Black Creek Pioneer Village: Historic Buildings

Historic Buildings

In the Black Creek Pioneer Village

Tinsmith Shop & Black Creek Masonic Lodge (c. 1850 Woodbridge). The tinsmith produced tin items ranging from bathtubs to stove pipes. Members of a private social and charitable organization, Freemasons met in this upstairs lodge.

Daniel Stong’s Graind Barn (1825 Original Site). Standing on its original location, this barn sheltered wheat grown on the Stongs’ farm to be shipped to market.

Henry Snider’s Cider Mill. (c.1840 North York). At harvest time, apple cider-making bees were special occasions.

Fire House (c.1850 North York). An 1837 pumper, formerly used in Toronto, is housed here for the village’s volunteer fire brigade.

Apple Storage Cellar (c. 18540 Edgeley). Built below ground straw-lined bins provided insulation so that apples or root vegetables could be stored over the winter without freezing.

Chicken House (c. 1860 Kettleby). A simple, round log structure for sheltering poultry from predators.

Edgeley Slaughter House. Edgeley Slaughter House. Photo by Elena

Daniel Stong’s Piggery (c.1825 Original Site). Pigs were important livestock that were easy to raise & provided meat that stored well salted, smoked or pickled.

Stong family’s First House (1816 Original Site). This sturdy, squared log house is a testament to the building skills of Daniel Stong.

Daniel Stong’s Smoke House & Butchery (c.1816 Original Site). Meat was butchered and preserved here for use throughout the year.

Henry Snider’s Backhouse (c. 18120 North York). The only known surviving round-log backhouse from this period.

Stong Family’s Second House (1832 Original Site). This fine home shows the Stong family’s rpesperity after 16 years of homesteading.

Laskay Emporium and Post office (1856 Laskay). Once a busy general store, this shop retains the flavour of its former life.

Half Way House Bake Oven (circa 1850 Voughan). Built to hold 25 loaves, this large oven supplied baked goods for the busy inn.

Limehouse Backhouse (circa 1840, Georgetown). An impressive little structure housing an unusual three-hole facility).

Half Way House Inn (1849, Scarborough). A regular stop for farmers & stage coaches, “half way” between their destinations. Today this is the location of the Black Creek Historic Brewery.

Flynn House (1858 North York). The home of a shoemaker and his family, this house demonstrates the lifestyle of skilled workers who are new to Canada.

Burwick House (1844 Woodbridge, formally Burwick) & Stable (circa 1860 Woodbridge). The dwelling of a middle class family is complete with fine furnishings. A substantial stable, carriage shed and garden.

Dickson’s Hill School (1861 Dickson’s Hill). This is a typical one-room rural school of the period: the design and seating follow the recommendations of Egerton Ryerson, founder of Ontario’s public school system.

Roblin’s Mill (1842 Ameliasburgh). This five-storey stone building is powered entirely by a large wooden overshot waterwheel which powers the mill machinery to grind wheat into flour.

Taylor Cooperage (c.1850 Paris). The Cooper produced a variety of wooden containers including buckers, casks and barrels.

Fisherville Church (1856 Thornhill). A fine example of Greek Revival architecture in historic Ontario. Church may be booked for wedding services year round.

Townline Cemetery. In use from 1845 to the 1920s, this cemetery is the final resting place of several local founding families including the Stongs, Kaisers, Hoovers and Boyntons.

Church Drive Shed (circa 1860 Vaughan). Church-goers kept their horses and buggies here while attending Sunday services.

Richmond Hill Manse (c. 1830 Richmond Hill). The Presbyterian minister lived in this house featuring “plank-on-plank” construction, creating 6” to 8” thick walls.

Rose Blacksmith Shop (c. 1855 Nobleton). Early blacksmiths forged iron wares and tools for farm and home.

Daniel Flynn’s Boot and Shoe Shop (c. 1858 Toronto). This is the shop of the Village shoemaker, containing patterns & tools.

