Accommodation, refreshment stop.

Details of Site Location: Near the northwest corner of Kennedy Road and St. Clair Avenue in Scarborough.

Boundary History: The hotel was built near the corner on a lot of undefined size, within the Farm Lot 29, Concession D.

Current Use of Property: A cemetery.

Historical Description: Sometimes recorded as the Blue Bell Inn, this hotel has the same name as another in the western part of the city. Some duplication of names occurred in the normal course of events and more so over the longer period of history. The earliest names were the most interesting and often represented the innkeeper’s country of origin or his loyalties. According to Guillett, names for hotels in the Toronto region became progressively more Americanized and less interesting. This hotel’s name was not likely to draw a clientele from the Town of York, but it was important to the people in Scarborough and Markham. It had been built around 1835 by John Bell: hence the name. In later times, it was leased to W. Marr, and then to I. Bates. Bates may well be the only innkeeper in the city to have a poem written about him in honour of his retirement in 1871. As for the hotel itself, it was the meeting place of well-to-do businessmen and farmers of the area who formed the Danforth Road Company in 1851 for the purposes of planking the Danforth Road and collecting tolls on it. As was the case with all hotels, many meetings of community importance were held there, as well as celebrations. After the 1880s, the hotel is not listed and its end is uncertain.

Relative Importance: The Blue Bell Inn had importance to the people of the region it served as a community and social centre.

Planning Implications: There are no implications for planning.

Reference Sources: Markham Economist (1 Dec, 1859; 13 Feb 1871); David Boyle, Scarborough 1796-1896; Robert R. Bonis, A history of Scarborough (1968).

Acknowledgements: Markham Historical Society; James McCown Memorial Social History Society.