Archaeological site.

Details of Site Location: At the Retardation Dam between Highway 401 and Wilson Avenue, west of Keele Street on high ground by Downsview Dells Park, above Black Creek.

PDM: Borden # AkGu 13.

Boundary History: The site is of approximately 5 acres bounded as described above.

Historical Description: In 1950, this site was explored and found to be a midden – a hole in the ground where refuse is tossed. Some bones and ceramics survive intact, while foodstuffs decompose into black loam. Middens are prized by archaeologists for the amount of information they can provide about a society. The creek that supplied water to the Indians living in the area was a two-forked tributary that flowed west into Black Creek.

Relative Importance: The site was ranked by Konrad as 3/4 in importance and 4/5 threatened. Archaeologists of today would assign a higher rank to a midden, especially if it can be interpreted in the light of related sites. The area has had, and continues to have, new developments. Construction of the dam destroyed part of the site, and the land is under the jurisdiction of the Toronto Region Conservation Authority, which may have conducted independent archaeological investigation.

Planning Implications: The Downsview area in general had Indian inhabitants living throughout the territory, long before farms were developed or the airfield was constructed. Such sites would be related to this midden and to the history of Black Creek and its many tributaries. A detailed archaeological survey is recommended with digs and test trenches at all points indicated by the survey. The Toronto Region Conservation Author-ity should be asked to conduct the survey and carry out digs where necessary. A fuller understanding of aboriginal occupation of the region is to be achieved before commemoration is done. All development in the region should be fully monitored by a qualified archaeologist without exception.

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); Patricia W. Hart, Pioneering in North York – A History of the Borough (1968).

Acknowledgements: Maps Project; Ontario Archaeological Society, Toronto Branch; Province of Ontario Archaeological Database.