North York Historical Society

When Dr. Carl E. Hill, then 27, was appointed North York’s first medical officer of health in 1922, the year North York became independent from York Township, the population was 6,500 and his staff consisted of himself and a part-time inspector. When he retired 43 years later at age 70… Read more

“Hi, I’m the Golden Lion (capital letters out of respect, please), the life-size venerable gold-painted sculpture that’s the mascot of the North York Historical Society (NYHS). “Columnist Susan Goldenberg loaned me this column space to announce that after many years of wandering, I’m now in permanent residence on the North… Read more

The Don River winding through North York originally had an Indigenous Mississaugas of the Credit name, Wonscotonach (“burning bright point”). It was inspired by the torchlight used to light up the darkness for nighttime spearing of salmon that then filled the river. One of the first things John Graves Simcoe… Read more

For nearly 140 years, just one family — the Stongs — occupied much of the land that is now the site of the main campus of York University and neighbouring Black Creek Pioneer Village. Stong College, affiliated with York University’s Faculty of Health, points to this past, saying it’s “enriched… Read more

BY SUSAN GOLDENBERG | SCARBOROUGH MIRROR FEBUARAY 25, 2023 The Toronto French School at the northwest corner of Lawrence and Bayview avenues in North York originally was “Armadale,” the 22-room abode of one of the most contentious figures in Canada’s history. Sir Clifford Sifton lived there during his waning years… Read more

BY SUSAN GOLDENBERG | SCARBOROUGH MIRROR JAN 19, 2023 In late summer 1926, North York farmer William O’Sullivan was routinely digging in a gravel pit on his property when his spade clanged against something big and hard. A boulder, he probably thought. Was he in for a surprise! It wasn’t… Read more

Wayne Ford – Teen was convicted for his mom’s 1963 murder March 18, 1963, was the last day Minnie, then 55, was seen alive, writes Susan Goldenberg BY SUSAN GOLDENBERG | NORTH YORK MIRROR On Oct. 16, 1966, two men strolling the beach of Lake Couchiching, in cottage country 140… Read more

BY SUSAN GOLDENBERG | NORTH YORK MIRROR NOV 29, 2022  In the 19th century travelling circuses headed to Ontario’s north from the City of Toronto via a Yonge Street bridge over the West Don River, linking Toronto’s northern end with rural North York. Short, the wood bridge ended south of present… Read more

Sunnybrook park, hospital trace origins to Toronto grocery bag, box baron Sunnybrook Park was Toronto’s largest privately-owned land gift, writes Susan Goldenberg BY SCARBOROUGH MIRRORAUG 31, 2022 UPDATED AUG 31, 2022 North York’s Sunnybrook Park has the distinction of being the largest gift of privately-owned land for a public park in Toronto’s… Read more

Centerpoint Mall’s Americanized spelling still a mystery Mall’s story is representative of North York’s evolution, writes Susan Goldenberg BY SCARBOROUGH MIRROR AUG 3, 2022  Before: Robinson Dairy Farm – Toronto Public Library                              Now: Centerpoint Mall by… Read more

Dozens of gamblers arrested in 1935 police raid at North York’s Jolly Miller Tavern ‘Illicit gambling dens flourished in Toronto the Good,’ writes Susan Goldenberg BY SUSAN GOLDENBERG | SCARBOROUGH MIRROR MAY 28, 2022 At 1 a.m., May 23, 1935, police smashed their way into North York’s historic Jolly Miller… Read more

North York turns 100 thanks in no small part to its first reeve, Robert Hicks ‘Fed up, North York wanted to secede,’ writes Susan Goldenberg BY NORTH YORK MIRROR APR 1, 2022 North York marks its 100th anniversary of independence this year so a salute to Robert Franklin Hicks, in… Read more

Murder victim owned Windsor’s Barb-B-Q roadhouse on Yonge Street, writes Susan Goldenberg What all the Toronto newspapers called “Toronto’s First Gangland Murder” — the Jan. 7, 1939 shooting death of bookie/alleged racketeer Jimmy Windsor, 46 — had a North York connection. Earlier that day, according to newspaper stories, Jimmy, appearing… Read more

