Scarborough Railpath Trail

May 11, 2024

The Scarborough Railpath, also known as the Upper Rouge Trail, is a 2.3 kilometer trail that runs from Upper Rouge Trail to Sewels Road. It follows the right of way for a short rail line that used to run through Scarborough. There is little about this rail line on-line but it is likely a spur line and appears in aerial photography dating back to the 1940s. The image below is from the 1961 aerial photographs on the Toronto’s Archives website and shows the part of the right of way that is in use as a railpath marked in green. The section marked in purple has been lost beneath urban development. Morningside Creek has been marked in blue as it makes its way to the Rouge River.

The trail has been paved and, as an old railway, it is relatively flat. It is suitable for use by everyone and is commonly used for cycling, jogging and dog walking. I had the opportunity after visiting a client in the area to take a walk on the trail on a Monday morning.

There were several Six Spotted Green Tiger Beetles that kept flying and landing a few feet in front of me. They love to sit in the sunshine on trails or logs and wait for their prey to come along. They don’t generally bite humans unless they are handled but have a huge appetite for spiders, ants and caterpillars. These beetles have a lifespan of up to three years but when you include the time they spend as larvae they can live for almost 5 years.

There were several species of butterflies to be seen along the walk. I saw a Mourning Cloak, Clouded Sulfur, Cabbage White, Eastern Tailed Blue and several Red Admirals. The Red Admiral, pictured below, is a relatively calm butterfly that is easy to photograph because they will allow you to get pretty close before they fly away.

Animals can generally be split into two groups. Endothermic and Ectothermic. Endothermic animals are the ones we call “warm blooded” and are capable of generating internal body heat. Ectothermic animals are “cold blooded” and must rely on external sources of heat such as basking in the sunshine. Reptiles are ectothermic and can be found sitting in sunny places absorbing the heat. I saw two different species of snakes enjoying the sunny morning but wasn’t fast enough with the camera to get a picture of the Dekays Brown Snake. The Garter Snake got off the pathway pretty quickly but stayed in the grass along the side long enough to pose for a picture.

There was a small patch of Trilliums growing in the woods just beside the berm for the former rail bridge. These plants are often considered to have three leaves and a three petal flower. However, the green parts are actually bracts and are part of the flower.

A tall berm covers the culvert that carries a small tributary of Morningside Creek. A small bridge used to carry the railway over the creek but has been replaced with the culvert and filled in with earth. The rail berm at this point is at its tallest along the length of the railpath. The cover photo shows the rail berm that runs along the end of Casebridge Court, which is another entry point to the railpath.

There are three Major League Baseball teams that are named after birds and I saw all of their namesakes on this walk. Cardinals and Blue Jays are a fairly common sight in Southern Ontario but I don’t see Baltimore Orioles nearly as often. Blue Jays and Cardinals overwinter in Ontario while the Baltimore Oriole is migratory. They get their name from their colouring which resembles the Coat of Arms for Lord Baltimore.

As I was walking along the path near Morningview Trail I noticed a white flash in the trees beside the path. It was a White-tailed Deer. It disappeared into the trees before I had a chance to get a clear picture of it. So, I decided to follow its trail for a few minutes in the hopes of getting a clear shot of it. I wasn’t quick enough and it managed to elude me through the underbrush. I followed its footprints for a ways before finding a small dirt foot trail that runs near Morningside Creek. All I ended up with was a picture of the hoofprints.

Morningside Creek is one of 11 tributaries of the Rouge River. It rises in the area of Dennison Avenue and Markham Road and runs along the west side of the Toronto Zoo. Some sections of the Upper Rouge Trail run along the border of the zoo and are posted as No Trespassing to keep people out of the zoo property.

Mayapples were growing in a large patch along the forest floor but have not gone to flower yet. Mayapples with one leaf will not flower while those with two leaves will develop a single flower between the two leaves.

