Industrial site.

Details of Site Location: Windmill Street (historic) south from Front Street to Taddle Creek on the south and east, and to Parliament Street on the west.

Boundary History: The property was surveyed at l.25 acres, and the brewery at 165 by 100 feet.

Current Use of Property: An auto dealership.

Historical Description: Enoch Turner was from England and established his brewery in York in the early 1830s. In 1834, he is listed as having 1 1/4 acres on Windmill Street with only the quarter acre under cultivation. By this date, the brewery had been rebuilt by Turner, following a disastrous fire two years earlier. The York Circus even gave a benefit performance for him. The 1839 assessment roll places him on the south side of Palace (Front) Street with a brewery valued at £100 and his home at £40. An 1854 plan by John George Howard shows a brewery with a stone cellar, a malt kiln, a granary, ice house, stable, kitchen garden, “grapery,” and paddock. The house measured 56 by 46 feet and had its own garden. As well, there were 12 separate lots. The entire value of the property was £6,651. By 1854 Enoch Turner is being listed as a gentleman, and the brewer was Samuel Platt. In 1855, he sold his property to Consumers Gas. In 1848, Turner funded the construction of the Enoch Turner Schoolhouse, the first free school in Toronto and the oldest schoolhouse still standing in the city. He gave most generously to many other institutions, including Little Trinity Church and Trinity College.

Relative Importance: This is the site of an early, successful business. As well, Enoch Turner was a philanthropist and an active participant in community affairs.

Planning Implications: Much of Toronto’s industrial history has been lost. That this area was home to many early industries should be commemorated with a plaque as close as possible to Turner’s home site and brewery.

Reference Sources: John George Howard, Plan of Property belonging to Enoch Turner Esq., Toronto, September 19, 1854; Assessment Rolls 1834, 1839; Census for St. Lawrence Ward, 1842; “Fire,” article in Upper Canada Herald (8 February 1832).

Acknowledgements: Enoch Turner Schoolhouse.