that based on the property inspection and the background research, there were several areas that retained archaeological potential. The property inspection in particular confirmed that a few properties on the south bank of the East Don where it crosses
Yonge Street did retain archaeological potential. The project proposes to construct a bridge to cross the
East Don in this vicinity. The Stage 1 also indicated potential for historic resources for an empty lot on
Drewry Avenue just west of Yonge Street, two groups of properties in the vicinity of the Steeles and
Yonge intersection, and the Hydro corridor at the 407 and Yonge Street.
3.0
STAGE 2 PROPERTY ASSESSMENT
3.1
Methodology
All Stage 2 work was conducted in accordance with the Ontario Heritage Act (2005) and the Standards and Guidelines for Consultant Archaeologists (MTC 2011; Section 2). The Stage 1 assessment completed by ASI in 2008 identified six specific areas within the study area that had retained archaeological potential. Each of these areas will be discussed separately below.
The Stage 2 property assessment occurred as permission-to-enter was secured beginning in October 2010 and under the project management of Lisa Merritt (P094), and the field direction of Kathryn Bryant
(P264) and Denise McGuire (P315), all of ASI. Weather conditions, consisting of mainly sunny skies with seasonal temperatures, were considered adequate for undertaking fieldwork. Snow cover on the final day of fieldwork did not affect the test pit survey as the ground was not frozen.
According to the Standards and Guidelines, any undisturbed areas requiring test pit survey within 300 m of any feature of archaeological potential must be subjected to systematic assessment at 5 m intervals
(MTC 2011; Section 2). All areas that lay beyond 300 m of any archaeological feature must be investigated at 10 m intervals. It should be noted that only lands that are disturbed or are characterized by wetlands or severe slope are considered to have no potential. For this Stage 2 assessment, all areas exhibiting archaeological potential were situated on lands that have closed surface visibility and were subject to test pit survey at 5 m intervals because of the above standards.
Test pit survey involved the excavation of test pits to sterile subsoil, and the screening of all test pit fills through 6 mm mesh to facilitate artifact recovery. Afterwards, all test pits were backfilled and their locations were recorded on field maps. If archaeological resources were uncovered, test pit intervals were intensified to a maximum of 2.5 m around the positive test pits to define site boundaries. Any factors that precluded the excavation of test pits (e.g. excessive slope, drainage, exposed bedrock, previous disturbance) were noted, and the areas were mapped and photographed. Where necessary, areas of disturbance were confirmed by the excavation of judgmental test pits. The results of this assessment are mapped (Section 6.0: Figures 2 to 7) and associated photographs are presented in Section 7.0.
Stage 2 Archaeological Assessment (Property Assessment)
TTC Yonge Street Subway Extension From Finch Street to Highway 407,
City of Toronto and Regional Municipality of York, Ontario
3.2
Stage 2 Property Survey Results (Figures 2-8, Plates 1-30)
Page 10
All six sections that make up the study area were assessed systematically at 5 m intervals by test pit survey. Each area was found to have varying degrees of disturbance that are almost inescapable in such a highly populated urban area. The disturbances were all noted and mapped and were generally related to housing development, utility installation and road construction.
3.2.1
Drewry Avenue/Cummer Bus Loop Study Area (Figure 2, Plates 1-4)
This vacant lot, which measures approximately 0.4 ha, is the proposed location of a bus loop, and it comprises 42 to 58 Drewry Avenue. The lot was test pitted at 5 m intervals except in the disturbed areas documented on Figure 2 and Plates 2-4 which include an asphalt driveway and the foundations of a demolished house. Much of 42 Drewry Avenue is disturbed by a parking lot for a high rise apartment building at 30 Drewry Avenue. Test pits generally measured 24-32 centimetres and consisted of mediumbrown clayey loam, underlain by reddish-brown clay subsoil. A detailed land use history of the property was undertaken because of its proximity to the historic community of Newtonbrook. The historical overview of the property is presented in Appendix A, and while the land use history provides a fascinating glimpse into the history of this lot and other surrounding properties, there is no evidence that any structure was constructed on this lot before the early to mid 20 th
century. No archaeological resources with cultural heritage interest or value were found during the test pit survey of the property.
3.2.2
Steeles Avenue Station Area A – West side of Yonge Street (25-35 Crestwood Road) (Figure
3, Plates 5-8)
This section of the study area measures approximately 0.7 ha and is the proposed location of a PPUDO
(passenger pickup-drop off). In addition to several lots owned by the City of Vaughan, there are also four residential lots with modern houses that are privately-owned, all of which were surveyed by test pitting at
5 m intervals. Currently the vacant lots are used as a walkway to access the Yonge Street/Steeles Avenue intersection (Plate 5). Below the sod layer, test pitting revealed the topsoil to be a clayey loam to generally 20-25 cm, underlain by orangey-brown clay subsoil. The majority of the test pits in the developed lots of 25, 27 and 35 Crestwood Road. had mottled soils indicating that these areas were disturbed during construction/grading of the post-WWII neighbourhood. Some intact soil stratigraphy was evident in the south-western corner, directly south of 35 Crestwood Road. No archaeological resources with cultural heritage interest or value were found during the test pit survey of the Steeles
Station Avenue Area A study area.
3.2.3
Steeles Station Area B (east of Yonge Street) (Figure 4, Plates 9-14)
This section of the study area measures approximately 0.9 ha and is the proposed location of aboveground facilities for the Steeles Avenue Subway Station. It is comprised of a gas station/carwash and a total of eight residential lots located on Highland Park Blvd and Woodward Avenue. With the exception of the gas station, all lots were subject to test pitting at 5 m intervals where conditions permitted (Plates 9-
11). The soil condition and stratigraphy observed during the test pit survey revealed that the medium
Stage 2 Archaeological Assessment (Property Assessment)
TTC Yonge Street Subway Extension From Finch Street to Highway 407,
City of Toronto and Regional Municipality of York, Ontario Page 11 brown clayey loam topsoil was consistently mottled with yellow brown clayey subsoil, indicating some grading and soil re-deposition had taken place likely during large scale soil grading in advance of the construction of the post WWII subdivision. In other areas, small sheds with concrete foundations (Plate
12) and small-scale intensive kitchen gardens (Plate 13) also contributed to the disturbance of the soil in the study area. The gas station and carwash was heavily disturbed during their construction and the area was not subject to a test pit survey because of the lack of archaeological potential (Plate 14).
No archaeological resources with cultural heritage interest or value were found during the test pit survey of the Steeles Avenue Station Area B study area.
3.2.4
East Don River Yonge Street Crossing (Figures 5 & 6, Plates 15-21)
This study area is approximately 0.9 ha in size and consists of two linear corridors on both the east and west sides of Yonge Street where it crosses the East Don River. This corridor is the proposed location of a bridge that will span the East Don River under Yonge Street. The majority of the study area, including the entire public right-of-way (ROW), has been previously disturbed by the construction of the Yonge
Street overpass, the re-channelization of the East Don where it crosses Yonge Street and residential and commercial development adjacent to Yonge Street. On the west side of Yonge Street the only areas that were deemed to have archaeological potential were the front yards of 7802 and 7808 Yonge Street and these properties were assessed by test pit survey at 5 m intervals (Plate 15). The test pits revealed that the soil was generally undisturbed. Below the sod layer the soil was dark-brown sandy loam varying from
18-22 cm and this was underlain by orangey brown sandy subsoil. A detailed land-use history was undertaken for 7808 Yonge Street because of the age of the house and its location in the historic village of
Thornhill (Plate 16). While this research does provide a fascinating glimpse of the heritage significance of the standing house, no archaeological materials were recovered. The historical overview of the property is presented in Appendix A. All test pits were negative for cultural material.
The two other residential properties on the west side were found to have no potential due to slope, house construction disturbances, utility installation and intensive landscaping (Plates 17 &18). The York
Region property located north of 7822 Yonge Street has been completely disturbed by construction associated with storm water management and re-channelization of the East Don and a tributary (Plates 19
& 20). The remainder of the Yonge Street study corridor was similarly found to be entirely disturbed by construction of the Yonge Street overpass and the re-channelization of the East Don River (Plate 21-23).
No archaeological resources with cultural heritage interest or value were found during the test pit survey of the East Don River Yonge Street Crossing study area.
3.2.5
Langstaff Station Study Area (Figure 7, Plate 24)
This small study area measures approximately 700 m
2
and is the proposed location of Langstaff Station.
It is located just east of Yonge Street between an asphalt parking lot and the Langstaff Road ROW and was determined to have archaeological potential in the Stage 1 assessment. Further research has determined that this study area has previously been subject of a Stage 2 archaeological assessment conducted by MTO in advance of the construction of Highway 407 (MTO 1994). It is also highly
Stage 2 Archaeological Assessment (Property Assessment)
TTC Yonge Street Subway Extension From Finch Street to Highway 407,
City of Toronto and Regional Municipality of York, Ontario disturbed by the construction of a children’s playground (Plate 22). This area has no potential for archaeological resources due to previous disturbances.
3.2.6
Langstaff Parking Lot Study Area (Figure 8, Plates 25-30)
Page 12
This is the largest of the study areas for this project, measuring approximately 15 ha. It is the proposed location of a large commuter parking lot that will service Langstaff Station. The study area is bound by
Yonge Street to the east, the East Don River ravine to the west, a residential community to the south and the Highway 407 ROW to the north. Due to its proximity to the East Don River and the number of
Iroquoian sites that have been found in this watershed, this property was deemed to have archaeological potential in the Stage 1 assessment. The northern-most section of the property was found to have been previously surveyed during the MTO survey of the Highway 407 corridor (MTO 1994). This area measures approximately 4 ha and is shown on Figure 8. The remaining approximately 11 ha of the property can be characterized as scrubby and overgrown interspersed with mature trees. A three towerwide Hydro corridor also spans the length of the property. Due to the difficulty of ploughing this survey area it was assessed by test pit survey at 5 m intervals (Plates 25-27). Test pits generally measured 24-32 centimetres and consisted of medium-brown clayey loam, underlain by reddish-brown clay subsoil.
Several areas close to the Highway 407 ROW appear to have been stripped of topsoil, and the test pits revealed light grey-brown clay (Plate 28). All test pits were negative for cultural material.
The only two areas that were not tested because of lack of potential was a narrow (10 m) corridor over the marked Trans Canada pipeline that crosses the eastern portion of the property, and a 15 m
2
swampy area at the base of a Hydro tower in the vicinity of the pipeline disturbance (Plates 29 & 30).
No archaeological resources with cultural heritage interest or value were found during the test pit survey of the Langstaff Commuter Parking Lot study area.