Cabinet Maker’s shop & hands on History center (c. 1867 Sebringville). Here the cabinet maker made and repaired wooden furniture.

Also visit the Hands-on History Centre, an interactive area for families.

Doctor’s House (circa 1830, Brampton). The home and office of the village doctor brought a sense of security to a small community like Black Creek. An impressive medicinal herb garden surrounds the house.

Black Creek Printing Office. (1850 Kettelby). Built as a Temperance Hall, this building enjoyed a second life as an 1860’s printing office and weaver’s shop.

Charles Irvin Weaver’s Shop (1850 Kettleby). Small commercial weaving establishments were common in 1860s Ontario.

Machenzie House (c. 1830-50 Woodbridge). This little 1830s log home was enlarged by a kitchen added in the 1850s. Here the village seamstress does sewing and alterations.

Mackenzie Barn (circa 1850 Woodbridge). Not open to the public. This compact barn housed the family’s horse and buggy.

Town Hall (1858 Wilmot Township). Used by the Village Council and the circuit judge, local meetings, concerts and other community gatherings. Building may be booked for wedding services year round.

Town Hall Drive Shed (c. 1860 Milverton). This 3-sided building provided shelter for visitors’ horses and buggies while they attended functions at the town Hall or on the Town Hall Green.

Event Pavilion. Tjis modern building is a venue for concerts, festivals, events and private functions. It includes a full-service stage, seating up to 250, a snack bar and visitor washrooms.

Photography Studio (circa 1850 Bolton). This was a prime location for visiting craftsmen to set up temporary shop near the busy Town Hall.

Edgeley Mennonite Meeting House Drive Shed (c. 1860 Hornby). Shelter for the horses and buggies of the meeting house congregation. Currently houses a number of farm wagons.

Edgeley Mennonite Meeting House (1823 Edgeley). This log structure is the oldest meeting house in Ontario and still contains all of its original furnishings. Building may be booked for wedding services year round.

Broom Maker’s Shop (1844 Sherwood). This log building had been a one-room school house and a small home before becoming the residence and workshop for the broom maker.

Edgeley Slaughter House (circa 1860 Edgeley). Local farmers often established a “beef ring” for efficient sharing of meat among neighbours.

Snider Drive Shed (circa 1850 North York). This 3-sided structure was used for sheltering horses and buggies and for storage.

Snider Workshop (c. 1840 Concord). Educational building – for school visits by reservation only.

Samuel Stong’s House (circa 1855 Vaughan). Educational building – for school visits by reservation.

Roblin's Mill

Roblin’s Mill

Beginning in 1842, Own Roblin owned and operated this mill in Ameliasburg, Ontario. The large water wheel powers the mill’s interior workings to grind grain into flour.

Through the 1860s most farmers in what is now Ontario grew wheat that was exported to Britain, the United States, and other British colonies. Providing a necessary step in the conversion of grain to flour, grist mill owners did quite well financially and employed a number of men to operate the mill.

In 1842 Owen Roblin (1806 – 1903), grandson of Phillip, U.E. (United Empire Loyalist), erected a 5 storey stone flouring mill which became the focal point for the village of Roblins Mills. The mill was powered by water, which came through a canal from Roblins Lake directly to the south. The water spilled 75 feet into the mill-pond… Using a 30 foot diameter overshot water-wheel and three run of millstone, the mill had a daily capacity of 100 barrels. At one time the mill complex included a bake shop, carding mill, saw mill, and post office. Operations ceased in 1920. After a long business decline, idle for many years, it was dismantled in 1963 and rebuilt at Black Creek Pioneer Village near Toronto…”

Roblin’s Mill. The mill: hub of industry and nucleus of a developing community. Photo: Elena

In the early 1800s, arriving settlers harnessed the abounding water supply and developed saw mills and grist mills along the banks of many Ontario rivers and lakes. Mills complexes were hubs of industry and frequently became the centre of burgeoning communities.

