In 1898 George Stewart Henry, later the force behind the construction of the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) and an Ontario premier, bought 400 acres of farmland in northeast North York for $14,500. He was 27. It was a lot of territory – Sheppard-Highway 401- Don Mills Road- East Don River. Sixty years later in 1958, age 87, he sold his property for $1.8 million to a developer who called the subdivision Henry Farm. Some accounts say Henry died one day after the sale; others say 10 days.
Henry had bought his huge property for half the price of a house – mid $20,000s to $30,000, $500 extra for four appliances –in the early days of Henry Farm, the community. . Today a house there costs around what Henry received for his entire land. Inflation and demand!
Born in 1871 in King Township, not far north of North York, Henry had family history reasons for living where he did. His great grandparents Henry and Jane Mulholland, Irish immigrants, had bought the land for farming in 1806 but sold it a few years later. George named his home ‘Oriole Lodge” because of the many vivid black and orange oriole birds in the district. He and his wife Anna had four children.
. Henry had dairy cattle (90 Holsteins), sheep, turkeys, chickens, and an apple orchard. He prospered and won livestock awards.
Five years after moving in he entered politics, beginning on York Township Council in 1903 and reeve 1907-1910. A Conservative, he was elected to the Ontario legislature in 1913, became Minister of Agriculture, then Minister of Highways, and in 1930 when the then premier stepped down became Ontario premier, a first for a North Yorker. It was the Depression and thousands of people were jobless and in poverty. His answer was road construction, including the QEW. He opposed general relief and his government was defeated in the 1934 election .
Privately owned, his home is now a designated heritage site. The North York Historical Society and others arranged for a heritage plaque. A nearby North York street and school bear his name.
Susan Goldenberg is a director and membership chair of the North York Historical Society which preserves North York’s heritage. For further information please visit www.nyhs.ca