Archaeological site.
Details of Site Location: Near the northeast corner of Lawrence Avenue and Bathurst Street.
Boundary History: The boundaries of the site have not been determined. On the south side is Lawrence Avenue and on the west side is Bathurst Street. Whether the original site extends under these streets and how far to the north and east it ran is not known.
Historical Description: In Konrad’s 1971 survey, this site was identified as Woodland in period and Iroquoian in culture. Thus it is a fairly late site. There are a number of other sites in the immediate region; and while some artefacts collected by local people have been examined by the Regional Archaeologist and identified as coming from the same period and culture, there were a few artefacts that were identified as Archaic Laurentian. This spread suggests that the area was used over many centuries and that the De Geer site may be stratified. The corner of the site was developed as a Shell gas station. The installation of large underground gas tanks will have destroyed much of the site. Since both streets have commercial and residential development, the site has at least been disturbed. Since Konrad identified it as a campsite, there was probably a creek or stream in the area. Yet no creek course is known in the immediate area, despite close examination of historic maps. Registered plans for this part of the city are much later and may not provide evidence of any creek or traces of one, for requirements for surveyors in recording a property grew less detailed. The site raises many questions for which there are no answers without archaeological investigation to come.
Relative Importance: Konrad ranked this site 5/5 in importance and 5/5 threatened. His survey was made the year before the gas station was built, but the site remains important on its own merits for what may remain to be discovered, and in the context of other unrecorded and unexplored sites in the area.
Planning Implications: Full investigation is required on two accounts: to determine the full nature of the site and evidence remaining not yet brought to light; and to determine the nature of the watercourse that was within range of this and other sites. At such time as investigation is complete, the site should be plaqued.
Reference Sources: Victor A. Konrad, The Archaeological Resources of the Metropolitan Toronto Planning Area: Inventory and Prospect (Department of Geography, York University, Discussion Paper Series #10, 1973); Maps Project.
Acknowledgements: Maps Project; Ontario Archaeological Society, Toronto Branch.