The trail was lightly used on this sunny Monday morning which probably helped increase the amount of wildlife that was available to be seen.

Although this pathway runs along the edge of residential and industrial areas before running parallel to Morningside Drive, it provides a surprising number of opportunities to see wildlife.

Related stories about former Toronto railways that are now hiking trails: West Toronto Railpath, Leaside Spur Trail, Beltline Railway, Moore Park, York Beltline Trail

Google Maps link: Upper Rouge Trail

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Toogood Pond Park

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May 4, 2024

When millwright Ira White arrived at the north end of what would become Unionville in 1839 he recognized the east half of lot 13 in the 5th concession to be an ideal site to harness the water power of Bruce Creek. He built a sawmill first and then set about cutting the wood for the grist mill he built where the creek crosses Main Street in Unionville. He built a dam across the creek to create a mill pond to provide consistent water flow to power the wheels that operated his grist and saw mills. Originally it was known as The Pond and later as Willow Lake. The mill continued to operate under water power from the pond until the dam was washed away in a flood in 1930. The mill stood for another four years until it was destroyed by a fire in 1934. The image below shows Willow Lake as it appeared in the 1877 County Atlas.

The mill was never rebuilt and the property that the mill pond stood on was sold in 1939 to a family named Toogood who had just moved from Alberta. The pond was used as a swimming hole for the local children and in 1953 the Unionville Swimming Club was established to provide supervised swimming for the children to increase safety. The Red Cross also started to provide swimming lessons. Today, you can no longer swim in the pond.

The 33.3 hectare site was acquired by the City of Markham in 1980 and became known as Toogood Park. The park is a common place to go fishing in the hopes of catching largemouth bass, carp, pumpkinseed, brown, black or yellow bullhead and creek chub.

Water flows over the spillway on the dam as well as through a small channel on the side which acts as a fish ladder allowing fish to navigate around the dam. The image below shows Bruce Creek as it flows away from the dam and into the former village of Unionville.

For many years it was common practice to go skating on the pond in the winter. In 2015 the city banned this for safety reasons. By November of 2016 it was announced that users could skate on the pond at their own risk.

A boardwalk carries the trail along the northern end of the pond through a wetland of bullrushes.

Bruce’s Creek flows south from Bruce’s Mill and makes its way towards Unionville. This image shows the watercourse on the south side of the boardwalk as it makes its way into Toogood Pond.

Looking upstream from the boardwalk the scenery is very beautiful on this sunny spring afternoon with the leaves really starting to come out.

The trail around Toogood Pond is less that 1.5 kilometers and can be done in under half an hour at a leisurely pace. If you’re lucky you might spot some turtles sunning themselves on partially submerged logs in the pond.

Toogood Pond Park is a great place to for a walk, try you luck at fishing or just to relax and unwind. Free parking can be found off main street in Unionville at Toogood Pond Park road and also on Carlton Road at Pomander Road.

Associated Blogs: Unionville, Bruce’s Mill

Google Maps link: Toogood Pond

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Our Favourite Hikes

Mullet Creek’s Secret Waterfalls

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Monday October 12, 2015

Mullet Creek contained a couple of surprise waterfalls and an old dam in the short section we hiked. It originates in Meadowvale north of the 407 and empties into the Credit River on the University of Toronto Mississauga campus. It was a gorgeous long weekend and Thanksgiving Monday was a beautiful day for a brief hike before getting the turkey in the oven. We parked on O’Neil Court and entered the woods through the community walkway.

Reginald Watkins bought 150 acres of land in 1928 north of the now abandoned Erindale Power Dam. He tore down one house on the property and enlarged the other which was named Lislehurst. In 1965 The University of Toronto bought the property and founded Erindale College which is now called University of Toronto Mississauga. The section of park backs onto the university campus and contains the remains of an old out building at the crest of the hill overlooking the ravine. It appears that a series of trial excavation holes have been dug to investigate the ruins.

