North York Historical Society

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 force behind the establishment of North York’s excellent public library system. It took her decades of unstinting effort. Born 1901, Gladys left school at 14… Read more

‘A referendum was suggested but not held,’ writes Susan Goldenberg In the late 1960s “Yonge” almost replaced North York as the community’s name and North York briefly had bilingual English/French stop signs. As North York transitioned from rural to urban in the 1960s some people, including then mayor James Service, thought it should change its name so that it would no longer be seen as a northern outpost of Toronto. Service hired image consultant Chris… 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, a few blocks north of Sheppard, and Victoria Park Ave., the two-storey hotel was opened in 1860 by Ann O’Reilly and Patrick O’Sullivan, the year… 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 theatre had a distinctive yellow tiled marquee trimmed in red, plus an attached tall vertical sign that said in yellow vertical letters on a red… Read more

‘Yorkdale was regarded as a shopping wonder,’ writes Susan Goldenberg On Wednesday February 26, 1964, Yorkdale Shopping Centre, the world’s largest enclosed shopping mall of its time, opened in North York, attracting a huge crowd of 100,000 people. “It was like the Friday before Christmas,” the Toronto Star wrote. The official opening was at noon. The reigning Miss Canada cut an 18-inch wide ribbon before an invited audience of 100 VIPs who subsequently had a… 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 her Pioneering in North York: A History of the Borough, during a North York Historical Society meeting at the old Gladys Allison Library building (5126… 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 was all-white. Born in 1919 to Jamaican immigrants, “Herbie” started playing hockey on North York’s frozen ponds at eight. At 18 he joined the junior… Read more

‘In Ontario 81 people were killed, 35 of them on one street alone,’ says Susan Goldenberg On October 15, 1954 Hurricane Hazel, the most famous and worst hurricane in Canadian history, roared through Toronto, leaving death and destruction in its wake. One of the witnesses was then-North Yorker Brian Weller who shared his recollections for this article. “As a four year old I clearly recall standing at the master bedroom of our home at 22… 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 the other in Willowdale, both centrally located. They were simple log structures, built within the road allowance because parents worried that if they were built… 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 opera plot of her Jalna books. At issue was whether the 17-room fieldstone and stucco house would be razed to make way for a housing… Read more

Thomas Mercer The Thomas Mercer family drove from Pennsylvania in 1794 in a wagon with a cow tethered behind, and when requesting land Mercer was offered one hundred acres in exchange for his wagon. Cornelius Anderson Cornelius Anderson, with his family of nine children, settled in York Mills around the time the Mercers did. During the War of 1812 he lost a horse pressed into service by the government and many years later he received… 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 property. John and William opened a subdivision called Hogg’s Hollow, and James, the youngest son, became a miller. John Hogg owned extensive property on both… 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. The four-page weekly paper was first produced, in what used to be a store, just north of Yonge and Sheppard. The paper was given the… Read more

2205 Sheppard Avenue East (new development) Ann O’Reilly married Patrick O’Sullivan, and in 1860 they opened a hotel on her father’s property, on the north-west corner of Victoria Park and Sheppard, near the proposed street. Patrick died the following year and his wife carried on the business. Their son, Michael, opened the O’Sullivan’s Corners Post Office in the hotel and became its first postmaster in 1892. Dinner at O’Sullivan’s Hotel was very popular until the… Read more

Goulding Avenue, west of Yonge Street between Steeles Avenue West and Drewry Avenue, and nearby Goulding Park and Goulding Community Centre, are named for the Thomas Goulding family. The family owned land in the area in the 1800s. Thomas was the first to purchase property. He had served in the Peninsular War as a veterinary surgeon and was able to practice over a wide area in Upper Canada. One son, Robert, purchased adjoining property. William,… Read more

In 1960, long time North York resident, Harold Gray, collected and recounted anecdotes about early North York life. These stories are in the North York Historical Society’s scrapbooks which are currently being integrated into the North York Central Library’s Canadiana Department. Grinding for Tolls: In his grandfather’s time there was not much money around and a lot of the grinding was done by toll; that is, the miller charged a certain number of pounds (currency)… 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 spirit” of the Stongs. The Stong family came to Upper Canada from Pennsylvania as part of the loyalist migration from the U.S., following the American… 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 was acquired by the Gibson family in 1829. David and Elizabeth Gibson lived in a wood frame house on the site until they were forced… Read more