Unconfirmed archaeological area.
Details of Site Location: Along both sides of Davenport Road and Poplar Plains Road, and along both sides of the route of Castle Frank Creek west into the escarpment lands.
Boundary History: The area covers an estimated three square miles.
Current Use of Property: Housing of the first generation, roads, a few industrial sites.
Historical Description: Davenport Road is the oldest route in the region, and between Avenue Road and Weston Road it follows its original route. Begun at the end of the Ice Ages, it followed the base of the escarpment and connected the Humber and Don systems. En route it was met by other Indian trails, all much younger; Poplar Plains Road is one of these trails, which took on importance in the early British Regime as the first and base route for the building of Yonge Street. The Indian names for each of these routes have been lost. Both routes were used during the French Regime. The region where the two trails met has many natural heritage features that have vanished. These include Castle Frank Creek with its waterfall and ponds and the escarpment itself. However, some descendants of the forest of white pine and white oak that greeted the first settlers of the British Regime still survive. Davenport had much more traffic over the centuries and was used by French explorers, fur traders, and missionaries. One log cabin built during this period survived on Baldwin lands until it was demolished by James Austin. In the early British Regime, Davenport was the primary route for farmers and market gardeners to bring their produce to market and to the docks for shipping. Poplar Plains/Yonge Street was used by the Northwest Company along with the Don River for the transportation of trade goods. In the early British Regime, part of the area was on Baldwin Farm Lots. Part was on Farm Lot 22 (a clergy reserve) and accommodated the western section of Yorkville, which had developed its waterworks on a mill site on one of Castle Frank Creek’s ponds. Thus the area includes a huge amount of Toronto’s history. Much of it is untouched and in the form of parkland, while the residential areas contain first houses on virgin land. Although a few more roads and streets have been developed, and there has been some landscaping in the parkland, the area is otherwise close to its original state except that the creek is buried.
Relative Importance: The area is of tremendous importance for its natural heritage features and potential archaeological richness. Thousands of years of human history and the changes brought by nature (including at least one known forest fire) remain to be learned.
Planning Implications: It is strongly recommended that the area be protected from redevelopment until it has been fully investigated archaeologically, and that a long-range plan for investigation be adopted. Few pines survive, but the huge oak trees, plus some other indigenous species, require inventorying and special protection. Under the Official Plan, the area should be protected as a historic precinct or area of special identity.
Reference Sources: Public Archives of Canada; Department of National Defence records: John George Howard survey of Davenport Road; Toronto Reference Library: Archives of Ontario, Township Papers.
Acknowledgements: Community History Project.