A long thin promontory of land provides access to the creek level. We followed it down to where Mullet Creek winds it’s way through the ravine and on to the Credit River nearby. The creek splits into sections in the ravine and we crossed each in turn as we made our way north along the valley floor.

There are over 30 varieties of periwinkle. As an invasive species they grow aggressively, often choking out native plant life. They are frequently recommended for partially shaded areas or places where growing plants is difficult. Care must be taken because they can escape and take hold in the wild. One plant can spread to an area 8 feet across. They normally bloom in late April to early May but we found a stray splash of periwinkle blue in the undergrowth.

An old steam boiler lies rusting away at the side of Mullet Creek. It would have originally stood on four metal feet on the bottom. The lower half contained the fire box and was open on the opposite side to this picture. The front flue sheet contains the holes that the flues passed through and is matched by a second flue sheet on the back.

Mullet Creek is crossed by the double span of Burnhamthorpe Road. A recent assessment was done for this bridge as well as sister bridges over the Credit River just east of here. Original construction had created bridges where the sidewalks were too small to be properly functional. The study was completed to address several concerns. At just .838 metres high, the guard rail on the river edge of the sidewalk was considered too low for safety. The proposal was to increase this rail to 1.4 m. There was also no rail between the sidewalk and road and so a second rail was proposed on the curb side. The sidewalk was to be increased from 1.7 to 3 metres wide to allow cyclists and pedestrians to safely pass. Look-out platforms were also created. This was accomplished by widening the road deck on the outside of the bridge. The west bound span is seen from the creek level in the picture below.

Just beyond the Burnhamthorpe bridge lie the remains of an old dam. Original wooden sections remain submerged in the water behind later concrete forms while the pre-cast concrete blocks on the top were added later still.

Prior to the arrival of Europeans, Atlantic Salmon were common in Lake Ontario and spawned in the Credit River every fall. Due to pollution, dams, over-fishing and deforestation they were basically eliminated by the 1890’s. In the 1960’s and 1970’s Chinook and Coho Salmon were introduced from the Pacific coast. Chinook Solmon make their only spawning run when they are 4 years old and then die afterward. This male Chinook has developed the characteristic hooked jaw called a kype and the darker colour of his one and only run upstream. They can usually grow to lengths of 3 feet and weights of 25 pounds. This specimen was caught by a young fellow named Jack who was fishing with his family.

As you walk up Mullet Creek toward Mississauga Road you come to several shelves of shale where the water cascades over the edge. The picture below was taken just one bend in the creek prior to the cover photo which has a larger drop. These two little water falls make an oasis in the heart of the city.

At one time a parkette stood at the corner of the creek and Mississauga Road. The remains of the old parking area are starting to grow over but the old rail ties that outline the side and protect the trees in the middle will be around for many years to come.

Mullet Creek extends from here to north of the 407 and must contain other interesting places. Time will tell.

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Maple Leaf Gardens

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April 20, 2024

Maple Leaf Gardens was home to The Toronto Maple Leafs from 1931 until 1999 during which time they won the Stanley Cup 11 times. Unfortunately none of these was in the last 32 seasons they played there. Previously, The Leafs had been playing in Arena Gardens on Mutual Street which had been built in 1912. When the capacity of 7,500 people was deemed to be too small by the teams managing director Con Smythe he went looking for a site to build a more impressive arena for the team. He eventually settled on the corner of Church and Carlton Streets which he bought from The T. Eaton Company for $350,000. The map below shows the site as it existed in the 1893 Goads Fire insurance Map.

This picture was taken from the historic display board that is inside the front entrance to the facility as it stands today. It shows the building early in the construction phase.