4.0
RECOMMENDATIONS AND COMPLIANCE ADVICE
Archaeological Services Inc. (ASI) was contracted by McCormick Rankin Corporation of Mississauga, on behalf of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) to conduct a Stage 2 archaeological assessment
(property assessment) of lands with archaeological potential that will be impacted by the proposed extension of the Yonge Street Subway from Finch Street to Highway 7 in the City of Toronto and the
Regional Municipality of York, Ontario. The proposed 6.5 km underground subway extension would run from the existing Finch station to a proposed station at Richmond Hill Centre, located near Yonge Street and Highway 7, with stops at Cummer Avenue/Drewry Avenue, Steeles Avenue, Clark Avenue, Royal
Orchard Boulevard, Longbridge Road/Langstaff Road and Richmond Hill Centre.
In six separate locations, proposed surface facilities (i.e. stations, bus terminals, and passenger pick-up and drop-off facilities) at the Cummer Avenue/Drewry Avenue, Steeles Avenue, and Langstaff stations, and the East Don River overpass will impact lands that were identified as having archaeological potential during the Stage 1 archaeological assessment completed by ASI in 2008.
In 2010, ASI undertook a systematic test pit survey at 5 m intervals on all lands with archaeological potential identified in the Stage 1 assessment. This work was conducted in accordance with the Ontario
Stage 2 Archaeological Assessment (Property Assessment)
TTC Yonge Street Subway Extension From Finch Street to Highway 407,
City of Toronto and Regional Municipality of York, Ontario
Heritage Act and the Standards and Guidelines for Consultant Archaeologists . In spite of a comprehensive assessment no archaeological resources were recovered in the study corridor.
In light of these results, the following recommendations are made:
Page 13
1.
All project lands previously determined to have archaeological potential within the TTC Yonge
Street study corridor can be considered clear of archaeological concern, and no further archaeological assessment is required;
2.
If there is any alteration in the design of the proposed surface facilities, any new lands determined to have archaeological potential must be subject to a Stage 2 property assessment if they are to be disturbed by construction and/or staging activities; and
3.
Notwithstanding the results and recommendations presented in this study, Archaeological
Services Inc. notes that no archaeological assessment, no matter how thorough or carefully completed, can necessarily predict, account for, or identify every form of isolated or deeply buried archaeological deposit. In the event that archaeological remains are found during subsequent construction activities, the consultant archaeologist, approval authority, and the
Cultural Programs Unit of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture should be immediately notified.
ASI advises compliance with the following legislation:
ï‚·
This report is submitted to the Minister of Tourism and Culture as a condition of licensing in accordance with Part VI of the Ontario Heritage Act , R.S.O. 1990, c 0.18. The report is reviewed to ensure that it complies with the standards and guidelines that are issued by the Minister, and that the archaeological fieldwork and report recommendations ensure the conservation, protection and preservation of the cultural heritage of Ontario. When all matters relating to archaeological sites within the project area of a development proposal have been addressed to the satisfaction of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, a letter will be issued by the ministry stating that there are no further concerns with regard to alterations to archaeological sites by the proposed development.
ï‚·
It is an offence under Sections 48 and 69 of the Ontario Heritage Act for any party other than a licensed archaeologist to make any alteration to a known archaeological site or to remove any artifact or other physical evidence of past human use or activity from the site, until such time as a licensed archaeologist has completed archaeological fieldwork on the site, submitted a report to the Minister stating that the site has no further cultural heritage value or interest , and the report has been filed in the Ontario Public Register of Archaeology Reports referred to in Section 65.1 of the Ontario Heritage Act .
ï‚·
Should previously undocumented archaeological resources be discovered, they may be a new archaeological site and therefore subject to Section 48 (1) of the Ontario Heritage Act . The proponent or person discovering the archaeological resources must cease alteration of the site immediately and engage a licensed consultant archaeologist to carry out archaeological fieldwork, in compliance with Section 48 (1) of the Ontario Heritage Act .
Stage 2 Archaeological Assessment (Property Assessment)
TTC Yonge Street Subway Extension From Finch Street to Highway 407,
City of Toronto and Regional Municipality of York, Ontario Page 14
ï‚·
The Cemeteries Act , R.S.O. 1990 c. C.4 and the Funeral, Burial and Cremation Services Act ,
2002, S.O. 2002, c.33 (when proclaimed in force) require that any person discovering human remains must notify the police or coroner and the Registrar of Cemeteries at the Ministry of
Consumer Services.
The documentation related to the archaeological assessment of this project will be curated by
Archaeological Services Inc. until such a time that arrangements for their ultimate transfer to Her Majesty the Queen in right of Ontario, or other public institution can be made to the satisfaction of the project owner, the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Culture, and any other legitimate interest groups.
5.0
REFERENCES CITED
ASI (Archaeological Services Inc.)
1995 Stages 1 & 2 Archaeological Assessment of the Soule’s Inn Property, 8038 Yonge Street
Part Lot 32, Concession W.Y.S. City of Vaughan, Regional Municipality of York,
Ontario. Report on file with the MTC.
1996 Stage 3 & 4 Archaeological Assessment of the Soule's Inn Site (AkGu-61), 8038 Yonge
Street, Part of Lot 32, Concession 1, W.H.S., Former Township of Vaughan, Now in the
City of Vaughan, Regional Municipality of York. Report on file with the MTC.
2003 Stage 1 Archaeological Assessment Yonge Street Transitway From Steeles Avenue to
19th Avenue, City of Vaughan, Town of Richmond Hill, and Town of Markham,
Regional Municipality of York, Ontario. Report on file with the MTC.
2005 Stage 1 Archaeological Assessment Highway 7 and Vaughn North-South Link
Transitway City of Vaughan, Town of Richmond Hill and Town of Markham, Regional
Municipality of York, Ontario. Report on file with the MTC.
2006 Stage 1 Archaeological Assessment 407 Transitway, from Highway 400 to Kennedy
Road, Regional Municipality of York, Ontario
2008 Stage 1 Archaeological Assessment of Yonge Street Subway Extension from Finch
Station to Highway 7, City of Toronto and Town of Richmond Hill. Report on file with the MTC.
2009 Stage 1 and 2 Archaeological Assessment Parts 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17 and 18
Plan 65R-31711 Northeast and Southeast Corners of Highway #7 and Rodick Road
Town of Markham, Regional Municipality of York. Report on file with the MTC.
Archaeological Assessments Ltd
2005 Stage 1-3 of the IBM Option Lands Town of Markham, Regional Municipality of York.
Report on file with the MTC.
Stage 2 Archaeological Assessment (Property Assessment)
TTC Yonge Street Subway Extension From Finch Street to Highway 407,
City of Toronto and Regional Municipality of York, Ontario Page 15
Arnold, Tom
1994 C.H.I.C. A.A. of Hwy 407 ROW Two Pines Sites (AkGu-56) Stage 3: Testing and Stage
4: Mitigation. Report on file, Ontario Ministry of Culture, Toronto.
1995 C.H.I.C. A.A. of Hwy 407 ROW Two Pines Sites (AkGu-56) Stage 3: Testing and Stage
4: Mitigation Volume II. Report on file, Ontario Ministry of Culture, Toronto.
Beers, J. H.
1877 Illustrated Historical Atlas of the County of York Ontario. J.H. Beers & Co.: Toronto.
Chapman, L.J. and F. Putnam
1984 The Physiography of Southern Ontario. Ontario Geological Survey, Special Volume 2.
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Toronto.
Dillon Consulting Limited
1997 Canadian Highways International Constructors, Archaeological Assessment of Highway
407 ROW, 1995 and 1996 Field Seasons, Stage 2: Assessment and Stage 3: Testing.
Report on file, Ontario Ministry of Culture, Toronto.
MTC (Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Culture)
2005 Ontario Heritage Act.
2010 Standards and Guidelines for Consultant Archaeologists . Culture Policy, Programs and
Services Division, Programs and Services Branch, Culture Programs Unit, Toronto.
Ontario Ministry of Transportation
1993 An Archaeological Assessment of Highway 407 and the Highway 407/Jane Street
Interchange. Report on file, Ontario Ministry of Culture, Toronto.
1994a An Archaeological Assessment of Highway 407 (CNR MacMillan Yards to West of
Bathurst St.) (WP 145-87-00). Report on file, Ontario Ministry of Culture, Toronto.
1994b An Archaeological Assessment of Highway 7N and Highway 407 (West of Bathurst St.-
East of Yonge St.) (WP 233-89-00). Report on file, Ontario Ministry of Culture, Toronto.
1995a Archaeological Assessment of Highway 407 (Woodbine Ave. to Highway 48)
(WP 90-78-00). Report on file, Ontario Ministry of Culture, Toronto.
1995b An Archaeological Assessment of Highway 407 (East of Yonge St. to German Mills
Creek) (WP 255-89-00). Report on file, Ontario Ministry of Culture, Toronto.
Sutton, R. E., and D. R. Poulton (editors)
1996 The 1992-1993 Stage 3-4 Archaeological Excavations of the Over Site (AlGu-120),
(W.P. 233-89-00), Volume 1, by D. R. Poulton & Associates Inc. Prepared for the
Ministry of Transportation (Central Region), Environmental Assessment Unit.
1
1
2
3
4
Disturbed
Test Pitted at 5M Intervals
Figure 2: Results of Stage 2 Property Assessment of Proposed Cummer/Drewry Station Bus Loop
Photo location and Plate Number
Study Area Boundary
6
5
8
7
Disturbed by sidewalk construction
Test Pitted at 5M Intervals
Figure 3: Results of Stage 2 Property Assessment of Proposed PPUDO at Steeles Station Area A
Photo location and Plate Number
Study Area Boundary
10
9 11
13
14
12
Disturbed
Test Pit Survey at 5M Intervals
Figure 4: Results of Stage 2 Property Assessment of Proposed Above-Ground Facilities at Steeles Station Area B
Photo location and Plate Number
Study Area Boundary
15 16 18 17
21
19
20
Disturbed
Test Pit Survey at 5M Intervals
Figure 5: Results of Stage 2 Property Assessment of Proposed East Don River Crossing (Sheet 1 of 2)
Slope
Previously Assessed
Photo location and Plate Number
Study Area Boundary
20
East D on R iv er
23 22
Disturbed (Road Cut and Fill)
Test Pit Survey at 5M Intervals
Figure 6: Results of Stage 2 property assessment of proposed East Don River Crossing (Sheet 2 of 2)
Photo location and Plate Number
Study Area Boundary
24
Disturbed
Test Pit Survey at 5M Intervals
Figure 7: Results of Stage 2 property assessment of proposed Langstaff Station
Previously Assessed Photo location and Plate Number
Study Area Boundary
25
26
28
27
30
29
Disturbed Pipeline Corridor
Test Pit Survey at 5M Intervals
Permanently Wet
Previously Assessed
Figure 8: Results of Stage 2 property assessment of proposed Langstaff/Longbridge Station Commuter Parking Lot
Photo location and Plate Number
Study Area Boundary
Stage 2 Archaeological Assessment (Property Assessment)
TTC Yonge Street Subway Extension From Finch Street to Highway 407,
City of Toronto and Regional Municipality of York, Ontario
7.0
PHOTOGRAPHY
Page 23
Plate 1: Looking east-northeast at crew test pitting in vacant lot on Drewry Avenue.
