Toronto region’s oldest road, based upon a mostly lost Indian trail.
Boundary History: Original route and boundaries have been obscured by road building, street widenings, and reroutings.
Current Use of Property: Currently used throughout its length and present locations as a city street and expressways with various names. Original also had various names.
Historical Description: Begun at the end of the Ice Ages along the base of the original Lake Iroquois shoreline (now referred to as the escarpment) where the receding waters had left a sandy beach. As the waters continued to recede, additional shorelines were formed to the south over time. Above the escarpment, the ice sheet produced meltwaters that collected and cut channels as rivers and creeks, while ice sheets prevented northward passage beyond the edge of the ice or through the alluvial plan of mud below the beach. The route is believed to have been established first by prehistoric animals seeking secure footing and access to water. They were followed by the first humans seeking game as food and coverings. Only the central portion follows its original course; west of the Humber and east of the Don the route has had extensive relocations and widenings. The route was used throughout at least 10,000 years or aboriginal history, 200 years of the French Regime, and as the most heavily used and trouble-free route of the early British Regime. It crossed several rivers and streams at appropriate fording points and avoided swamps as it followed the topography.
Relative Importance: As the oldest known Indian trail and the oldest road with its own history, it ranks first among routes in the region.
Planning Implications: Should be marked (not “developed”) as a walking route through-out its length across the province at points recommended by a qualified surveyor familiar with its history; and should be presented in tourism and other maps as Toronto’s oldest road in its original course as an Indian trail.
Reference Sources: 1793 map attributed to Elizabeth Simcoe (PAC C-51689) accom-panying Simcoe’s Report No. 19 of 19 October 1793 to Henry Dundas; Royal Engineers’ maps 1868, 1869 (Public Archives of Canada).
Copyright: Public Archives of Canada; Ontario Historical Society.
Acknowledgements: Community History Project; Ed Freeman (geologist); Toronto Field Naturalists; William J. Daniels, O.L.S.; Goad’s Atlases; Miles’ Atlas.