A 12,473 seat facility was designed by the architectural firm of Ross and Macdonald. The construction contract was awarded to Port Credit company Thomson Brothers Construction. They had been the lowest of ten bidders coming in at $990,000 with an additional $100,000 for steel work. Construction began on June 1, 1931 and was completed in just 5 months and 2 weeks. Where are these people when we need a crosstown subway line built? The final cost was $1.5 million, or $25.9 million in 2021 dollars. The image below shows the building under construction and was taken from the Wikipedia article about the building.

The archive photo below shows the building in 1934 and was taken from the same display board inside the front entrance to the modern building. It shows the older homes that still remained beside the arena. These would have been on the map shown above.

The first game in Maple Leaf Gardens was played on November 12, 1931 with the Toronto Maple Leafs hosting the Chicago Blackhawks. This postcard shows the inside of the stadium on that night. Unfortunately the Leafs lost that first game 2-1 to the Blackhawks. The image below shows the opening ceremonies for the building and was taken from the Wikipedia article.

Over the years Maple Leaf Gardens played host to many events including the Ice Capades and a ton of Rock Concerts. Elvis Presley played there on April 2, 1957 and The Beatles on Sept. 7, 1964. Almost every major act played here on their way across North America. I saw my first Rush concert here in November 1982 on their “Signals” tour. It was so good that I saw them again Sept. 1984, March 1986, March 1988, May 1990, Dec. 1991, and May 1994. Rush recorded a concert video of the 1984 “Grace Under Pressure” tour in which I can be seen briefly in a crowd view during the song “The Spirit Of Radio.” These were probably the best seats I had for any concert at The Gardens. I went to at least 25 other concerts here over the years including more than one by each of Jethro Tull and Triumph. Oasis became the last concert to be held at the arena on April 29, 2000.

I also went to several games in the 1999 and 2000 Toronto Rock seasons and watched them win the National Lacrosse Championship both of those seasons. The 2000 Toronto Rock Championship game became the final professional event to be held at Maple Leaf Gardens. The Toronto Maple Leafs played their final game in The Gardens on Feb. 13, 1999 before moving to Air Canada Centre. They lost 6-2 to the Chicago Blackhawks putting loosing bookends on their 67 year run.

After the final events in Maple Leaf Gardens, the facility sat empty for almost a decade as the owners refused to sell it to anyone who might use it in competition with Air Canada Centre. The Gardens was purchased in 2004 by Loblaws for $12 million dollars under an agreement that it wouldn’t be used for sports or entertainment. In 2009 Loblaws partnered with Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University) to create a Loblaws grocery store and an athletic facility for the university.

The interior of the old stadium was gutted and new floors were laid for the grocery store and LCBO that went on the ground floor. A red dot was placed on the floor to indicate the original centre ice from the hockey arena. This store opened on November 30th 2011. A second floor was added and an NHL size rink was put in on the third floor along with a fitness centre. Seating for the new rink consists of 2,796 seats from the original arena. The Mattamy Athletic Centre at The Gardens opened September 9, 2012. The image below shows the rafters where the scoreboard for the NHL games used to hang above centre ice. Tons of speakers and lighting equipment were also suspended here for the various concerts that were held over the last five decades of the 20th century.

Maple Leaf Gardens stands as a monument to Toronto sports and entertainment and lives on as a Loblaws, fitness centre and university ice rink. I have a lot of fond memories of events at The Gardens but unfortunately, being in my early 60s means that I am too young to have witnessed a Stanley Cup victory there.

Perhaps this year will be the year that the Maple Leafs have a successful Stanley Cup run!

Google Maps link: Maple Leaf Gardens

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Enoch Turner Schoolhouse

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April 6, 2024

The oldest standing schoolhouse in Toronto was built in 1848 just five years after York changed its name to Toronto and became a city. The population of the city stood at about 25,000 and some of the poorest people lived in the St. Lawrence Ward which is seen in the map below. This image is taken from the 1884 Goads Fire Insurance Map of Toronto. Trinity School, as it was then known, is circled in green. Also featured in this story are the East Toronto Brewery (blue) and Little Trinity Church (orange).