Plate 2: Looking east at demolished house rubble.
Plate 3: Looking southeast towards Drewry Avenue at remains of asphalt driveway.
Plate 4: Looking east along Drewry Avenue towards Yonge
St. Note paved parking lot at 42 Drewry Ave in background.
Plate 5: Looking south-southeast towards Steeles Ave. A study area.
Plate 6: Looking south-southeast at test pit survey in progress in private house backyard.
Stage 2 Archaeological Assessment (Property Assessment)
TTC Yonge Street Subway Extension From Finch Street to Highway 407,
City of Toronto and Regional Municipality of York, Ontario Page 24
Plate 7: Looking north at surveyed area behind recently constructed houses.
Plate 8: View west-southwest at area adjacent to parking lot that was subject to test pit survey.
Plate 9: Looking north-northeast at of post WWII subdivision in Steeles Avenue B study area.
Plate 10: Looking northeast along front yards. Test pitting revealed a disturbed topsoil horizon.
Plate 11: Looking south-southeast at test pit survey in progress in Woodward Ave backyard in Steeles Ave B study area.
Plate 12: Looking west-southwest at poured concrete pad for shed platform as example of a typical disturbance in study area.
Stage 2 Archaeological Assessment (Property Assessment)
TTC Yonge Street Subway Extension From Finch Street to Highway 407,
City of Toronto and Regional Municipality of York, Ontario Page 25
Plate 13: Looking north-northwest at test pit survey in progress in backyard kitchen garden in Highland Park Blvd.
Plate 14: Looking south from Highland Park Blvd at heavily landscaped gas station/car wash property
Plate 15: Yonge Street/East Don River bridge study area.
Looking west-northwest at test pit survey in progress.
Plate 16: Looking west-northwest at historic house built in
1856. The front yard was subjected to test pit survey.
Plate 17: Looking north-northwest along Yonge St. overpass at heavily landscaped front yard and asphalt driveway negating archaeological potential
Plate 18: Looking south-southwest at slope, utility disturbance and Yonge St road fill slope for East Don River overpass.
Stage 2 Archaeological Assessment (Property Assessment)
TTC Yonge Street Subway Extension From Finch Street to Highway 407,
City of Toronto and Regional Municipality of York, Ontario Page 26
Plate 19: Looking east-northeast at grassed infill area over buried and re-channelized East Don River tributary. Note
Yonge overpass fill slope in background.
Plate 20: Looking northeast from at East Don culvert under
Yonge St overpass.
Plate 21: Looking south-southeast at disturbed Yonge St. overpass fill slope. Bottom of slope is beyond project limits.
Plate 22: Looking south-southeast at disturbed Yonge
Street road cut.
Plate 23: Looking south-southwest overpass fill slope. Note
East Don River in left background.
Plate 24: Looking west-southwest at area previously assessed in 1994 by MTO in advance of 407 construction.
Stage 2 Archaeological Assessment (Property Assessment)
TTC Yonge Street Subway Extension From Finch Street to Highway 407,
City of Toronto and Regional Municipality of York, Ontario Page 27
Plate 25: Looking north-northwest at Langstaff study area test pit survey in progress.
Plate 26: Looking west towards East Don River valley and
Highway 407 overpass .
Plate 27: Looking south at crew and test pit survey in first snow fall of the season.
Plate 28: Example of mottled fill/disturbed soil from northern portion of study area close to 407 ROW.
Plate 29: Looking northeast at a natural gas pipeline marker and a disturbed of berm/mound adjacent to Yonge Street.
Plate 30: Looking southeast at wet area close to Yonge
Street.
APPENDIX A: HISTORICAL OVERVIEW EXCERPTS
Historical Overview of 50-58 Drewry Avenue,
Part Lot 23 Concession 1 WYS,
Former Township of North York,
City of Toronto.
Date: December 20, 2010.
The study area which forms the subject of this research is located at 50-52-58 Drewry Avenue in North York, in the
City of Toronto. This site is located on the north side of Drewry, just west of Yonge Street in the area known as
“Newtonbrook.” It is comprised of part Lot 23 in Concession 1 West of Yonge Street (WYS) in the original
Township of York. This land was converted to Land Titles Qualified in October 1989, and forms PIN 10140-0126.
Survey and Administrative History .
The land which comprises the former York Township was alienated by the British from the native Mississaugas by provisional treaty number 13, known as the “Toronto Purchase,” dated at the Bay of Quinte on September 23, 1787.
Due to certain irregularities contained in the original document, this purchase was confirmed by a second treaty dated August 1, 1805. Between 1784 and 1792, this part of Southern Ontario formed a part of the judicial District of
Montreal in the Province of Quebec ( Indian Treaties vol. 1:32-35).
The first township survey for York was undertaken by Augustus Jones in 1791, when the base line---corresponding to present day Queen Street---was established. The name proposed for this tract of land was “Dublin Township.”
The remainder of the Township appears to have been surveyed by Alexander Aitken in the summer of 1793, and the preliminary plans of survey had been completed by early September (Winearls 1991:591; Firth 1962:11).
At that time it was announced that York had been selected as the temporary capital of Upper Canada, and all government officers were required to relocate from the town of Newark (now Niagara-on-the-Lake) to the north shore of the lake. Some officials, such as William Jarvis, were reluctant to abandon the homes and property which they had improved in Niagara. Large blocks of land called “Park Lots” were set aside, which extended between
Queen and Bloor Streets. These Park Lots were granted to members of the Family Compact and to those who were friendly towards the government, partly as an incentive for them to move, and also as partial compensation for any losses which they might sustain thereby. Members of the Family Compact, as well as friends of the government, were also granted choice farm lots along Yonge Street in addition to their holdings within the Town of York itself.
An indication of the relative importance of the value of land along Yonge Street, as well as of the militarily strategic value of these lots, is the fact that none of them were held by the government as Crown or Clergy Reserves
(Goesman 1825; Parke 1843).
The town and Township were re-named as “York” by Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe in 1792, either after the County of Yorkshire in England, or as a compliment to Prince Frederick, who was then the Duke of York
(Gardiner 1899:216-217). Family tradition relates that the name “York” was first suggested by Captain John
Denison, an early brewer. He is said to have told Simcoe that “No Yorkshireman would live in a place called
Dublin,” and that he would only settle in the new town if it and the adjoining township was called “York.” The name of the town reverted back to “Toronto” when the settlement was elevated to the status of a city in 1834 (Martyn
1980:28-30).
The town and township comprised part of the East Riding of York in the Home District which, between 1792 and
1800, was administered from Niagara. York was planned to be the unofficial capital of Upper Canada in the winter of 1796. However it was not until February 1798, that it was selected as the “seat of Government on mature deliberation” by the Duke of Portland (Firth 1962:24, 47). In January 1, 1800, the Home District was elevated into a separated administrative district from Niagara. Following the abolition of the Districts in 1849, the Home District
was succeeded by the United Counties of York, Peel and Ontario in 1850. Ontario and Peel were elevated to separate county status in 1851-52 (12 Vic. c. 81; Armstrong 1985:143; Jonasson 2006:191-209).
In 1805, it was noted that land in the township around the capital was “in general sandy, but bears very good crops of almost every description” while along Yonge Street “the land in general is excellent, and from its situation will soon be thickly settled…In a few years, this will doubtless be a most valuable country, and of infinite importance to the seat of government.” The township contained a mixture of hardwood and pine timber. The town itself was situated on an “excellent harbour,” thought to be easily defensible with a garrison located just west of the town. The town boasted various public buildings, a good market and “several very respectable private stores, but good are rather high.” The society in York was “highly respectable, and its hospitality is experienced by every visitor”(Boulton 1805:43-45; Smith 1846:225).
The population of the Township increased steadily during the nineteenth century. In 1797, for instance, the total number of inhabitants “of Yonge Street” was estimated at 86 persons (ie, 52 males and 34 females.) Within the space of one decade, the Township proper contained 502 men, women, children and “servants.” At the outbreak of the War of 1812, York Township contained 756 inhabitants, and by 1823 this number had increased to 1,909 residents. In 1837, the population had reached 4,320, and by 1842 this number had increased again to 5,720. At this time, York Township contained 23 schools (Walton 1837:189; Smith 1846:225; Smith 1851:43; Mosser 1984:6, 93,
156).
By 1846, it was estimated that nearly 44% of the land within the Township was under cultivation, and assessed at
£82,682. The Township also contained eight grist mills and thirty-five saw mills in 1842, but this number had changed to five grist mills and thirty-eight saw mills by 1850 (Smith 1846:225; Smith 1851:20, 46).
The primary crops in York Township in 1850 included wheat, oats, potatoes and peas, followed by lesser quantities of barley, rye, Indian corn, buckwheat, turnips, hay and mangel wurzel. Additional farm produce included various quantities of maple sugar, wool, cheese and butter (Smith 1851:47-48).
Land Use History .
Lot 23 Concession 1 (WYS).
One of the earliest references to Lot 23 was provided by the surveyor Augustus Jones , who compiled an early descriptive assessment of the condition of the farms along Yonge Street in June 1798. He wrote in his report that this lot was in the possession of Isaac Hollingshead , who had “about two acres clear, [and] a small log house.” It should however be noted that this statement may have been made in error, since Hollingshead occupied Lot 23 in the 1 st
Concession East of Yonge Street , and the same remarks were copied in the report in regard to that lot. Furthermore, a rough sketch map attached to the Jones document showed the name Paul Wilcott on Lot 23 Concession 1 WYS. The earliest Patent Plan for York contains the notation “Asked [for] by Paul Wilcutt” written down on this township lot on the map ( York Township Papers pp. 2, 5, 7; York Patent Plan T2539).
This lot, containing 210 acres, was patented by Paul Willcott on September 19, 1805 (Miles 1878:xii; Abstract
Index Lot 23 Con 1 WYS).
Wilcott (aka, Willcott, Wilcot, Willcutt, Wilket) was a native of Pennsylvania, where he was born in November
1752. His English ancestors, who spelled their surname “Wolcott,” had settled in Watertown, Massachusetts in
1634. Wilcott had served in the American army during the Revolutionary War. Around this same time he was married Elizabeth Ashbridge (1758-1807?) in Chester County, Pennsylvania, in 1777. His Ashbridge in-laws, who were natives of Goshen in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, were members of the Quaker “Society of Friends,” but
they were “disowned” by the Society due to various reasons in the mid-1780s.
The family resided for a time at Bald
Eagle, on the Susquehanna River, where they were named on tax rolls as late as 1788. They sold their property, and moved north to Upper Canada in 1793. In September 1793, Wilcott and his Ashbridge and Mills in-laws submitted a joint petition to the Executive Council for grants of land in York Township. This first grant to Wilcott was made in the Broken Front Concession of York on Lot 7. This was just east of the Don River, and adjoining the lands granted to his Ashbridge relations. This part of the lakeshore is now known as “Ashbridges’ Bay.” Wilcott later sold this land to John Small, possibly exchanging this lot for property in Scarborough that Small had been granted. Wilcott also appears to have been granted land in nearby Vaughan Township, notice for which was published in the Upper
Canada Gazette on March 8, 1797. Lot 23 in York Township was originally assigned to his son, Jonathan Wilcott.