“In the case of Ameliasburg, it was Owen Roblin who erected the mill which formed the nucleus of a village. This afterwards developed into a prosperous and busy little town – called from the mill and its owner, Roblin’s Mills…

Roblin’s Mills at the present time contains several good general stores, a first class carriage shop, a harness shop, the usual number of blacksmith shops found in places of similar size, a very home-like and comfortable temperance hotel, and about 300 inhabitants.”

Historical Sketch – XVIII – Ameliasburg – 1878.

“There is a saw-mill, shingle-mill and cooperage, attached (to the mill building), and this being a very favourable locality for apples, of which large quantities are grown, a considerable trade is done at these premises in apple barrels (Historical Atlas 1878).

The 30” diameter water wheel was located between the two buildings. A Masonic Lodge was located on 2nd floor between 1869 and 1913.

Mill was powered by water brought under the road by canal from Roblin’s Lake.

Roblin’s Mill Flour. The Mill: Technology: “fair to middlings”. Photo: Elena

“Owen had three sons… Edward who lived in the unusual octagonal house… succeeded Owen as miller; Roger who never married… operated a cider mill and evaporator for drying apples; and Arnold… who… became a bookkeeper in Toronto”.

Roblin’s Mill demonstrates the complete milling process. The operation is a flat grinding system, one which grinds as close as possible to make the most flour at one grinding.

Cleaning: Grain was held in a hopper until it was elevated to the top floor of the mill for cleaning. It was passed through a revolving screen and a smutter to remove foreign matter such as dust, dirt, twigs, etc. The grain was stored in a holding bin until it was dropped down a chute to the millstones.

Grinding was done by two huge stones six feet in diameter and about 18 inches thick, the upper stone (the runner) revolving and the bottom one (the bedstone) remaining stationary. Thee upper stone turned at about 106 rotations per minute.

Bolting: In Custom Milling the flour was taken to a Bolting Reel which sifted the chop or meal, the ground grain, and separated out any parts of the wheat kernel not completely broken down. The product was a coarse grade flour.

Roblin’s Mill. Photo: Elena

In Commercial Milling large quantities of wheat were milled in a run and the resulting meal was hot, requiring cooling in a hopperboy before bolting.

The meal was then passed down to the Bolting Chest, a larger and more complicated system of various gauges of screening which sifted the grind into – superfine white flour, second grand flour, middlings, shorts, bran and tailings; the latter two were sold as pig feed.

Packing: After bolting the flour fell through chutes to be bagged or barreled. The barrels were stencilled with the miller’s brand name returned to the customer or shipped to the merchants.

Commeercial Milling was the main part of production at Roblin’s Mill. During the mill’s heyday, at the time of the U.S. Civil War, it operated 24 hours a day, producing up to 100 barrels per day, with much of the flour being shipped to the northern states.

As the quality of the flour depended on the grooved surface of the stones, they had to be dressed twice a month when the mill was running a non-stop commercial operation.

Custom milling was a small part of the mill’s production whereby the farmers paid for their grinding by toll: e.g. for grinding 15 to 20 bags of grain, the miller would keep one bag of grain in payment.

Engines Roblin’s Mill. Roblin’s Mill Interior. Photo: Elena

Humber River

Humber River

The Humber River is a river in Southern Ontario which is a tributary of Lake Ontario and is one of two major rivers on either side of the city of Toronto, the other being the Don River. TheRiver begins at Humber Springs Ponds on the Niagara Escarpment in Mono, Dufferin County and reaches its mouth at Humber Bay on Lake Ontario in the city of Toronto. The Humber was designated a Canadian Heritage River on September 24, 1999.

The Humber collects from about 750 creeks and tributaries. It encompasses portions of Dufferin County, the Regional Municipality of Peel, Simcoe County, and the Regional Municipality of York. The main branch runs for about 100 kilometres from the Niagara Escarpment in the northwest, while another other major branch, known as the East Humber River, starts at Lake St. George in the Oak Ridges Moraine near Aurora to the northeast. Both rivers join north of Toronto and then flow in a southeasterly direction into Lake Ontario, The river mouth is flanked by Sir Casimir Gzowski Park and Humber Bay Park East.