Enoch Turner was born in Stafforshire, UK in 1792 and came to York early in the 19th century. He established a brewery in the area of Parliament and Front streets which is shown as the East Toronto Brewery in the map above. There were a lot of Irish immigrants in the area that came from County Cork in Ireland and this is the basis for the name Corktown as this neighbourhood became known. In 1846 Canada passed the “Act for the better establishment and maintenance of Common Schools in Upper Canada”. Toronto was unwilling to introduce a tax to support schools and so all schools that benefitted from public support were closed for a year following this. These were hard times for the poor in Toronto and Enoch Turner had a heart to educate the children in the area surrounding his brewery. He provided funding to build a school on land provided by Little Trinity Church.

It is thought that the school was designed in the Gothic Style at the same time as Little Trinity Church by local architect Henry Bowyer Lane. This architect also designed City Hall and St. Lawrence Market. When the school opened in 1849 there were 240 students and Enoch paid all expenses to operate it for 3 years. At the time it was known as Ward Street School. Thus it became the first free school in Toronto and spurred the development of a free school system in the province. When it was taken over by the Toronto Board of Education in 1851 it was renamed Trinity Street School.

The school only operated until 1859 when students were moved to the Palace Street School which we described in our post Canary Restaurant. The building was then turned over to Little Trinity Church who used it as a Sunday School and Parish Hall.

The side door features four highly ornate hinges, knocker and latch.

The addition on the west end of the building was completed in 1869. A second addition on the south side of the building was made in 1910. The building was used as a recruitment centre in 1899 for the Boer War. A soup kitchen was operated out of the structure during the Great Depression in the 1930s where meals were served to 1500 people each week. It was also used as a base for servicemen during both World Wars.

A fire broke out in Little Trinity Church in 1961 and the church was used as a meeting hall while repairs were made. Following this, the building fell into disrepair and was threatened with demolition.

On October 8, 1970 the Enoch Turner Schoolhouse Foundation was established to try and save the building. Extensive renovations were completed and in 1972 it was opened as a museum. In 2008 the building was turned over to the Ontario Heritage Trust. Part of the Little Trinity Church can be seen to the left in the picture below. The story of that building can be found in our post Gooderham Architecture.

The building has stood for over 175 years and can be rented for weddings and private events. More importantly it stands as a testament to one man’s vision for free education for the poor children in his community.

Google Maps Link: Enoch Turner Schoolhouse

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Shanty Bay Go Karts

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March 16, 2024

For years we used to stop at the entertainment facility just north of Barrie on highway 11 as we made our way back home from Gravenhurst. Usually we would grab a coffee or a snack from McDonalds but this section of the highway used to be known for cheaper gasoline. Therefore, if we had seen cheaper gas on the route north we might stop on the way back home to fill up. The image below shows the site from the air and indicated the location of the Go-Kart Track, the Kids Track, The Coffee Time, McDonalds and the Shell gas station. Other blogs online suggest that the business was closed as a result of Covid restrictions. However, when you look at the historic images on Google Earth there haven’t been cars in the parking lot or on the track since 2016. Reliable information seems to be hard to come by online.

The entrance stands empty and the ticket booth has been boarded up for years now. You used to have to but tickets for individual laps and hand them to the attendant between each round on the track.

The one-kilometre long track loops around itself and speeds of kilometres per hour were advertised. A loop could be done in as little as a minute and a half and cost $5.00. Five laps could be had for $20.00. To ride the adult track you had to be at least 11 years old and 52 inches tall. There were 30 carts, some single seaters and some double. There was also a small mini track with a single cart for those too young to go on the adult track.

The rules are still posted near the gate. They also give the conditions that riders from 8-11 years old must meet. They had to be at least 48″ tall. The kids track is 1/4 kilometre long and has a maximum speed of 16 kilometers per hour. Children between 3 and 8 years old could ride for free as a passenger in a two seater adult kart. Children under three cannot ride on the tracks.