An order-in-council dated July 2, 1798 later confirmed Lot 23 in York to Paul Wilcott “in exchange for Lot 38 in
Vaughan.” Wilcott was referred to in the store accounts kept by Jean Baptiste Rousseau in 1794. He applied for the grant of a town lot in York in June 1797, in which he referred to the fact “your petitioner finding a great deal of business to be done in town with a team…prays for an acre lot, as he wishes to build as soon as possible.” This petition was initially granted and endorsed by the president, Peter Russell. However the recommendation was later withdrawn and a subsequent endorsement was made “the prayer of this petition cannot be complied with.” He was first named in the Township Minutes in May 1798, when his cattle markings were recorded. A report on the condition of Yonge Street was tabled before the Executive Council in July 1798, which stated that Wilcott was
“confirmed in the lot” (Lot 23) “opposite to his name.” He was next enumerated in the List of Township Inhabitants for York in March 1799, when he was elected to serve as an overseer of highways for part of Yonge Street. His family at that time consisted of six members (four males and two females). This number increased to seven in 1801, and eight in 1805. Wilcott was named on several occasions in the minutes of the General Court of Quarter Sessions of the Peace for the Home District. He served as on the Grand Jury in 1803 and 1808, and acted as a surety in 1800 and 1807. Wilcott applied for a tavern licence in 1805 which was “not recommended” by the magistrates. He appeared as a witness in an assault and battery case in 1807. His name disappears from the York records after April
1808, probably around the time that his wife died, and after this he returned to the United States. He lived in
Waynesville, Ohio, in 1820, and died at Findlay, Ohio in 1825. One of his sons remained in Upper Canada, but most of his children returned to live in Pennsylvania and Ohio. The family name is still commemorated through the use of the name “Wilket Creek” ( Upper Canada Land Petitions, W1/1, W4/60; York Township Papers, pp. 783-785;
Fraser 1930:52, 155; Fraser 1932:102, 178; Fraser 1933:8, 34, 46, 79, 103, 108, 115; Firth 1962:11, 109, 112;
Mosser 1984: 9, 15, 30, 53, 70, 158).
Wilcott sold this land to Benjamin Barrett sometime between 1808 and prior to April 1815, when the lot was
( conveyed by Benjamin to Alfred Barrett for £1000. In April 1817, the lot was sold to Francis Jackson for £1500
Old York Memorials #2178, 2535, 2943)
Little information is known about Benjamin Barrett (or Barret). He served as a member of the Grand Jury in 1811, and acted as a pathmaster on Yonge Street opposite to his farm (“from No. 16 to No. 25 on Yonge Street”) in 1811.
He was enumerated in the Lists of Township Inhabitants between 1812 and 1814, with a family that ranged in number between five and six members (Fraser 1933:176; Mosser 1984:84, 91, 99, 108).
Alfred Barrett (or Barret) was an early tavern keeper in the Town of York, having settled there probably sometime in 1807. His family, containing six members, was first recorded in the List of Inhabitants for the Town of York in
March 1808. He received a tavern or liquor licence from the court in June 1808, and (as was commonly done) as an innkeeper he was appointed a constable for the Town of York in that same year. In October 1808, he appeared before the magistrates and charged Louis Barbue and another man named Taylor with assault and “breaking down his door.” He acted as a surety for keeping the peace in 1809, and was selected to serve on the Grand Jury in 1810.
Barrett was charged with default in the performance of his statute labour on the local roads in 1809-10. An advertisement in the York Gazette in February 1810, noted that his “house” or tavern in town had been refitted for use as a music school by Joseph B. Abbot. Barrett successfully applied for a tavern licence in the Township of York
1
The father-in-law, Jonathan Ashbridge, was disowned by the Friends for his refusal to “reconcile a quarrel,” and the mother-in-law, Sarah Ashbridge, was disowned for her non-attendance at meetings.
2
Note that there are errors and omissions in the chain of title for this lot as recorded in the Abstract Index to deeds.
The chain of title may be traced through several owners despite the errors, with a few gaps in the title.
later in the year 1811. He was enumerated as a resident of York Township in March 1812, with a family of nine. He was elected to serve as Township assessor in March 1813, and as pathmaster on Yonge Street “from No. 16 to 25 north on Yonge Street” in 1814. His family had increased to eleven by 1813, and to twelve by 1816. His name was no longer recorded in the Town or Township records after this date (Fraser 1933:120, 122, 129, 142, 151, 153, 173,
204; Firth 1962:208; Mosser 1984:73, 82, 91, 94, 99, 102, 108, 112).
Jackson was first enumerated in the Lists of Inhabitants in 1817, with a family of nine. His name appeared in the
Lists for 1818 and 1819. He was elected Township assessor in January 1819, but was replaced in that office by
Morris Lawrence. Jackson may have later resided as a tailor on Church Street in the 1830s (Firth 1966:332; Mosser
1984:118, 130, 134, 143).
There appears to have been an error in the legal descriptions contained in the deeds to this land. Barrett had sold
“all” of the lot to Jackson in 1817, but he also sold “all” of the lot to John McGill for £860 in July 1818. Francis
Jackson sold his land to John Mills Jackson in March 1820, and McGill later transferred his land to Jackson in
January 1823. A “deed poll” from the Sheriff Samuel Ridout had been registered on title in favour of Jackson slightly earlier, in July 1822, possibly in an attempt to “quiet” the title to the land and clear up any outstanding legal issues in connection to the estate ( Old York Memorial deeds # 3186, 3634, 4296, 4853).
McGill (1752-1834) was born in Scotland, but settled in Virginia in 1773. During the American Revolutionary War, he served as a lieutenant in the Loyal Virginians, but transferred to the Queen’s Rangers in 1777. He was eventually promoted to the rank of Captain. He was taken captive along with his commander, John Graves Simcoe. After the end of the war, he settled briefly in New Brunswick and also at Quebec, before his arrival in Upper Canada in 1792.
He lived at Niagara until about 1796, when he permanently moved to York. McGill was enumerated in the Lists of
Inhabitants for York starting in 1801. He was appointed commissary of stores and provisions for Upper Canada in
1796, and served briefly as Inspector General and also as acting Receiver General. He was appointed as a member of the Executive Council in 1796, and served in that capacity until 1818. He sat on the Legislative Council from 1797 until his death. He accumulated approximately 7,500 acres of land in and around York, and North Oxford Township.
McGill had suffered a leg wound in the 1790s, which prevented him from taking an active roll in the local militia in
Upper Canada. He was married to Catherine Crookshank, the sister of George Crookshank, but this couple remained childless. His home, McGill Cottage, stood on the north side of Queen Street on what is now the Metropolitan
United Church grounds (Firth 1962:15; Mosser 1984:28; Mealing 1987:451-454).
John Mills Jackson (1764-1836) was the son of a doctor and a native of the island of St. Vincent. He was educated at
Oxford, and possessed good family ties since his brother was a British MP. Jackson settled in Upper Canada in
1806, and farmed on Yonge Street before he moved to Jackson’s Point on Lake Simcoe. He lodged a complaint with the magistrates at the Quarter Sessions in October 1806, regarding the location of the roadway which passed through his lot, “praying that the said road may be carried elsewhere.” Jackson sided with Judge Thorpe in the “antigovernment” movement of 1806-07, and the provincial authorities considered charging him with sedition. He returned to England where he published a pamphlet in 1809, entitled A View of the Political Situation of the
Province of Upper Canada , which was highly critical of the provincial government. He returned to Upper Canada in
1810, and he opened a general store on Yonge Street “three miles north of York” which he operated until 1817. He was recorded in the List of Inhabitants for York Township as “Mills Jackson, Esq.” in March 1812, and in 1816 as
“J.M. Jackson.” His household consisted of seven or eight inhabitants. He ran unsuccessfully for a seat representing
East York in the election of 1816. He petitioned the Executive Council for additional lands but this was rejected due to the fact that he “associated and identified himself with a faction,” referring back to the events of 1806-07. He tried to vindicate his actions in a letter to the government in 1818. He moved to Georgina Township in 1828, where some of his children had settled. One daughter had married into the Baldwin family, and another had married into the family of the Earl of Westmorland. Jackson was appointed a justice of the peace in 1833. He returned to England on a trip, where he died (Fraser 1933:97; Firth 1962:174; Firth 1966:90; Mosser 1984:90, 112; Fraser 1988:438-
440).
In July 1823, Jackson sold the entire lot to George Playter for £1200. Three years later, in May 1826, Playter quitclaimed his interest in this land to Jordan Post ( Old York Memorial deeds # 4859, 5601).
Playter (b. 1783) was the son of George Playter (1736-1822), a Quaker Loyalist from New Jersey. Playter came to
York with his parents in 1793, where they settled on the Don River near Castle Frank. Playter Jr. was enumerated as a single man in the Lists of Inhabitants in 1804 and 1808. He served as a Quartermaster in a cavalry troop during the
War of 1812. Playter was later appointed Deputy Sheriff of the Home District (Firth 1966:264; Mosser 1984:45, 78).
It is not clearly specified in the Abstract Index as to exactly which Jordan Post bought this lot, although it was undoubtedly Jordan Post Jr. (1767-1845). He was the son of a Loyalist, Jordan Post Sr. (b. 1744) from Hebron,
Connecticut. Post Sr. was a baker by trade, and his son became one of the first watchmakers in early Toronto.
Several members of this family were recorded in the Lists of Inhabitants for York from 1804 onwards. Post served as Town Warden for York in 1818 and 1823. Around 1834, Post moved to the Highland Creek area of Scarborough where he purchased or built a sawmill (Firth 1962:140; Mosser 1984:41; Armstrong 1985:216).
Subsequent owners of the Lot 23 included: Hugh Carfrae (June 1826), James McCague (April 1834), the Hon.
William Allan (January 1835), and Robert John Turner in September 1845 ( Old York Memorial deeds # 5612,
10689, 11502, 28374).
Carfrae (1770-1839, aka Carfrea, Carfra, Cafra, Caffrey, Caffery, Cafre, Cafrey) was a native of Scotland. He served in the British army, before he came to Upper Canada in 1791. He joined the Queen’s Rangers where he served as a
Sergeant between 1792 and 1794. He was an early resident of York, but was not enumerated in the Lists of
Inhabitants until 1804. He held a variety of minor government appointments, such as messenger, firelighter and doorkeeper (1811-39), but also a variety of district appointments such as high constable (1805), grand juror (1805-
07), jailer (1807-11), surety (1810), poundkeeper (1816) and pathmaster (1818, 1823). He was called before the magistrates in 1810 to account for the non-performance of his statutory road work in 1809. He was one of the committee members appointed in 1826 to draft a petition to the Legislature requesting an act to incorporate the
Stranger’s or Potters’ Field Burying at what is now Yonge and Bloor Streets (Scadding 1873:41; Fraser 1933:69, 93,
121, 161, 168, 181; Firth 1966:7, 312; Mosser 1984:40, 110, 125).