The Humber has a long history of human settlement along its banks. The first settlers were the Palaeo-Indians who lived in the area from 10,000 to 7000 BC. The second wave, people of the Archaic period, settled the area between 7000 and 1000 BC and began to adopt seasonal migration patterns to take advantage of available plants, fish, and game. The third wave of native settlement was the Woodland period, which saw the introduction of the bow and arrow and the growing of crops which allowed for larger, more permanent villages.

Humber Rivier. Photo: Elena

The Anishinaabe refer to the river as Cobechenonk. During the 1600s and 1700s, the river was known by several names before it was given the official name of Humber. Popple’s map of 1733 shows a prominent river beside the native settlement Tejajagon assumed to be the Humber. Its name is given as the Tanaovate River. The river was also known as the Toronto River. Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe gave the river the name of Humber, likely after the Humber estuary in England.

After the old one was destroyed during Hurricane Hazel in 1954, a new footbridge was built in 1995 to span the Humber, between Lions and Raymore Park.

Étienne Brûlé was the first European to encounter the Humber while travelling the Toronto Carrying-Place Trail. Brûlé passed through the watershed in 1615 on a mission from Samuel de Champlain to build alliances with native peoples. The Trail became a convenient shortcut to the upper Great Lakes for traders, explorers, and missionaries.

A Fort Toronto, was constructed about 1,000 metres inland from the mouth of the Humber to protect the Trail. During the 1660s this was the site of Teiaiagon, a permanent settlement of the Seneca used for trading with the Europeans.

French missionaries used the area for many years, including Jean de Brébeuf and Joseph Chaumonot in 1641, Louis Hennepin in 1678, and Rene-Robert Cavelier de La Salle in 1680.

Popple’s map of 1733 shows a prominent river beside “Tejajagon” which is assumed to be the Humber.

However, no permanent European settlement occurred until the arrival of Jean-Baptiste Rousseau in the late 18th century. Rousseau piloted John Graves Simcoe’s ship into Toronto Bay to officially begin the British era of control in 1793. Upon his arrival in York, Simcoe was keenly aware of the need for a lumber mill and grist mill in the area. He had constructed a sawmill on the west bank of the river near present day Bloor Street in 1793, which was operated by John Wilson. In 1797 Simcoe managed to get a grist mill established on the Humber River. Over the years, numerous mills have been operated along the river by such men as William Cooper, W. P. Howland, Thomas Fisher, John Scarlett, William Gamble and Joseph Rowntree. The last grist mill on the Humber, Hayhoe Mills in Woodbridge, closed in 2007.

By 1860 the Humber Valley was extensively deforested. This decreased the stability of the river banks and increased damages done by periodic flooding. In 1878 a disastrous flood destroyed the remaining water powered mills. As the Toronto area grew, the lands around the Humber became important farming areas. In 1954, Hurricane Hazel raised the river to devastating flood levels, destroying buildings and bridges; on Raymore Drive, 60 homes were destroyed and 35 people were killed.

The Metropolitan Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (MTRCA later TRCA) succeeded the Humber Valley authority in 1957 (the word “Metropolitan” was dropped in 1998). More recently, a task force within the Authority was formed to further clear the Humber as a part of the Great Lakes 2000 Cleanup Fund.

Today the majority of the Toronto portion of the Humber is parkland, with paved trails running from the lake shore all the way to the northern border of the city some 30 km away. Trails following the various branches of the river form some 50 km of bicycling trails, much of which are in decent condition.

The most important tributaries to the Humber River

Albion Creek – The Albion Creek is a tributary of the West Humber. It flows south-west from east of Bolton, meeting the West Humber from the north, between Islington Avenue and Martin Grove Road. It is approximately 9 km long.

Berry Creek – Berry Creek originates at Martin Grove Road just north of Rexdale Boulevard. It flows south-east to meet the main Humber from the west, west of the intersection of Albion Road and Weston Road, where Albion Road crosses the Humber. It is about 3.8 km long.