The most prominent feature on the mini golf course is the volcano. The mini golf is getting badly over-run and the carpet on the greens is falling apart.

A Coffee Time drive through used to operate on the north end of the building.

The menu sign is broken away except for one panel announcing a new treat called Maple French Sticks.

A Shell gas station used to operate at the front of the building.

There was also a McDonalds restaurant on the south end of the building for those who wanted a meal either during their stay or just a snack while stopping for gas.

It’s too bad that this facility isn’t operating anymore because over the years thousands of people enjoyed a spin around the track.

Uxbridge Historical Centre

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Saturday, March 9, 2024

The Uxbridge Historical Centre was founded in 1972 and was created around the Quaker Hill school house. It is home to ten buildings and a large number of artifacts that combine to tell the local history of the township and the town of Uxbridge.

When Uxbridge township was opened up for settlement a lot of the early pioneers were Quakers. These members of The Society of Friends came from Pennsylvania along the newly created Yonge Street. Twelve families started to carve out a new life for themselves in 1804. Soon they started to make plans to build a Meeting House for themselves. In 1809 they built their first Meeting House out of logs and replaced it with a frame building in 1820. This was the only church in the township for nearly a generation. Meetings were held in this building until 1925 and it holds the distinction of being the oldest building in Uxbridge Township.

At the same time as they built the first Meeting House they acquired the plot across the road for a cemetery. This was the only cemetery in the area for a decade and has some early grave markers made from local granite.

The home known as the Gould-Carmody house was built in the late 1850s in the area of town that currently is home to the arena. It was built by Joseph Gould who was the first local MPP. He was very influential in the development of the town of Uxbridge. His family sold the home to William Carmody in 1914 and it was moved to its present site in 1988. The decorative bargeboard, or gingerbread, along with the finial at the peak, give the home a distinctive appearance.

The Scott Township Municipal Hall was built in 1860 and served the town council until 1967. After this time, the wood frame building was moved to the farm of Ed and Dorothy Brown and used as a Country Heritage Museum. It was moved to the Uxbridge Historical Centre in 1993. The front entrance has windows on either side which contain 12 over 12 window sashes. The door itself is modest but has pilasters on either side and a lighted transom over the top.

The United Church on site was moved from the west end of lot 16, where it stood closer to Goodwood. It was built in 1870 and dedicated on December 14th. Originally it was a Methodist Episcopal Church and was part of the Uxbridge circuit. It was known either as Forsythe’s or Russell’s Church. In the 1880s the Methodist churches recognized that they had several different types of congregations that basically held the same beliefs with minor variations. They were investing resources to compete with each other for congregants and missions funding and decided that it made sense to unify. The Primitive Methodists and the Episcopal Methodists joined together with the Wesleyan Methodists to become the Methodist Church in 1884. This building then went under the Goodwood circuit. In 1925 the Methodist, Congregationalists and some of the Presbyterian Churches joined together to create the United Church of Canada. After that, the church was known as Fifth Line United Church until it closed in 1966. It was moved to its present location in 1979.

There are many historical pieces of farming equipment that are located on the property and in the various barns and sheds.

The Hilson Shed was built in the 1800s in Uxbridge and was used as a coach house or carriage shed. It was home to the Hilson family horses, carriage and tackle until they were replaced with a family car. It has been part of the Uxbridge Heritage Centre since 1973.

The Nesbitt family drive shed was located on their farm and used by several generations of the family. It has the distinction of having been on the farm that was used for filming seven seasons of Road To Avonlea. This show was based on books that were written by Lucy Maude Montgomery who also wrote Anne of Green Gables. It was disassembled in 1981 and reassembled on the grounds of the Heritage Centre. A sawmill that was located on the same farm was moved to Black Creek Pioneer Village.

