Government building.
Details of Site Location: The northwest corner of Markham Road and Painted Post Road (the old Danforth) in Woburn Village.
PDM: TEA
Boundary History: The property is associated with the Woburn Hotel and had a major outbuilding, occupying up to two acres on the west side of Markham Road and the north side of Painted Post.
Current Use of Property: One of the three shopping plazas at the intersection is on the site of the Hall.
Historical Description: The Woburn Inn was built about 1845. Scarborough Fair was held at the Inn quite frequently and was a major event, given the agricultural nature of the surrounding lands. The intersection of Markham Road and the old Danforth Road gave the inn the added advantage in serving travellers all year. Over the years, innkeepers were Dowswell, Burrows, and Johnston. It was Burrows’s name that took on significance, as it was attached to the hall contained on the second floor of the drive shed for the inn. From 1850 right up to 1921, Scarborough Council met in Burrows Hall. This was almost half the time of Scarborough’s autonomous existence. In 1850, Scarborough had become incorporated as a Township, with a Reeve and Council. The selection of the Hall had something to do with its location, which was accessible and central to the area served by the Council and included a post office, which Dowswell had secured for his hotel. The first meeting of the Council was held on 21 January 1850; Peter Secor was Reeve, and Councillors were John P. Wheler, Christopher Thomson, Edward Cornell, and William Helliwell. The oath of office was taken by Justice of the Peace William Clark, and minutes were kept by William Chamberlain as Clerk. Among the most frequent users of the inn was the Scarborough Agricultural Society, which in 1888, responding to pressures on Council to build a new Town Hall, recommended the refitting of Burrows Hall. The Council agreed that building a new Town Hall was too expensive and that the Woburn Inn provided a bar and good meals; they therefore voted to make Burrows Hall more comfortable. It was heated, lighted, and cleaned and served the Council for another 33 years. From the 1896 Centennial celebrations, Burrows Hall was rented by the Council for $10 per year. In 1922, Council Chambers were moved to rooms above a bank at Kingston Road and Birchcliffe, and the Burrows Hall was left to the uses of the inn, eventually to disappear.
Relative Importance: The drive shed and Burrows Hall are important as the very humble centre of municipal decision-making for such a lengthy period.
Planning Implications: In 1976, the Scarborough Historical Society erected a plaque. A new plaque, mounted by the restructured city of Toronto, could recognize the role of this property in the evolution of the metropolitan family of former municipalities.
Reference Sources: Robert R. Bonis, A History of Scarborough (1968); Miles’ Atlas (1878); Scarborough Historical Notes and Comments (Vol. XVII).
Acknowledgements: James McCowan Memorial Social History Society.