Black Creek – The Black Creek originates north of Toronto in Vaughan and meanders southerly to meet the lower Humber from the east about 800 m north of Dundas Street, in Lambton Park.

East Humber – The East Humber flows from north of Toronto, meeting the main branch of the Humber in Woodbridge, just north of Highway 7. Its watershed extends east to Yonge Street and north to King City. Its source is Wilcox Lake and its wetlands east of Yonge Street and the village of Oak Ridges.

Emery Creek – Emery Creek flows from its source west of Finch Avenue and Weston Road, south to meet the main Humber 500 metres west of Weston Road, about 1 km south of Finch Avenue. It is about 2.4 km long.

A loony on the Humber River. Photo: Elena

Humber Creek – The Humber Creek runs south-westerly from its source near Kipling Avenue and Dixon Road through residential areas, meeting the lower Humber from the west about 750 metres north of Eglinton Avenue. It is about 3.8 km long.

King Creek – King Creek is a tributary of the East Humber. It flows southerly from near Highway 27 and 16th Side Road to meet the East Humber south of King Road, east of Nobleton. The settlement of King Creek is located to the east of the confluence.

Silver Creek – The Silver Creek runs south-westerly from its source about 300 metres west of Eglinton Avenue and Royal York Road, partly within a golf course, through residential areas to meet the lower Humber from the west about 1.2 km south of Eglinton Avenue. It is about 2 km long.

West Humber – The West Humber meets the main branch of the Humber east of Albion Road and about 800 metres west of Sheppard Avenue and Weston Road. The West Humber itself has several branches flowing from north-west of Toronto.

Village of Yorkville

Village of Yorkville

Once crossed by an ancient aboriginal trail (Davenport Road), the area known today as Yorkville was first permanently settled by those of European descent in the early 1800s. The Red Lion Inn, one of the first buildings in the area, was a stagecoach stop and vital gathering place. Economic growth was spurred by brick-making and brewing industries established from the 1830s.

The community was linked in 1849 to the City of Toronto by H.B. Williams’ horse-drawn omnibus service. In 1853 it was incorporated as the Village of Yorkville. Despite annexation by the City of Toronto in 1883, Yorkville remained a quite community of predominantly middle and working-class people well into the 20th century.

Yorkville Village. Photo by Elena

In the 1950s, artists and actors transformed the area into a thriving arts community. By the mid to late 1960s, Yorkville become famous for its “hippies”, folk music, and coffee houses. Redevelopment has since altered much of the old incorporated Village. Still, streets north of Yorkville Avenue, west of Avenue Road (now part of the Annex), and east of Yonge Street now part of South Rosedale retain much of their 19th and early 20th century character.

Yorkville Town Hall

Designed by William Hay, one of Toronto’s most important early architects, the Yorkville Town Hall was built by William McGinnis, and opened on this site in 1860, fronting onto Yonge Street and Collier Street. High Victorian in style, it was constructed of local “white” (yellow) bricks with red and blackened brick trim, and boasted three stained glass rose windows that illuminated a third-floor public hall seating 500.

In its second-floor Council Chamber, local politicians debated, among other things, “the running at large of Pigs and Swine and Poultry”, the planking of sidewalks and the “prevention of immoderate driving”. In 1861, the privately owned horse-drawn Toronto Street Railway commenced service from the Town Hall to the St. Lawrence Market. After the clock was completed in 1889, the Town Hall’s bells sounded the working day and rang for fire alarms.

Coat-of-arms on the Yorkville Fire House. Photo: Elena

After annexation in 1883 ended Yorkville’s village government, the Council Chamber was used as a public library. The building also housed the Yorkville Company of the York Rangers, the Naval Club, and the offices of the Toronto Street Railway, and had space for community use.

The Yorville Town Hall was destroyed by fire on November 12, 1941. All that remains is the carved stone coat-of-arms, since mounted on the Yorkville Fire House.