This Edwardian styled house was built in town in 1908 for George Stokes. George was a councilor, deputy reeve and later reeve. The house was later sold to George and Nellie Kydd. In 1963 Nellie became the first female mayor in Uxbridge. The house has a unique two story porch along the front and was moved to the Centre in 2002. It now houses the offices and gallery shop.

The Uxbridge Post Office Bell was donated to the town on its centennial anniversary by Bell Canada on Aug. 26, 1972. It was forged by Jim Taylor in England in 1912.

The school is the nucleus for the historical centre and is the third one to be built in Quaker Hill. The first school was built in 1817 by Quaker Ezekial James and was made out of logs. It was the first school in Uxbridge Township. It was located just a short distance south of the present school. It was replaced in the 1850s with a frame building that stood where the present driveway for the school is. The brick school was built in 1924 and served the community until 1969. The two doors were used to allow the boys and girls to have separate entrances so that the boys wouldn’t see the girls ankles when they were changing their shoes as this was considered improper.

The print shop is not an historical building as it was built on site in 1994. It was erected to house the historical printing equipment from the Uxbridge Printing Company. The large square front is known as the Boomtown Style and was used to make small buildings look bigger. It also hid the front gable and allowed the merchant to have more space to advertise their business.

The buildings are open for tours in the summer months and some of them, like the school, can be rented for functions.

Google Maps Link: Uxbridge Heritage Centre

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Upper Beamer Falls

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Feb. 24, 2024

John Beamer was born in Greenwich Township, New Jersey on November 27th 1759. He emigrated to Upper Canada in 1790 and took up 300 acres of land along the Niagara Escarpment near Grimsby. He passed away on February 9th. 1854 in his 94th year. A ripe old age for those days when hard, dangerous work and lack of medical attention often carried people away at much younger ages. His property included 40 Mile Creek and featured the place where it makes its decent over the escarpment. This water fall now bears his name.

The image below is taken from the 1877 County Atlas and shows the Beamer properties as related to the town of Grimsby. Beamer Falls is circled.

Elizabeth Simcoe was the wife of Upper Canada’s first Lieutenant Governor, John Graves Simcoe. She was known for her landscape paintings and the extensive diary that she kept. These combine to give some detailed insights into the area in the 1790s. Her diary entry for May 18, 1794 reads in part: “We coasted to the Forty Mile Creek forty miles from Niagara and passed in at three o’clock. The mouth of this creek forms a fine scene; a very bold spur of high land appears beautiful in the distance. It is about three miles off.” This describes the escarpment where the creek flows over forming Beamer Falls. During my visit the creek was frozen over above the falls.

Beamer Falls has a washboard formation and a drop of 45 metres. The crest is 20 metres wide.

There is a short trail along the north side of 40 Mile Creek that leads to Beamer Memorial Conservation Area. This 450 metre trail is a side trail to the Bruce Trail and is marked with blue blazes.

The area was the floor of a tropical sea that existed over 400 million years ago. Sediment accumulated and eventually created the Niagara Escarpment and the 40 Mile Creek ravine that we see today. Erosion following the last ice age, about 12,000 years ago was greatly enhanced by the flow of water created by the melting glaciers as the ice retreated. Alternating layers of dolostone and sandstone have been left and the dolostone is much more erosion resistant that the sandstone. This creates the steps that can be seen in the waterfall.

The trail follows 40 Mile Creek to an intersection with the Bruce Trail in Beamer Memorial Conservation Area. Starting in Queenston and running to Tobermory the Bruce Trail runs for over 890 kilometres. There are also over 400 kilomtres of side trails, such as this one. Many people record the sections of trail as they complete them so that they can get awarded end-to-end badges for each of the nine sections. When all sections have been completed you can get an end-to-end badge for the entire trail. I have a map and am in the process of highlighting various hikes but am nowhere near completing a section, let alone the entire trail. And, I’ve been at it for decades. But, then again, I’m all over the place when it comes to exploring.