Don Mills street named in honour of 19th century business owner, writes Susan Goldenberg “Aggie Hogg Gardens,” a short interior street alongside the green space in the middle of the Shops at Don Mills at Lawrence Avenue and Don Mills Road, is named in honour of a notable 19th century… Read more

‘North York’s attraction was its proximity to the then-separate city of Toronto,’ writes Susan Goldenberg Hard to believe perhaps but what is now a business district at Dufferin and Lawrence near the Allen Expressway was a busy airport in the first half of last century. Nameless originally, it became Barker… Read more

Family bequeathed home to Canadian Film Centre One of Canada’s largest-ever horse racing empires got its start in North York at a 10-hectare estate, Windfields, on Bayview Avenue between Lawrence and York Mills streets, owned by legendary Canadian business tycoon and thoroughbred racehorse breeder E.P. Taylor. He bought the land… Read more

‘Metro Council wanted to unify police and fire departments,’ writes Susan Goldenberg In April 1953 the Toronto area’s 13 municipalities, including a strongly opposed North York, were amalgamated as Metropolitan Toronto. Each municipality retained autonomy in local matters but services that crossed boundaries became Metro responsibilities — water supply, sewage… Read more

‘The truck was so slow that bicyclists easily passed it,’ writes Susan Goldenberg In North York’s pioneering days firefighting was by water bucket brigade. In 1922, when North York became independent from York township, one of the first actions was to buy the community’s first-ever fire truck, a converted Model… Read more

Cummer? Drewry? McNicoll? Susan Goldenberg explains Three names for effectively a single approximately 30-kilometre, east-west North York-Scarborough street! Drewry, starting west at Bathurst, becomes Cummer at Yonge, then, McNicoll at Leslie, extending east to Tapscott Road in Scarborough. It’s common for originally separate streets to retain their names despite being… Read more

Cemetery began as a big farm in the early 1800s, writes Susan Goldenberg Russia’s last imperial grand duchess, Canadian sports icons, war heroes and broadcasting legends are among those interred at York Cemetery, North York’s largest cemetery, near the North York Civic Centre. It hasn’t always been a cemetery. It… Read more

Stage coaches gave way to streetcars in 1890, writes Susan Goldenberg Public transit through North York began in 1828 with stage coaches from Toronto up to Lake Simcoe. Heated, electric streetcars with a smoking section and a speed of 12 miles per hour took over in 1890. The single-track line,… Read more

First telephone exchange opened in 1925, writes Susan Goldenberg It was a step into the modern era when, in 1888, North York general store Lindsay, Francis & Company obtained the first telephone in the then small, mostly rural community. It paid Bell Telephone $100 for a connection to its north… Read more

‘The 30-acre site was purchased for $18,000,’ writes Susan Goldenberg Eighty-seven years ago on Dec. 7, 1933 the cornerstone was laid for St. John’s Rehabilitation Hospital, today North York’s oldest surviving hospital. It was the Toronto area’s first rehabilitation hospital. Previously farmland, the 30-acre site was purchased for $18,000 —… Read more

At 9:30 a.m. on Oct. 29, 1953, a huge bang resounded throughout North York, as a cannon was fired at the northwest corner of Lawrence and Bathurst streets. It marked the exuberant official opening of two-storey Lawrence Plaza, Toronto’s first suburban shopping centre, and also then the city’s largest, a… Read more

Centre broke new ground by encouraging visitors to ‘please touch’ the exhibits, writes Susan Goldenberg The Ontario Science Centre, 51 years old on Sept. 27, was a $30 million gamble, located in what was then outer North York — remote from downtown Toronto, with a little-known architect and a revolutionary… Read more

Mall was northeast Toronto’s first regional shopping centre, writes Susan Goldenberg North York’s Fairview Mall is celebrating its 50-year golden jubilee. The two-level $20 million, then 100-store mall was swamped with shoppers and gawkers when it opened 50 years ago on August 5, 1970. There was a mammoth day-long traffic… Read more

The handsome life-size golden lion sculpture (c. 1834) from the landmark Golden Lion Hotel, soon to be back on display at North York Central Library, is the emblem of the North York Historical Society. He’s seen and heard a lot in his 185+ years! Back in 1960, when he lived… Read more

