Here we present stories and articles of Natural, Built and Cultural Heritage in the Greater Toronto Area.
Images From Our Archives
THA will include on this web page, pictures of the Toronto of the past, which we have in our archives and which we have converted to the web.
Toronto Stories
THA will include on this web page, selected short stories of the History and Heritage of Toronto. These stories are deemed to be of interest to the public.Stories may be submitted by sending them to our email address: webmaster@torontohistory.net.
Lost Sites
In August of 2000, the Toronto Historical Association in association with the MAPS PROJECT and PARTNERS produced a limited edition book titled “A Glimpse of Toronto’s History – Opportunities for the Commemoration of Lost Historic Sites“.
The conversion of this book into web pages, is an extensive project in its own right. THA is looking for volunteers to assist us in this project.
INTRODUCTION
Selecting and writing reports on only 250 lost historic sites out of thousands to choose from is not easy, and gives an unbalanced view of Toronto’s history. Most historic sites, however described, are in the oldest part of the city or along watercourses. One requirement of this work was that selection be geographically representative – something that history is not. When the Editorial Board of the Maps Project met to discuss selection of sites, it became obvious that not all – or only – the most important sites could be selected as all these were concentrated geographically.
Importance was also discussed, important locally: to the city as a whole; to the region or province; or to all of Canada. Further it was agreed that the selection had to represent all of Toronto’s history, which presented another problem in that the largest time period of history had very few known sites and the formative period of exploration and mapping had even fewer.
The matter is further complicated by the fact that records are scattered, incomplete, and often vague about details. Accounts written years after a site vanished are often flawed by contradictions and errors. Despite the fact that Upper Canada had a land registration system beginning in the 1790s, many early records from this system have been lost or destroyed. Another problem for volunteer groups is that they lack the resources to consult records in European or American repositories and are obliged to use secondary sources.
Another requirement was the involvement of as many groups as possible as this is where the real expertise resides; but it raised another inequality in that one of the city’s largest pieces of geography has only one historical society to do research. Most volunteer groups are made up of people with jobs and families, their organizations have no home in which to house and organize their research, and are actively involved in the time-consuming work of preservation. When some groups were unable to participate directly, the Editorial Board turned to information submitted in past years, to some individual experts, and to other resources. On the other hand, some groups enthusiastically submitted reports on subjects not included in the preliminary selection. Substitutions had to be made, as much as possible, that were both geographically and historically significant.
The end result is that the sites in this report, however interesting they may be, are mere glimpses into the history of the region. To better understand them, an overview or outline of the region’s history is needed so that the sites can be understood in their proper context. Without this, the “why” of any aspect of history is difficult if not possible to understand. Often, it takes years to find a single detail – a pursuit of most researchers in history. But on the way to discover, the fascinating and absorbing history of the city emerges. What these 250 sites represent is many lifetimes of detective work and true dedication to historical accuracy.
In mapping these sites, a single volume of Property Data Maps was provided and these were for the former City of Toronto. An expensive quest for others was undertaken. The result is that none are available for the former municipalities of East York and North York, and those from Scarborough, the City of York and Etobicoke vary in the information they contain. Mapping requires the translation of historic maps and accounts into modern terms, and Property Data Maps are essential to this work. A huge attempt has been made at precision but the end result, while not perfect is as close as possible. In the case of East York and North York, references to Perly’s Maps (1999 edition) have been given.
Finally, the complete list of participating organizations is given in the appendix. Special mention must be made of the generous assistance from the Etobicoke Works Department which made their scale maps available, then they opened up their files and supplied many historic documents. To be congratulated also are the following staff members of the City of Toronto Archives; Nancy Hurn, Sally Gibson, Glenda Williams, Mark Cudy and John Huzil. It was Catherine Cragg who undertook the thankless task of getting the reports into a computer, and did so with great interest. In cases where substitutions had to be made or detail was insufficient, the huge and cheerful contributions of Peggy Kurtin and James Orr supported the overall undertaking. Ann Rowan and Shirley Hartt also stepped into the breach to supply reports otherwise not forthcoming, and to Tony Stapells for work on specialized topics. Nastapoka Holdings provided the space where the work was done.
INDEX TO REPORT ON LOST HISTORICAL SITES
This index contains revisions of the preliminary list and sites substituted. The reports on each site are in numerical order and these numbers correspond to files in the Maps Project collection. A very few sites have attached maps in order to make clear the information in the text.
