Etobicoke Historical Tour

"The first survey of Etobicoke was completed in 1795 by Abraham Iredell, who divided the township’s 31,000 acres into 100 acre farm lots. At that time, there were still no permanent residents of European descent in Etobicoke. The first land grant was made in 1797 to Sergeant Patrick Mealey of the Queen’s Rangers, who received Lot 1, Concession 1, which today would be on the west side of Royal York Road, running north from Lake Ontario. Some early counts of Etobicoke’s inhabitants show 8 residents in 1799, 40 in 1804, 84 in 1805, and 140 in 1808.

In 1792, Simcoe had the first road through Etobicoke surveyed going west from York along the shore of Lake Ontario, following an ancient aboriginal trail. This road is Lake Shore Boulevard today. In 1793, he built the King’s Sawmill on the Humber River, adjacent to today’s Old Mill Inn – the first industrial building in the Toronto area. That same year, Simcoe ordered the opening of Dundas Street, starting at the King’s Mill and running west along today’s Bloor Street to about Islington Avenue, and then dipping south and following the route Canadian Pacific does today to Etobicoke Creek, and west to Burlington Bay and eventually London. In 1814, Dundas Street was moved further north to its present location.

Simcoe felt that the provincial capital of Newark (now Niagara-on-the-Lake) was too close to the United States for safety, so in 1793 he moved it to York with its well-protected harbour. At the same time, he set aside 4,150 acres of land in Southern Etobicoke as “Militia Lands” and granted the lots to members of his Queen’s Rangers, reasoning that these experienced soldiers could quickly be called into action to defend York in the event of an attack. Unfortunately, most of these retired soldiers did not take up residence on their land, but rather sold it or rented it out. Lt. Col. Samuel Smith was granted 2,600 of the 4,150 acres, a piece that ran from the lake north to Bloor Street, and from Etobicoke Creek east to Kipling Avenue. In 1797, Smith expanded a log cabin already standing on the property near Etobicoke Creek, south of Lake Shore Blvd. and used it as his residence. He possessed a surfeit of land and social status, but was never able to develop his vast property on the meagre income he earned as a half-pay officer. His descendants also left the land mostly unused until well into the 19th century, which proved a deterrent to early development in that area of Etobicoke.

When the War of 1812 started, the population of Etobicoke was about 250. At least fifty five men from Etobicoke served in the York Militia or regular British army during this war. At that time, the township was still on the frontier, with no churches, no schools, no villages, no post offices, no stores, no hotels, and no services. The only commercial enterprises were mills: two on the Humber River and two on Etobicoke Creek. What the residents did have was lots of trees, and the prospect of many more years of back breaking work to clear the land for farming." (Etobicoke Historical Society)

Join us for a FREE, public walking tour that will be a good experience for anyone: whether you’re 8 or 80 years old, and whether you’re a curious local, solo traveler, backpacker, part of a small groups of friends, or a newcomer.

ABOUT

Beginning in front of the Etobicoke Civic Centre (399 The West Mall, Toronto, ON M9C 2Y2), the interactive tour will be hosted by your guide Alex Rascanu. The tour will focus on Etobicoke community's history. The historical tour will conclude at Java Joe's (405 The West Mall, Etobicoke, ON M9C 5J5).

WHEN

Saturday, December 7, 2024 at 10:00am. The tour will last approximately 90 minutes.

WHERE TO MEET

The tour will start in front of Etobicoke Civic Centre (399 The West Mall, Toronto, ON M9C 2Y2).

WHERE IT ENDS

This tour will end at Java Joe's (405 The West Mall, Etobicoke, ON M9C 5J5), where you can order coffee/tea/brunch and spend some more time speaking and connecting with fellow historical tour participants.

PRESENTING PARTNER
Mayfair Law Group is a boutique Real Estate firm in Toronto focusing on advice and representation in real estate closings, offers and agreements of purchase and sale, private mortgages and Landlord and Tenant Board navigation and representation.

FACILITATOR
Alex Rascanu is a Torontonian, husband, father of three, avid student of our city's history, and commercial and residential real estate agent at Right at Home Realty, Brokerage.

JOIN OUR MEETUP GROUP

You may enjoy being part of our meetup group, where we post photos from past events and you can discuss with attendees about each of our events: meetup.com/ExperienceTO.