‘Phillips made a fortune supplying glass to multi-millionaire Oshawa automaker,’ writes Susan Goldenberg If only the walls at Phillips House, on Buchan Court at Sheppard and Leslie, could talk! Now the child and adolescent mental health services headquarters of North York General Hospital, it has a long, colourful history. Phillips… Read more

North York police tipped off by salesperson at Yonge and Sheppard shoe store, writes Susan Goldenberg On January 8, 1953 after five years on the run, Walter Pavlukoff, a violent Canadian career criminal on the RCMP’s most wanted list for murdering a Vancouver bank manager, was arrested across the country… Read more

Now owned by the city, Graydon Hall built in 1936 ‘by super-rich Toronto financier Henry Rupert Bain,’ writes Susan Goldenberg With 29 rooms, Graydon Hall — on Graydon Hall Drive south of Highway 401 and Don Mills Road — was once the grandest residence in the Toronto area after, of… Read more

North York historian Susan Goldenberg writes about ‘a sensational case that grabbed worldwide attention’ In 1927, while North York’s police department was in its early days, a sensational case occurred that grabbed worldwide attention. On January 2, Chief Roy Risebrough with constables Wilson and Smithson raided a house on Wilson… Read more

Mansion still standing despite almost being demolished to pave the way for Bayview Avenue At the height of her career, bestselling Canadian author Mazo de la Roche lived in a mansion at the southwest corner of Bayview and Steeles that is still standing today, 80 years later. Her 16-novel soap-opera… Read more

The Gladys Allison Building, since torn down, was home to North York’s first permanent library, writes Susan Goldenberg North York’s first permanent centrally located library building, opened Oct. 18, 1959, was called The Gladys Allison Building in honour of North York’s “First Lady of the Library.” Allison was the driving… Read more

‘For a year he was the entire force,’ writes Susan Goldenberg When North York became independent from York Township in 1922, Roy Risebrough, a farmer and leader of the independence movement, was appointed chief of police at $30 a week (equal to $450 today). For a year he was the… Read more

‘Winnie went with only $36,’ writes Susan Goldenberg Aug. 16 will mark the 68th anniversary of North Yorker Winnifred “Winnie” Roach Leuszler, 25, making history as the first Canadian to swim the English Channel. The London, England Daily Mail invited the world’s top 20 swimmers from 10 countries to compete,… Read more

Popular landmark opened in 1860, demolished in 1954, writes Susan Goldenberg The North York Historical Society on July 20 will unveil its latest heritage plaque, this time for the O’Sullivan Hotel, a popular North York gathering place for nearly a century. Located at the northwest corner of Old Sheppard Avenue,… Read more

Willow theatre sold in 1987, demolished and replaced with condos, offices North York’s first movie theatre – the Willow, opened June 18, 1948, at Yonge Street and Norton Avenue, between Sheppard and Finch avenues, in the Willowdale area – signified that the community was no longer a rural backwater. The… Read more

‘The extension helped transform North York from mainly rural to urban,’ writes Susan Goldenberg March 30 marks two very significant milestones for when the subway finally came to North York. On March 30, 1973 the North Yonge subway extension to York Mills opened, and on March 30, 1974 the Sheppard… Read more

Longest lasting log cabin in area survived 141 years, was demolished in 1956, writes Susan Goldenberg Next time you grumble about electrical, heating or plumbing problems, reflect on the hard life of North York’s pioneers in much of the 1800s. Land was cleared and log-cabin homes built by “bees” —… Read more

See Rare Photos of an NYHS Special Event from 50 Years Ago Bill Chambers was a reporter/photographer at the old Willowdale Enterprise newspaper, just before Doug Dempsey sold his stake to the Mirror newspaper. In 1968, Mr. Chambers was on an Enterprise photo assignment covering Patricia Hart’s book signing of… Read more

‘He retired in 1954, then became a successful businessperson and philanthropist,’ writes Susan Goldenberg North Yorker Herb Carnegie was a trailblazer, the first black hockey star, in the 1940s into the early 1950s. Yet, he never made it into the National Hockey League because of his skin colour. The NHL… Read more