McCague (d. March 1839) was a native of Co. Monaghan, Ireland. He came to York where he was licensed to practice as a physician in January 1828. He was described as “a fine-looking, portly Irishman, with a frank countenance and genial manners, with a tendency to be ‘wild,’ he was a great favourite everywhere.” Scadding called him “an impulsive Irishman.” Newspaper accounts show that he entered a horse in a race and won second prize in October 1828. He is reported to have discovered a “remedy” for cholera in 1834, which called for the patient to take a solution of “ plumbi supernacit ” in water. He later settled north on Yonge Street. During the
Rebellion of 1837, he acted as surgeon to the 4 th
Regiment of York Militia. He was named as a resident on this township lot in 1837 (Walton 1837:183; Canniff 1894:55, 473-474; Firth 1966:279, 321; McKenzie 1982:218).
Allan (1770-1853) was a native of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. He settled in Montreal in 1787, where he worked as a clerk in the mercantile firm of Forsyth, Richardson & Co., and was later transferred to Niagara. He settled in York around 1796, where he opened a general store. He was in partnership with Alexander (“Molly”) Wood between
1797 and 1801. He was married to Leah Gamble of Kingston in 1809. He held a variety of government posts, including justice of the peace, collector of customs (1801-28), inspector of stills and taverns (1803-27), postmaster of York (1808-28), Town Warden (1803, 1807-1810), and treasurer of the Home District (1805-29). He served as
Major and was promoted to the rank of Colonel in the 3 rd
Regiment of York Militia during the War of 1812. In
1822, Allan was appointed as a commissioner to investigate War Losses claims for 1812-14, and in 1837 he was a commissioner appointed to investigate persons arrested for High Treason during the Rebellion. He was first president of the Bank of Upper Canada (1822-35), and commissioner of the Canada Company in 1829. He served on the boards of various other companies as well, and was first president of the Toronto Board of Trade (1835-37). He was appointed to both the Legislative and Executive Councils of Upper Canada (in 1825 and 1836 respectively). His home, Moss Park, was one of the finest early homes in Toronto, and a landmark structure until it was demolished in the early 1900s (Firth 1966:21; DCB vol. 8 pp. 4-13; Armstrong 1985:225, 240, 241, 256).
During the nineteenth century, this farm lot would have been considered valuable property since it was situated near
Newtonbrook on Yonge Street, but also in close proximity to the sawmill where Wilket Creek crossed at the west side of Yonge Street.
The Directory for York Township listed several occupants upon this lot in 1837, all of whom appear to have been tenants. The names included: David and Daniel Comer ,
O. Grant and Dr. McCague (Walton 1837:182-183).
At this point, in 1845-46, there appears to be a break in the chain of ownership. This may have been caused by the acquisition of this property by means of an unregistered deed. By February 1847, the land had been transferred from
Turner or another owner to William S. Drurie (aka Drury, Durie).
Drurie is said to have been a retired English army officer, who settled in Upper Canada in 1836. He was later appointed Lieutenant-Colonel of the 2 nd
Battalion, Volunteer Rifles of Canada (Queen’s Own Rifles of Toronto.)
His new plan of subdivision contained a roadway originally known in 1847 as “Pope’s Lane” due to the large number of Roman Catholic inhabitants in the area. The name was later changed to Drewry Avenue (Hart 1971:184).
Sometime between 1845 and 1847, the study area and surrounding land appears to have been surveyed and subdivided into building lots on an unregistered plan of subdivision , which was probably prepared for Drurie. The survey may have been completed by the prominent Toronto surveyor and architect John George Howard , since the
Abstract Index does make reference to the “ Howard Plan .” However, there does not appear to be an extant copy of this plan of subdivision filed in the Land Registry Office. From the information contained in the Abstract Index , the lots on this plan appear to have contained ten acres each. Parts of these lots were in turn further subdivided into smaller parcels which fronted onto Yonge Street.
Beginning in 1847, Drurie sold a number of lots to individual purchasers which were described in the Abstract Index as “lots on Plan.” Drurie continued to sell these lots until March 1852 ( Old York Memorial deeds # 28506, 28507,
28508, 28509, 28670, 28671, 28672, 29664, 29743, 30488, 30888).
Lot 1 [“Howard Plan”?].
The first conveyance of this lot appears to have been made between Drurie and William James , probably in 1847-
48, although the deed was unregistered.
In April 1851, this ten acre lot was sold to James Hale , and then in August
1861 it was purchased by John Willson ( Old York Memorial deeds # 51021, 83241).
In November 1861, this land was sold to Thomas Watson for $800. He appears to have sold a small part of this lot to John Woods in 1873, but the rest of the property remained in the hands of his family until 1912. It passed to
Sarah, George and James , the heirs of the Watson estate, in the early 1900s. The lot then passed to Alexander
Watson through a “quit claim” deed in March 1906 ( York deeds # 83370, 3283, 53995).
Subsequent owners included: John H. Riseborough
(January 1912), Nellie W. Bell (April 1, 1912) and Frank B.
Poucher (April 4, 1912; York deeds # 71558, 71698, 71699).
Lots 8, 9, 10 [“Howard Plan”?].
Lot 8, containing ten acres, was sold by Drurie to Robert Wetherell (aka, Weatheral, Weatherill, Weatheral) in
February 1847 for £100. The Tremaine map of 1860 showed that this property was in the possession of Robert
Wetherell. This lot then passed to Thomas L. Wetherell , probably through inheritance, sometime before January
3
This surname was probably meant to be spelled as “Cummer.” Both David and Daniel, sons of Jacob Cummer, were active in the early temperance movement during the 1830s. They owned land on the east side of Yonge Street at Newtonbrook. Records show that David Cummer was a carpenter, who resided in a vertical plank house which
4 once stood on Yonge Street opposite Patricia Avenue (Hart 1971:122, 168, 184).
James was probably the son of Robert James, a settler from Newmarket, who took up land at Bathurst and Drewry in 1827. William was a justice of the peace, member of the York Township Council in 1850-51 and in 1864-65, and
5 served as the township reeve from 1852-60 (Hart 1971:184, 289-90).
The Riseborough family settled in York Township, near the Scarborough Townline, in 1837 (Hart 1971:247).
1863. At that time, this lot and other land was sold to Peter Wetherell .
In April 1874, the lot was sold to John
Watson . Subsequent title follows as above on Lot 1 ( Old York Memorial deed # 28670; York deeds # 85585, 4179,
53995, 71558, 71698, 71699).
Lots 9 and 10, containing twenty acres, were sold by Drurie to John Morley in February 1847 for £200.
Both lots were sold by Morley to Robert Wetherill in November 1855 for £800. This suggests that either some substantial improvement had been made to the property, or that it was being purchased on speculation or for investment purposes. From this point, title for both lots follows as above on Lots 1 and 8 ( Old York Memorial deeds # 28671,
61056; York deeds # 85584, 85585, 4179, 53995, 71558, 71698, 71699).
The 1851 census for York Township suggests that the land within the study area remained primarily agricultural.
The two principal land owners were John Morley and Robert Wetherill.
Morley owned thirty acres which were “under cultivation.” Fifteen acres were “under crops” and the rest “under pasture.” His crops included: wheat, peas, oats and hay. His livestock included milch cows, calves or heifers, and horses ( 1851 York Agricultural Census , division 1 pp. 239-240 #45).
Wetherill in contrast owned just ten acres at that point, which were “under crops” and “pasture” land. His farm produce included wheat, oats and potatoes. There was no livestock listed for Wetherill, although a notation in the
“remarks” column stated “cattle kept upon the land.” In comparison, when the next decennial census data was compiled, Wetherill owned fifty acres. This was managed as a combination of fallow, crop and “wild or wooded” acreage. The farm was assessed at $4,000 with an additional $100 in farm tools or chattels. Crops in 1860-61 included: fall and spring wheat, peas, oats, potatoes, hay and some orchard or garden produce. Livestock included steers or heifers, milch cows, horses and pigs. Additional farm products included butter and barrels of cured pork.
The family owned one “pleasure carriage” valued at $20 ( 1851 York Agricultural Census , division 1 pp. 239-240
#46; 1861 York Agricultural Census , division 4 pp. 118-119 #19).
Similar data was recorded on the last available York County agricultural census in 1871.
Lot 23 Concession 1 WYS .
Since the “Howard Plan” had not actually been filed in the Land Registry office, the legal descriptions contained in subsequent conveyances of land could not refer to the lot designations contained in it. Therefore, any deeds for land from the time of Poucher to the present time describe the parcels being conveyed by a township lot “metes and bounds” description. The lands which were sold within the study area have been normally been described as commencing on the north side of Drewry, and at a certain distance west of Yonge Street. Other lands sold along
Drewry outside of the study area have tied in to fixed points on nearby registered plans of subdivision, or commencing at a certain distance east of Bathurst Street. Note: the Township of North York expropriated an eight foot deep strip of land along the south side of the study area properties, for widening Drewry Avenue. The abutting owners conveyed this land to the Township by various deeds made in 1955 and 1960. Therefore the more recent legal metes and bounds descriptions refer to the “place of beginning” as being a certain distance west of Yonge
Street and “north 8 feet” from that fixed point. The lands abutting the study area to the north seem to have been transferred to Land Titles as shown on Reference Plan 64R-3838 (Part 5 on Plan R1762 Parcel 23-3 Section Y-6).
50 Drewry .
6
The Wetherell family had resided at Newtonbrook since about 1840. An early Directory noted Mr. Weatherall on the “Yonge Street Road,” between the Toll Gate and Montgomery’s Tavern. Scadding noted that a “Mr. Wetherell” framed the spire for St. Paul’s Church, Yorkville, in 1841. Peter Wetherell operated a blacksmith shop on Lot 23 on the east side of Yonge Street (Walton 1837:182; Scadding 1873:406; Hart 1971:121, 185).
7
Morley was an innkeeper, who built a tavern (the “Greenbush Inn”) at the northwest corner of Yonge and Steeles in 1847 (Hart 1971:89, 183).
The land containing this municipal address was described as a parcel of land on the north side of Drewry, commencing 591 feet west of Yonge Street, then running west 70 feet and north 630 feet. This large parcel was severed in 1960 into a smaller lot measuring 70 x 193 feet.
Owners of this parcel, according to the Abstract Index , have been: Floyd and Margaret DaFoe (1942), Joseph
Gough (1947), Floyd DaFoe (1947), William E. and Ruby Lang (1948), William E. Lang (1952), Lawrence and
Elva Bell (1960), Helena M. Chambers (1960), Thomas L.
and Mary F. Rowson (1960) Newtonbrook Plaza Ltd .
