Agricultural area.

Details of Site Location: East of McCowan Road from Lake Ontario to Kingston Road, near Gates’ Gully as an original settlement, on the flats at the point where Bellamy Road meets the shoreline.

Boundary History: The property was a farm of increasingly extensive acreage and is best understood through the attached map.

Current Use of Property: Residential.

Historical Description: Prior to the arrival of Europeans, this area was inhabited by aboriginal peoples of the Archaic period, around 8000 B.C. Other aboriginal peoples may have come to the area in later times. Traces of them were collected by the first non-native people to live in the area: the McCowan family. James McCowan was a coalmaster from Lanarkshire, who had financial difficulties and emigrated to Canada with his wife, Margaret Porteous, in 1833. They became tenants on land at the foot of Bellamy Road where it meets the lake. A section of the road that led to their original settlement is still extant. This land was Lot 20 in Concessions B and C, plus a small portion of Lot 19. James and his son David both died of cholera in 1834, but the family remained on the original settlement until 1848 under the management of William, fourth son of James and Margaret. In 1876, Robert, the eldest son, purchased the original settlement as part of a 125-acre farm in Lot 20. This land had been owned by John Torrance, a land surveyor and politician who was a close friend of the McCowan family. Torrance was William McCowan’s landlord until 1871 when he died. William, like his father, was a hard worker and became a successful farmer and landowner, acquiring a total of 350 acres in all. Other family members also acquired land, and their holdings are shown on maps. William became a member of Captain Gibson’s Company of the Scarborough Militia. His log cabin from Lot 13 in Concession 4 has been moved to Thomson Memorial Park and is now a museum. His brother Robert married Hannah Ashbridge in 1979 and continued farming Springbank, as noted. Miles’ Atlas of 1878 shows two McCowan buildings and an orchard on the flats of Lot 20. The first was that of James and was built in 1833; it is still extant on a vacant lot. The second cabin has vanished. The 1833 cabin site is undisturbed. William had left it to his fourth son, another James, who remained in it until it was purchased by Robert, who in turn left it to his third son, William.

Relative Importance: The original McCowan farm area is significant on several accounts: for its important archaeological potential; as the site of early occupation by Scottish immigrants; for its superb natural heritage features. The extreme east end of the farm came to be owned by Doris McCarthy, who donated it to the Ontario Heritage Foundation as “Fool’s Paradise” – historic in its own right.

Planning Implications: A full-scale archaeological dig is recommended, as the site has evidence of what may be the first area of human occupation in the Toronto region, and investigation can reveal the life of early settlers. The property must remain fully protected; and the 1833 cabin deserves protection and restoration on its original site. The McCowans are remembered in the name of the road that marks the western edge of their properties, but this fact is generally unknown to the public and merits plaquing in the sidewalks at Kingston Road and at Eglinton.

Reference Sources: Collections of McCowan family; Miles’ Atlas (1878).

Acknowledgements: James McCowan Memorial Social History Society.