Susan Goldenberg details life on the homefront during wartime Most North Yorkers during the Second World War were of English descent and strongly supported England. “They believed that England was always in the right, that it must be saved, that Canada should be at war because England was in trouble,”… Read more

‘A mile north of Leslie and Sheppard they found an abandoned barn far back from the road and moved in,’ writes Susan Goldenberg Something all Canada wanted to know for eight nerve-racking days in September 1952 – where was the Boyd Gang, Canada’s most notorious cop killers, bank robbers and… Read more

‘Expenditures were frugal; at one school, $2.50 on repairs for the year,’ writes Susan Goldenberg With the fall school season approaching, it’s a good time to look back at education in North York in its early days. In 1801 the community’s first two schools were opened, one in Newtonbrook and… Read more

For more than two years, between 1976 and 1978, the fate of the onetime home in North York of Mazo de la Riche, author of the bestselling Jalna books about nineteenth-century Ontario, was fought over by preservationists versus developers. The struggle was as melodramatic in its way as the soap… Read more

On November 27, 1962, an important part of North York history was destroyed, when a three-alarm fire swept through the 150-year-old Milne Homestead, a showpiece of the Metro Parks’ Edward Gardens (now the Toronto Botanical Gardens). After being alerted at 1.55 a.m., firefighters from five stations rushed to the scene. They fought to control… Read more

William McDougall was born to Daniel McDougall and Hannah Matthews on January 25, 1822 He was raised on his grandfather John McDougall’s farm, lot 4, con.1 west of Yonge which his father acquired in 1826. (The property ran from Yonge to Bathurst and comprised the present-day streets of Glenview, Glengrove… Read more

The Hogg family played an influential role in the early days of North York. James Hogg emigrated from Scotland and bought Thomas Arnold’s Mills and farm in 1824. Gradually he extended his holdings and renamed his property York Mills. In 1851, his sons were old enough to take over the… Read more

North York’s first newspaper was founded November 11, 1926 in Willowdale. Called The Enterprise, it was established by Robert Rankin, a printer, and Thomas Osbourne, a linotype operator. They thought the market was ripe for a community paper, as North York transitioned from a rural community to an urban one.… Read more

The bicentennial is just one year away for St. John’s York Mills Anglican Church, the oldest church in North York and the second oldest in Toronto. The oldest is St. James Cathedral, which is a parish church as well as a cathedral. St. James, at King and Church Streets in… Read more

The recent brave attempt by five women to swim Lake Ontario length-wise by relay, brings back memories of a Willowdale woman, Winnifred “Winnie” Roach Leuszler, who was the first Canadian to swim the English Channel, doing so August 16, 1951. The Daily Mail of London, England, had invited the top… Read more

February 2019 Update: The rare and exceptional golden lion sculpture, belonging to the North York Historical Society and on long-term loan to Toronto Public Library at the North York Central Library branch, is currently off view as the library completes renovations. If you’ve been on the sixth floor Canadiana department… Read more

Stong College, at York University, is named in honour of the loyalist family, whose land provided a significant portion of the university, and of nearby Black Creek Pioneer Village. The college provides courses in liberal arts, health services and creative writing, in what the university describes, as the “enriched pioneer… Read more

Downsview derives its name from prominent Downsview early settler John Perkins Bull’s farm, Downs View. The Perkins home was the location for many civic activities. After his marriage in 1844, John opened his house for religious services. As a Justice of the Peace for over thirty-five years, he was known… Read more

The David Gibson House is located at 5172 Yonge Street (Ward 23 Willowdale). It is a designated heritage site under by-law 27975 passed by North York City Council on December 15, 1980. The Gibson House Museum in North York is a red brick Georgian Revival farmhouse located on land that… Read more

The Schoolhouse is located at 1091 Finch Avenue East, (Ward 33, Don Valley East). It is a designated heritage site under by-law 27974 passed the North York City Council on December 15, 1980. Zion Schoolhouse has been owned by the City of Toronto since amalgamation of the City’s heritage museums… Read more