(1965) and to Connaught Yonge Square Limited ( York deeds # 35600, 54164, 54165, 68651; North York deeds
# 126308, 343616, 349323, 353177 and 474996).
Note: the adjoining property, 42 Drewry, was also owned by Rowson. In 1963, they conveyed this property
(measuring 108x180x119x183) to Connaught Yonge Square Limited ( North York deed # 385229).
52 Drewry .
The land containing this municipal address was described as a parcel of land on the north side of Drewry, commencing 717 feet west of Yonge Street, then running east 56 feet, north 630 feet, west 74 feet and south 629 feet to the place of beginning. It was later severed into a smaller building lot.
This part lot was sold by Poucher to Anthony Galkiewicz for $550 in August 1946 ( York deed # 50465).
Galkiewicz owned this property until 1967, when he sold it to Connaught Yonge Square Limited ( North York deed
# 511627).
After that time, the property appears to have been occupied by tenants until at least 2001.
58 Drewry .
The land containing this municipal address was described as a parcel of land on the north side of Drewry, commencing 717 feet west of Yonge Street, then running west 56 feet and north 629 feet (74 feet in the rear). This large parcel was later severed into a smaller lot measuring 56 x 170 feet.
Owners of this parcel, according to the Abstract Index , have been: Joseph and Isabella Blake (1945), Joseph Blake
(1956), Stanley and Josephine Moore (1956) and Josephine Moore (1975) and Connaught Yonge Square Ltd in
1978 ( York deed #4 5305; North York deeds # 227547, 232265, 676395, 751239).
After this time, the property appears to have been occupied by tenants until the mid- 1990s.
City Directories .
Since the study area was situated north along Yonge Street and once outside of the City limits, it was not enumerated and published in the Might’s Directory listings until 1968. Prior to that time, the addresses along
Drewry Avenue were listed for a few years in the Might’s Suburban Directory .
1958-59 : 50 Drewry, W.E. Lang ; 52, A. Galkiewicz ; 58, S.J. Moore .
1960 : 52 Drewry, A. Galkiewicz ; 58, S.J. Moore .
1961-63 : 50 Drewry, J.C. Huck ; 52, A. Galkiewicz ; 58, S.J. Moore .
1964-65 : 50 Drewry, John L. Deane ; 52, A. Galkiewicz ; 58, S.J. Moore .
1966 : 50 Drewry, John L. Deane ; 52, M. Galkiewicz ; 58, S.J. Moore .
1967 : Directory not available.
1968 : 52 Drewry, Rudolph Nielsen ; 58, Stanley J. Moore .
1969 : 50, 52 Drewry, “vacant;” 58, Stanley J. Moore .
1970-72 : 52 Drewry, “no return;” 58, S.J. Moore .
1973-74 : 50 Drewry, Nelson Gilroy ; 52, “no return;” 58, S.J. Moore .
1975 : Directory not available.
1976-77 : 50 Drewry, Frederick Cyba ; 52, M. Polhamus ; 56, S.J. Moore ; 58, “no return.”
1978-79 : 50 Drewry, “vacant;” 52, R. Brown ; 56, “vacant;” 58, “no return.”
1980 : Directory not available.
1981-82 : 50 Drewry, Jim Tustin ; 52, Doug Butler (Butler Pools Ltd., pool construction, sales and service); 58,
Mike Duchene .
1983-84 : Directories not available.
1985 : 50 Drewry, Jim Tustin ; 52, “vacant;” 58, Mike Duchene .
1986-87 : Directories not available.
1988 : 50 Drewry, Jim Tustin ; 52, Tom Clissold ; 58, Mike Duchene .
1989-92 : Directories not available.
1993 : 50 Drewry, Robin J. Tustin , Peter Ames ; 52, David Miscampbel ; 58, Mike and Adelle Duchene, Lisa
Duchene, Darren Duchene .
1994 : Directory not available.
1995 : 50 Drewry, Robin J. Tustin ; 52, David Miscampbel ; 58, no listing.
1996-97 : Directories not available.
1998-2001 : 52 Drewry, David Miscampbel .
Historic mapping .
A few historic, nineteenth and twentieth century maps clearly show the study area lands.
This property appears to have remained as agricultural land until well into the twentieth century. There do not appear to have been any buildings present on the site as shown on the Browne map (1851), Tremaine (1860) and on the Miles Atlas map of York (1878).
The 1851 Browne map showed what appears to be the internal lot divisions as laid out on the “Howard Plan,” as well as Drewry Avenue, but they also appear to have been misplaced by the engraver and shown on Lot 22 to the south.
The 1860 Tremaine map showed much smaller building lots fronting onto the west side of Yonge Street above
Drewry. The study area property was held as part of a much larger lot by Robert Weatherill.
The 1878 Miles’ Atlas map showed what appears to be the symbol for a house with a rear orchard area on the lot where number 58 Drewry was located. It is difficult to determine from this map whether any structures were standing at this time at the location of 50 and 52 Drewry.
A map prepared by the Royal Air Force (Canada) for the Imperial Munitions Board (Aviation Department) in 1918, showed that there was at least one structure within the study area. When scaled out, it appears to correspond to the former site of 50 Drewry Avenue. There were no other structures within the study area. A symbol indicating a school was shown on the opposite side of Drewry. This probably corresponded to the Newtonbrook School, which was built in 1878 and located at 43 Drewry. Slightly further west, two bridges had been constructed on Drewry
( Imperial Munitions map , 1918).
Goad’s Atlases and the Underwriters’ Survey Bureau maps .
There were no Goad’s Atlas maps available for the study area between 1880-82 and 1923. The Underwriter’s
Survey Bureau maps, compiled in January 1964, showed no details for any standing structures between numbers 10 and 70 Drewry on the north side of the road. Curiously enough, these maps did show buildings on the south side between numbers 1 and 43, and details for 227, and 299 to 343 Drewry ( USB , plates 1847 and 1877).
Conclusions .
The study area contains a long history of land usage by Euro-Canadians, starting in the late 1790s when part of this
York Township lot was first cleared and occupied by Paul Wilcott. The first permanent dwelling on this land would have been constructed during the period between 1798 and 1805, in order to satisfy the land patent requirements.
Unfortunately, there is no record of its’ exact location. Wilcott disposed of this farm lot after about one decade of ownership, and the land then passed through the hands of a dozen owners within the ensuing thirty years. Some of these men were ordinary farmers, while others were more influential men with connections to the governing elite.
Due to a lack of records for York Township, such as assessments, it is difficult to know with certainty what exact use was made of this land prior to 1851. A clearer picture emerges with the agricultural census data of 1851-61-71, when the land was clearly being used for raising a limited variety of crops and livestock.
In or shortly before 1847, the study area lands came into the hands of William S. Drurie, a retired British army officer, who set about the task of subdividing a portion of this land. He appears to have commissioned John George
Howard to prepare a survey of the study area, at which time the area was divided into large, ten acre lots. A complex history of land ownership followed, the study area being referred to as Lots 1, 8, 9 and 10 on the Howard Plan.
Cartographic evidence suggests that a house may have stood on the site of either 50 or 58 Drewry, built sometime between 1861 and 1878. This may have been the same structure that was depicted on the 1918 Imperial Munitions map. With the exception of this house, the ca. 1878 school on the south side of the road, and two small bridges on
Drewry to the west, there was little other development here until the 1930s and 40s.
We know that the study area remained primarily agricultural land until the mid-1940s. The study area land was bought by Frank and Anna Poucher in 1912, and they began to gradually subdivide and sell off parts of their land beginning in the early 1920s.
The study area lots at 50-58 Drewry were not sold by Poucher until the period between 1942 and 1946.
The houses which stood within the study area remained in the hands of the first owners for an extended period of time, and were owner occupied for many years. After the late 1960s and mid-1970s, the houses were rented to tenants until two of them (50 and 58) were demolished in the mid-1990s. Number 52 remained standing and occupied as a residence until at least 2001.
Bibliography.
A. Books and Manuscript Sources.
[anon.]
Allan,” , volume VIII (1851-60), pp. 4-13.
Adam, G. Mercer.
1891 Toronto, Old and New: A Memorial Volume Historical, Descriptive and Pictorial .
Toronto: Mail Printing Co.
Armstrong, Frederick H.
1985 Handbook of Upper Canadian Chronology . Dundurn Press, Toronto.
Boulton, D’Arcy.
1805 Sketch of His Majesty’s Province of Upper Canada . Toronto: reprinted by the Baxter
Publishing Company, 1961.
Campbell, H.C.
1967 Landmarks of Canada: A Guide to the J. Ross Robertson Canadian Historical Collection in the Toronto Public Library . Toronto: Toronto Public Library.
Canniff, William.
1894 The Medical Profession in Upper Canada 1783-1850 . Toronto: William Briggs.
Careless, J. M. S.
1984 Toronto to 1918: An Illustrated History . James Lorimer & Co., Toronto.
Crossby, P.A.
1873 Lovell’s Gazetteer of British North America . Montreal: John Lovell.
Firth, Edith (ed.)
1962 The Town of York 1793-1815: A Collection of Documents of Early Toronto . The
Champlain Society, Toronto.
1966 The Town of York 1815-1834: A Further Collection of Documents of Early Toronto . The
Champlain Society, Toronto.
Fraser, Alexander.
1930 “Grants of Crown Land in Upper Canada, 1792-96” Eighteenth Report of the Department of Public Records and Archives of Ontario 1929 (Sessional Paper 26). Toronto: Herbert
H. Ball (King’s Printer).
1932 “Grants of Crown Land in Upper Canada, 1796-98” Twentieth Report of the Department of Public Records and Archives of Ontario 1931 (Sessional Paper 39). Toronto: Herbert
H. Ball (King’s Printer).
1933 “Minutes of the Court of General Quarter Sessions of the Peace for the Home District,
13 th
March 1800 to 28 th
December 1811,” Twenty-First Report of the Department of
Public Records and Archives of Ontario 1932 (Sessional Paper 30). Toronto: Herbert H.
Ball (King’s Printer).
Fraser, Robert L.
1988 “John Mills Jackson,” Dictionary of Canadian Biography volume VII (1836-1850), pp.
438-440.
Gardiner, Herbert F.
1899 Nothing But Name: An Inquiry into the Origin of the Names of the Counties and
Townships of Ontario . Toronto: George N. Morang & Co. Ltd.
Hart, Patricia.
1971 Pioneering in North York: A History of the Borough . Toronto: General Publishing Co.
Ltd.
Hayes, Derek.
2008 . Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre.
Mackay, Robert W.S.
1851 The Canada Directory: Containing the Names of the Professional and Business Men of
Every Description, in the Cities, Towns, and Principal Villages of Canada . Montreal:
John Lovell.
McKenzie, Rev. Donald A.