Yorkville Public Library. Yorkville Branch, Toronto Public Library. Photo: Elena

Yorkville Toronto Public Library

Yorkville Branch, Toronto Public Library 1907. Yorkville Branch is the Toronto Public Library’s oldest building, the first of four libraries constructed with a 1903 grand from the Carnegie Corporation. It replaced the Library’s first branch, “Northern”, which had opened in the former Yorkville Town Hall in 1884, only one year after Toronto’s annexation of Yorkville and the introduction of free library service to the city. This building was designed by City Architect Robert McCallum in Beaux-Arts style, thought to give an appropriate seriousness to a civic structure. Typical of many Carnegie libraries, it is marked by a broad flight of steps leading to a raised single storey, and by strong symmetry and classical details best seen in the imposing central entrance with its columned portico. Constructed of yellow bricj with Ohio sandstone, Yorkville Branch was renovated and expanded in 1978 (City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties).

Ancient Trail Binawiigo Bimikawewin

Beneath the winding course of Davenport Road lies hidden an ancient trail created by Aboriginal peoples. The trail linked their settlements with hunting and fishing grounds, and with trade routes that tied this region to the upper Great Lakes, the Atlantic coast, and the Midwest.

Between the Humber and the Don Rivers, the ancient footpath avoided difficult terrain by weaving along the foot of the escarpment that is one of Toronto`s most distinctive geological features. It was the shoreline of 13,500-year-old glacial Lake Iroquois, forerunner of much smaller Lake Ontario. This meandering route, at odds with the city`s rectangular street grid, now connects us with the distant past.

Stroll in the Parkette of Davenport Road to learn more about Davenport Road`s evolution into a city street.

The Yorkville old City Hall. Photo: Elena

Toronto General Hospital

Toronto General Hospital

The Toronto General Hospital, as a part of the University Health Network, has grown out of a series of mergers between a few hospitals. For instance, in 1986, the Toronto Western Hospital merged with the Toronto General Hospital becoming, respectively, the Toronto Western Division and the Toronto General Division of The Toronto Hospital. On January 1, 1998, the Toronto Hospital was amalgamated with the Ontario Cancer Institute/Princess Margaret Hospital, and in April 1999, the name was officially changed to the University Health Network.

In 2011, the University Health Network integrated with the Toronto Rehab Institute which has allowed to better serve the patients by bringing together acute hospital care with the rehabilitation care that so frequently follows a hospital stay.

Altogether, the Toronto General Hospital may be regarded as the development of the modern institution, and the citizens of Toronto have ample reason to be proud of it.

Portico. General Hospital. The Portico Thomas J. Bell Wing. Thomas J. Bel, Q.C., M.C., C.D., B.Comm, M.D. (Hon). Chair, Board of Trustees, Toronto General Hospital (1966 – 1982). This majestic portico is the original entranceway to the Thomas J. Bell Wing. The building first opened on April 24, 1930, as the Private Patients’ Pavilion, and fast became known as a place of innovation and new technology. Photo: © Elena

The hospital is located in the Discovery District of Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada and it is affiliated to the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine. The Hospital for Sick Children,the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and the Mount Sinai Hospital are located nearby.

The emergency department of the TGH treats about 30 thousand persons each year. The hospital also houses the major transplantation service for Ontario, performing heart, lung, liver, kidney, pancreas and small intestine, amongst others. In fact, the world’s first single and double lung transplants were performed at TGH in 1983 and 1986 respectively, as well as the world’s first valve-sparing aortic root replacement by Dr. Tirone David in 1992.

The hospital teaches resident physicians, nurses, and technicians, and conducts research through the Toronto General Research Institute.

The hospital is served by Queen’s Park subway station.

General Hospital Atrium. On March 15, 1983, following major renovations, the wing was reopened and renamed in honour of Thomas J. Bell. This recognized his exceptional service to Toronto General Hospital over the course of his 16-year term as Chair of the Board of Trustees, and his outstanding leadership of the hospital’s renewal program campaign. Photo: © Elena