Lake Ontario can be seen in the distance. This is the opposite view to what Elizabeth Simcoe described 230 years ago, although the forest cover is much different today than it was back then.

The falls have a moderate amount of water at this time of year but can be much more spectacular after a heavy rainfall when they carry a lot bigger flow. There’s parking off Ridge Road in two separate little lots that allow you to easily access the falls.

Beamer Memorial Conservation Area has several interconnected trails, including the Bruce Trail and will likely be the focus of a future exploration. The two closest waterfalls to visit if you are in the area are The Devil’s Punch Bowl to the north and Balls Falls to the south.

Google Maps Link: Beamer Falls

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Somerset House Hotel

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February 10, 2024

The Somerset House Hotel was built on the south west corner of Church and Carlton Streets in 1895. It served as a hotel for 35 years until the building was sold. The hotel was renovated in 1930 by the architectural firm of Langley and Howland and was converted into a Bank of Commerce. In 1961 the largest merger in Canadian banking history took place and the Imperial Bank of Canada and the Bank of Commerce joined to become the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. The CIBC branch at 436 Church Street lasted until a few years ago when it was closed and the structure’s future was in question. The building now houses a Pi Co pizza restaurant and bar. On March 15, 1974 the building was listed on the City of Toronto’s register of historic buildings.

The building was designed by Frederick Henry Herbert who lived from 1866 to 1914. He was born in Bath, England and landed in Toronto in 1887. He first apprenticed with Richard Ough but in January 1889 he set up his own firm. Herbert was responsible for many of the homes of the wealthy in Toronto over the next two decades. He made extensive use of the Queen Anne architectural style as well as the Richardsonian Romanesque. Herbert is credited with designing over 75 houses, 19 commercial buildings, 6 institutional buildings including the 3 story addition to Osgood Hall, and 24 industrial buildings during his career.

The Richardsonian Romanesque style models itself on ancient Roman architecture and Medieval structures. It makes use of solid masonry stonework and bricks. Windows and doors are wide round arches which are semi-circular and standing on columns. Windows are usually recessed into the masonry. The doorways are arched and set on the top of small columns. The Somerset House Hotel has a detailed doorway with carvings above and the name set into the lintel of the second story window.

There are many other Richardsonian Romanesque buildings remaining in the city and one of our favourites is close by at 504 Jarvis Street. That mansion can be seen in our post The Mansions of Jarvis Street. It was built in 1889 for George H. Gooderham of Gooderham and Worts whose family built The Distillery District.

The image below shows the view looking north up Church Street past the Somerset House Hotel to the former Maple Leaf Gardens.

The former Sumerset House Hotel stands across the street from Maple Leaf Gardens and the roof can be seen from the upper floor of the Gardens. I remember seeing the building many times as I went to Maple Leaf Gardens to see various concerts over the years. Rush, Triumph, Alice Cooper, Jethro Tull, Coney Hatch, Motorhead, Judas Priest, Red Rider, Payolas and Tragically Hip are just a few of the acts that brought me into the area and past the old Somerset House Hotel.

This building has so far escaped the ongoing redevelopment of the downtown core and hopefully will remain for generations to come.

Google Maps Link: Somerset House Hotel

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	Chris Crofton on Scarborough Railpath Trail
	wp28286574881 on Scarborough Railpath Trail
	Scarborough Railpath… on Beltline Railway – York…
	Scarborough Railpath… on Beltline Railway – Moore…
	Scarborough Railpath… on Beltline Railway – Kay G…

Hiking the GTA

Places to hike and things to see in and around the Greater Toronto Area

Scarborough Railpath Trail

Toogood Pond Park

Our Favourite Hikes

Mullet Creek’s Secret Waterfalls

Maple Leaf Gardens

Enoch Turner Schoolhouse

Shanty Bay Go Karts

Uxbridge Historical Centre

Upper Beamer Falls

Somerset House Hotel