1982 Death Notices from the Christian Guardian 1836-50 . Lambertville: Hunterdon House.
Mealing, S.R.
McGill,” vol. VI (1821-1835), pp. 451-454.
Middleton, Jesse Edgar.
1923 The Municipality of Toronto: A History . Dominion Publishing Co., Toronto.
Might & Co.
1958 Might’s 1958 Toronto East and North East Suburban Street Directory with Telephone
Numbers . Toronto: Might’s Directories Ltd.
Miles & Company.
1878 Illustrated Historical Atlas of the County of York . Toronto, Miles & Co.
Mitchell & Company
1866 Mitchell & Co’s General Directory for the City of Toronto and Gazetteer of the County of York and Peel for 1866 . Toronto, Mitchell & Co.
Mosser, Christine.
1984 York, Upper Canada. Minutes of Town Meetings and Lists of Inhabitants 1797-1823 .
Metropolitan Toronto Library Board, Toronto.
Pearson, W.H.
1914 Recollections and Records of Toronto of Old . Toronto: William Briggs.
Ritchie, Don.
1992 North Toronto . Erin: Boston Mills Press (Stoddart Publishing Co. Ltd.)
Scadding, Henry.
1873 Toronto of Old: Collections and Recollections Illustrative of the Early Settlement and
Social Life of the Capital of Ontario. Toronto, Adam, Stevenson & Co. (reprint edited by
F.H. Armstrong, published by Dundurn Press, Toronto, 1987.)
Smith, William H.
1846 Smith’s Canadian Gazetteer . H. & W. Rowsell, Toronto.
1851 Past, Present and Future. Being a Historical, Geographical, Geological and Statistical
Account of Canada West (volume 1). Thomas Maclear, Toronto.
Toronto Historical Association.
2001 A Glimpse of Toronto’s History: Opportunities for the Commemoration of Lost Historic
Sites (MPLS) . Toronto: published by the City Planning Division, Urban Development
Services.
Walton, George.
1837 The City of Toronto and the Home District Commercial Directory and Register with
Almanack and Calendar for 1837 . Toronto, T. Dalton and W.J. Coates.
Winearls, Joan.
1991 Mapping Upper Canada 1780-1867. An Annotated Bibliography of Manuscript and
Printed Maps . University of Toronto Press, Toronto.
[----------]
n.d. York “Township Papers,” Archives of Ontario RG1-58 (formerly RG1 C-IV), “Early
Settlers on Yonge Street,” box 552 envelope 1 item 4 pp. 2, 5, 7, microfilm MS658 reel
533; “Lot 23 Concession 1 WYS,” box 553 envelope 1 item 1 pp. 783-785, microfilm
MS658 reel 534.
[----------] n.d. Abstract Index to Deeds, Lot 23 Concession 1 (WYS ) City of Toronto Land Registry
Office 66, volume 110 (microfilm E511).
[----------] n.d. Upper Canada Land Petitions , Paul Wilcott, W1/1 (1793) vol. 522 (NAC microfilm
C2950); W4/60 (1797) vol. 523a (NAC microfilm C2951).
[----------]
1851 York Township Agricultural Census , division 1 pp. 239-240 #45-46 (NAC microfilm
C11760).
1861 York Township Agricultural Census , division 4 pp. 118-119 #19 (NAC microfilm
C1091).
[----------]
1885 History of Toronto and County of York, Ontario . C. Blackett Robinson, Toronto.
[----------]
1885 The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada by the United Empire Loyalists, 1784-
1884. The Celebrations at Adolphustown, Toronto and Niagara, with an Appendix .
Toronto, Rose Publishing Company.
[----------]
1891 Canada: Indian Treaties and Surrenders from 1680 to 1890 . Ottawa: Brown Chamberlin,
Queeen’s Printer.
B. Maps.
[anon.]
1800 York Home District Patent Plan . York: Surveyor General’s Office, Plan A33, dated ca. 1800.
Browne, J.O.
1851 Map of the Township of York, County of York, Upper Canada . Toronto: lithographed by J. Ellis.
Goessman, John.
1825 Plan of Roads, Paths, Churches, Meetinghouses, Saw & Grist Mills . Plan Y26, dated Mar. 17,
1825. Toronto: Archives of Ontario, RG1 (SR2387), accession 18627.
Imperial Munitions Board.
1918 Canada, “York Mills Sheet.” Prepared by the Royal Air Force (Canada) for the Imperial
Munitions Board (Aviation Department).
Ministry of Natural Resources.
1976 Township of York in the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto (Formerly in the County of York) .
Compiled Patent Plan T2539, dated September 16, 1976.
Parke, Thomas.
1843 York, Home District . Plan dated at the Surveyor General’s Office, July 1843. Toronto: Archives of
Ontario, C277-1-453-0-5 (AO4830).
Tremaine, George R.
1860 Tremaine’s Map of the County of York, Canada West, Compiled from Actual Surveys . Toronto:
George C. Tremaine.
Underwriters’ Survey Bureau.
1964 Insurance Plan of the City of Toronto , volume 18, plates 1847 and 1877. Plan dated January 1964.
Toronto: Underwriters Survey Bureau Ltd.
Excerpts of Historical Maps cited above:
Browne
Patent
Imperial Munitions
Tremaine
Historical Overview of 7808 Yonge Street,
Part Lots 31 Concession 1,
City of Vaughan.
The study area which forms the subject of this research is located on the west side of Yonge Street in the former village of Thornhill in the City of Vaughan. It is comprised of part Lot 31 in Concession 1, in the former Township of Vaughan.
Survey and Administrative History .
The land which comprises the former Township of Vaughan was alienated by the British from the native
Mississaugas by provisional treaty number 13, known as the “Toronto Purchase,” dated at the Bay of Quinte on
September 23, 1787. Due to certain irregularities contained in the original document, this purchase was confirmed by a second treaty dated August 1, 1805.
Between 1784 and 1791, this part of Southern Ontario formed a part of the Nassau District in the judicial District of
Montreal in the Province of Quebec. In 1791, the old Province of Quebec was divided into Upper and Lower
Canada, and in 1792 the old District of Nassau was renamed as the Home District of Upper Canada ( Indian Treaties vol. 1:32-35; Armstrong 1985:137ff).
Vaughan comprised part of the East Riding of York in the Home District which, between 1792 and 1800, was administered from Niagara. York was planned to be the unofficial capital of Upper Canada in the winter of 1796.
However it was not until February 1798, that it was selected as the “seat of Government on mature deliberation” by the Duke of Portland (Firth 1962:24, 47). On January 1, 1800, the Home District was elevated into a separated administrative jurisdiction from Niagara. Following the abolition of the Districts in 1849, the Home District was succeeded by the United Counties of York, Peel and Ontario in 1850. Ontario and Peel were elevated to separate county status in 1851-52 (12 Vic. c. 81; Armstrong 1985:143; Jonasson 2006:191-209).
The first township survey is said to have been undertaken around 1793 or 1795, by Abraham Iredell, which may have simply established the basic township grid and confirmed the route of Yonge Street as the boundary along the eastern side of the township.
The earliest surviving Patent Plan appears to have been completed by the surveyor
John Stegmann in August 1798. The survey of Vaughan was undoubtedly of secondary importance to the Upper
Canadian government, since those Townships which bordered along the shores of Lakes Ontario and Erie, and along the St. Lawrence River, were considered to be of greater significance (Reaman 1971:45; Armstrong 1985: 148;
Winearls 1991:581).
At the time of the first survey of Vaughan, the surveyor’s notebooks recorded stands of maple, elm and basswood as the primary timber located on this township lot, although there was also some pine (Reaman 1971:46).
The origins for the name “Vaughan” Township are not clearly known. Some scholars attributed the name to have been given in honour of Benjamin Vaughan, one of the British negotiators for the Treaty of Paris (Versailles) which concluded the American Revolutionary War in 1783. Scadding was of the opinion that it was named after Sir John
Vaughan (1769-1831), a colonel in the British army, and later succeeded to the title Earl of Lisburne. Yonge Street was certainly named after Sir George Yonge, British Secretary of War between 1782 and 1794 (Gardiner 1899:218-
219; Rayburn 1997:355).
8
The County of “York” was named by Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe in 1792, either after the County of
Yorkshire in England, or as a compliment to Prince Frederick, who was then the Duke of York Family tradition relates that the name “York” was suggested by Captain John Denison, an early brewer in the Toronto. He is said to have told Simcoe that “No Yorkshireman would live in a place called Dublin,” which was the former name for York
Township, and that he would only settle in the new provincial capital if it was called “York”(Martyn 1980:28-30).
9
Note that Reaman erroneously named the first surveyor as “Tredell” instead of Iredell.
In 1799, a provincial Gazetteer simply noted that Vaughan was one of the “rear” townships on Yonge Street. By
1805, it was noted that land in the township was “much improved, and being so near to the seat of government, it may be expected to form an early and flourishing settlement.” Along Yonge Street “the land in general is excellent, and from its situation will soon be thickly settled…In a few years, this will doubtless be a most valuable country, and of infinite importance to the seat of government” (Smith 1799:148-149; Boulton 1805:43-45, 89).
Despite this optimistic forecast, the population growth in Vaughan increased slowly in comparison to other townships. In 1801, for instance, the total population of Vaughan numbered just 103. This increased to 203 in 1805, then to 333 in 1809, and 510 by 1817. By 1832, this number had jumped to 2,141 and by 1842 it had increased to
4,187. The ethnographic mixture of the settlers was comprised of native born Canadians, some Americans, English,
Irish, Scottish and some Germans (Reaman 1971:57, 61).
By 1846, about one-third of the privately owned land in Vaughan was under cultivation. The soil, especially in the southern and eastern portions of the township, was described as “gently rolling” and deemed to be “excellent.” The township contained “numerous well-cleared and highly cultivated farms.” At that time, the township contained six grist mills and twenty-five saw mills. The population stood at 4,300 and the total assessment for property was
£60,942 (Smith 1846:199).
Land Use History .
Lot 31 Concession 1.
This lot was originally reserved by the government around 1794, due to the “water rights” located here, for a possible future mill site. This lot was to be assigned to William Berczy , as a reward for his completion of the layout of Yonge Street through this part of Vaughan and Markham Townships. Berczy’s men fell ill and were unable to complete the required work of clearing the Yonge Street Road. The Executive Council as a result decreed that
Berczy had forfeited his rights to this and other lots along Yonge Street at Thornhill (Fitzgerald 1964:13-14).
Lot 31 was then granted to Daniel Soules in 1798, and he obtained the patent in October 1805.
Soules (aka Souls, Soles) was a native of New York, who “joined the King’s Standard” and sought refuge in New
York City in 1778. At the end of the American Revolutionary War, he went to Nova Scotia and settled in Digby in
1789. He was married to Achsah Hollingshead , the daughter of a Loyalist named Anthony Hollingshead, by whom he had a large family of seven sons and three daughters.
He obtained certificates attesting to his Loyalty and good character from his friends Christian Tobias, Henry Rutherford and Thomas Millidge in April 1798, before he set out with his family for York, Upper Canada. We know that Soules had arrived in York by mid-June of 1798, at which time he submitted a petition with a request for 1000 acres of land on behalf of himself, his wife and children as
Loyalists. His name was ordered to be inserted on the Loyalist List, and he was granted 400 acres for himself and his wife. By October 1805, he submitted a second petition in which he stated that the settlement duties on Lot 31 had been “long completed,” and requested that a patent be issued for this land in his name. The prayer of the petition was granted.
Soules served on the Grand Jury at the Quarter Sessions in April 1800, October 1803, January 1807, July 1808 and
April 1817. He was appointed to serve as a constable for Vaughan in April 1810. Tragedy appears to have struck the family in March 1818, when the Toronto newspapers noted that Daniel Soles Jr. “hanged himself in his father’s house.” Daniel the elder appears to have died sometime around 1844-45 and was buried in the Thornhill Methodist cemetery, and his wife died sometime after 1851 ( Upper Canada Land Petitions , S4/103, S7/50; Fraser 1932:169-
170; Fraser 1933:2, 50, 99, 123, 158; Reaman 1971:279; Reid 1980:19).
10
His daughter Elizabeth was married to Samuel Lount, one of the principal men involved in the Upper Canada
Rebellion of 1837 (Reid 1973:304.)
Beginning in 1815, Soules started to sever parcels of land from his original farm lot and sold them to various purchasers. Several small lots, varying in size between ¼ acre and five acres in size were sold during the years 1815-
1844. These parcels were undoubtedly located in what is now the village of Thornhill, and in close proximity to
Yonge Street. In 1845, the Soules family sold part of their land to “Squire” Benjamin Thorne for £2000
( Vaughan
Memorial deed # 28250).
The study area lot appears to be situated within a five acre parcel that was sold by Soules to Thomas Thompson for
£10 in February 1817. The title to this land is not entirely clear, but it would seem that the property was seized by
Sheriff Samuel Ridout and sold, probably for outstanding debts, in November 1820. The purchaser at that time was
Hugh (aka Hew ) Heward ( Vaughan Memorial deed # 3022, 3847).
Subsequent owners of this five acre parcel during the next several years included: William Allan (December
1820),
Joseph Rogers (April 1821),
and George Monro (aka Munro or Munroe , August 1822).
This acreage was once again flipped back and forth between Monro and Rogers in August 1824 ( Vaughan Memorial deeds
# 3856, 4079, 4270).
By 1837, an early Directory for Vaughan showed that this lot contained several resident settlers, although most appear to have been tenants rather than actual owners. They included: merchant Thomas Clarkson, David Graham,
John Smithers, Robert Trench and James Williams (Walton 1837:141, 142, 146-147).
Sometime around 1848 or 1849, Munro appears to have commissioned the Provincial Land Surveyor Robert Lynn to create a plan of subdivision for his property along Yonge Street in Thornhill. This plan seems to have been unregistered, since even though all deeds refer to lots on the “Lynn plan,” they were abstracted under the township lot in the Land Registry office. Evidence contained in the abstract index suggests that the plan was laid out in at least twelve numbered lots. This information is supported by the 1878 Miles’ Atlas map of Thornhill, which shows twelve part lot divisions on the west side of Yonge Street north of Centre Street, and bounded by Old Yonge Street to the west.
Lot 9 “Lynn Plan.”
Lot 9 on the Lynn plan, containing 10,296 square feet, was sold by George Munro to Edward Seager (aka Seger) for
£50 in March 1856. This was in addition to other lots on this plan purchased by Seager at the same time ( Vaughan
Memorial deed # 61684-61686).
11
Thorne was a native of Dorset, England who settled in Vaughan in 1820. He owned the mills and tannery in the
Yonge Street hollow through which a branch of the “Little Don” flows. In 1829, he petitioned for the establishment of a post office to serve the village which was called “Thornhill” in his honour (Fitzgerald 1964:13).
12
13
Hugh Heward was a resident of the Town of York, and described as a “clerk” in 1830 (Firth 1966:127).
William Allan (1770-1853) was a Scottish born merchant who had settled at Montreal and Niagara in the 1780s, before arriving at York in the 1790s. He was a business partner with Alexander Wood for a few years, before he went into business on his own. Allan was a local militia officer during the War of 1812, and served as a magistrate and member of the Legislative and Executive Councils of Upper Canada. He was elected the first president of the
Bank of Upper Canada in 1822. His fine mansion, Moss Park, was a prominent feature in downtown Toronto from the time of its construction until it was demolished ca. 1905.
14
This was probably the Joseph Rogers (1787-1873) who came to York from Ireland in 1805. He was a hatter in
York from about 1815 onwards, and the business partner of Jared Stocking who later left Toronto in order to set himself up in business in the Town of Niagara (now Niagara-on-the-Lake; Firth 1966:83).
15
Munro (1800-1878) was a native of Scotland who came to Niagara with his parents as an infant. He remained there until 1815, when he settled with his brother in the Town of York. He was employed by the merchant John
Young, and they established a partnership which was dissolved in 1820. He was in business with his brother until
1824, but operated his own wholesale business after that. Munro was a member of the Board of Health and a magistrate. He sat on Toronto City Council from 1834 until 1845, and was elected mayor of the corporation in 1841.
He was elected to a seat in the legislature as a member for the 3 rd
Riding of York in 1844-45 (Firth 1966:66).
Seager (b. ca. 1811) was the son of the Rev. John Seager, Vicar of Welsh Becknor, England. He ran away from home and came to the York Region of Upper Canada with his twin brother, Edmund, in 1832. They operated
Barwick’s saw-mill on Yonge Street. Edward purchased the westerly 98 acres of Lot 31 Concession 1 from
Benjamin Thorne in February 1847. In March 1850, he bought an additional 197 acres from David Soules, the executor of Daniel Soules. He added other small parcels of land to his holdings during the early 1850s, until he had amassed about 200 acres of property at Thornhill. Seager was married to Catherine Cain (or Cane), a Roman
Catholic from King Township. He converted to Catholicism, and became one of the early founders of St. Luke’s
Catholic Church in Thornhill in 1847 (Fitzgerald 1964:24-25, 92-93; Reaman 1971:155).
Seager’s real estate holdings appear to have been heavily mortgaged, and held through a complex series of deeds and mortgages. Title to Lot 9 seems to have passed to Catherine O’Donohue sometime before September 1879, possibly through a court order. Some interest in this lot appears to have changed hands through a series of deeds between 1879 and 1882 (deeds to James S. McMurray , Francis O’Donohue , Thomas H. Hincks and William T.
Boyd .)
By December 1882, Lot 9 was once again transferred from Catherine O’Donohue to Richard Seager . It remained in his ownership into the twentieth century ( Vaughan Township Abstract Index to Deeds , Lot 31 Concession 1, volume
“B” folios 13-16).
The surrounding Seager farm is said to have remained in the hands of the family “for a hundred years.” It is not clear from the records consulted whether that included the house situated on village Lot 9 (Reaman 1971:218).
7808 Yonge Street .
The structure located at this address is a 1½ story, stucco covered frame building, said to have been built in 1856 by the local carpenter John Edey , for Edward Seager and his children. It has been described as a “Loyalist cottage” in style.
The house contains a symmetrical, three bay front façade with a central door. The door is topped by a four light transom. The fenestration contained in this house consists of double hung windows. The windows in the upper story are smaller, comprised of the ordinary “six-over-six” variety, while those on the main floor are larger, with “twelveover-eight” lights. The window to the left hand side of the front door retains what is thought to be its original cornice. Most of the doors and windows display a “roll moulding” on the outer edges of the casings.
The house contains a side gable style of roof, with a steep pitch. There are deep overhangs on the eaves and gable ends of the structure. There are two brick chimneys at either end (north and south ends) of this house.
The house was undoubtedly shown as one of several structures constructed on the west side of Yonge Street on the
1918 Imperial Munitions map .
The house was included in the inventory of heritage structures prepared for the Vaughan- Thornhill Heritage
Conservation District study in 2007. “This building is included in the Canadian Inventory of Historic Buildings. It is an important heritage asset, contributing to the village heritage character” ( Vaughan-Thornhill HCD Inventory
2007:81).
City Directories .
The various Directories for the study area in Thornhill were searched, which primarily exist from the late 1950s onward.
1958-1961 , no references were found for 7808 Yonge Street. Street numbers in these Directories skip from 7802 to
7822 Yonge Street.
1962-78 : 7808 Yonge, D.K. Matheson , of “ Matheson & Barnes Ltd .”
1979-82 : 7808 Yonge, K.D. O’Brien .
1983-84 : no reference made to 7808 Yonge.
1985-93 : 7808 Yonge, J. Sinton .
1994-95 : 7808 Yonge, J & M. Gottlieb ; Brenda Gottlieb , “piano tuning & repair.”
1996 : no reference to 7808 Yonge.
1997 : 7808 Yonge, L. Campbell .
1998 : no reference to 7808 Yonge.
1999-2000 : 7808 Yonge, Wayne Turner .
2001 : no reference to 7808 Yonge.
Goad’s Atlases and Underwriter’s Survey Bureau Maps .
No Goad’s Atlas maps or USB maps were available for consultation for the study area property.
Conclusions .
The study area contains a long history of land usage by Euro-Canadians, starting in the 1790s. The land along this section of Yonge Street was valued due to the presence of the Little Don River and its hydraulic potential for milling. The lot was originally to have been granted to William Berczy, but the conditional grant made to him by the government was rescinded when he defaulted in his contractual obligations to improve Yonge Street. As a result, this lot was subsequently granted to a Loyalist named Daniel Soules in 1805.
The Soules family appear to have farmed this lot for a number of years, although they gradually began to sell off their holdings immediately after the end of the War of 1812. Part of the lot was sold to Squire Benjamin Thorne, the
“founder” and namesake for Thornhill. Other parts of this township lot passed through the hands of several Toronto merchants during the 1820s, and eventually came into the possession of George Munro. Munro commissioned
Robert Lynn to prepare a plan of survey and subdivision sometime during the 1840s.
The lot upon which this building stands was sold by Munro to Edward Seager in 1856, and the present standing structure is believed to have been built by John Edey in that same year. The house appears to have remained in the possession of the Seager family, with the exception of a brief period during the late 1870s and early 1880s, until the middle of the twentieth century.
The house was owned or occupied by various residents and businesses from the 1950s until the present time. One of the longest occupants was D.K. Matheson (1962-78), and J. Sinton (1985-93). It was also the home of Brenda
Gottlieb, a piano tuner, in the mid 1990s.
The building appears to retain many of its original architectural features, which contribute to its heritage value. It is a conspicuous visual component of the village streetscape on its large, well treed lot.
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[----------]
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[anon.]
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Study Area from Imperial Munitions Map 1918
