Category Archives: Uncategorized

Milliken – Ghost Towns of the GTA

St. Lawrence Market

Sunday, January 29, 2023

St. Lawrence Market is the oldest continually operating market in the city of Toronto. It was founded 220 years ago in 1803 by order of the Lieutenant Governor, Peter Hunter. It was originally housed in a wooden building which is depicted in the historical sketch below. Notice how all of the surrounding land was still undeveloped as the town of York (later Toronto) was only 10 years old at this time and had a population of less than 1000 people. It was originally known as Market Square and was open on Saturdays for the sale of cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens, produce and other merchandise. A by-law prevented the sale of many of these items anywhere in the city on Saturday between 6am and 4 pm except at the market.

The original building was demolished and replaced in 1831 with a square brick building with an open courtyard in the middle. The market was the primary place for the community to purchase food, including live animals that would be raised in the backyards of the residents homes. It was common for people to have chickens, sheep and pigs in their yards which would be slaughtered to provide meat to feed the family.

The market was developed as two buildings on either side of Front Street. St. Lawrence Market north was replaced several times. A 1968 single story building was demolished in 2015 to make way for a new five story north market. This building is nearing completion and expected to open soon. A future visit may focus on the new north market. The building on the south side of Front Street was rebuilt in 1845 to house Toronto City Hall. It was destroyed in a fire that demolished much of the downtown market core in 1849 and so it was replaced in 1850. This building served as City Hall until 1899 when council moved into the facility on Queen Street which is now known as Old City Hall. The archive picture below shows the 1850 building.

In 1904 both the north and south buildings were replaced. Part of the old city hall was retained and incorporated into the new building. It now forms the main entrance off of Front Street.

The market wasn’t terribly crowded on the Saturday afternoon when we visited and it’s laid out to provide plenty of room to be able to shop in comfort. Local farmers goods are presented in booths that sit next to ones that sell items imported from all around the world.

Several stalls are selling meat including standard cuts of beef, pork and chicken. There’s also some more exotic meats for those who are more adventurous. Buffalo, emu, and kangaroo are all available.

There are plenty of booths selling seafood and you can get almost anything that you can think of here. The market is clean and the food all appears to be fresh and is well presented to make it look very appetizing.

Plenty of fruits and vegetables are available including some of the tastiest strawberries that can be found in the city. National Geographic named St. Lawrence Market as among the world’s top ten best food markets in their September 23, 2011 issue.

A wide range of prepared food can be purchased at St. Lawrence Market. There’s restaurants selling ethnic food from many of the cultures that are represented in Toronto. There’s also plenty of booths selling pastries, sweets and various treats. There’s clothing, jewelry and souvenirs of Toronto and Canada for sale as well.

The market is open from Tuesday to Saturday and entry is free of charge. An antique market used to operate out of St. Lawrence Market but it has recently moved to The Small Arms Building on the former Arsenal Lands site in Mississauga. Watch for a future blog about the antique market.

Google Maps Link: St. Lawrence Market

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Peterborough Lift Lock

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October 9, 2022

On a business trip to Peterborough in July I had a few minutes to stop and watch the operation of Lock 21 on the Trent-Severn Waterway. The waterway is 386 kilometres long and was first travelled by a European in 1615 when Jacques Cartier explored the region using long standing indigenous routes.

The canal was originally surveyed as a military route with the first lock being built in 1833 as part of a commercial venture. Three more locks were under construction in 1837 when the Rebellion broke out. It was determined that the canal would have too many locks to be used for rapid troop movements and so the three locks were completed, and progress was suspended. With the canal incomplete and no outlet to a major lake it was connected to other travel routes by toll roads, plank roads and eventually by railways. The image below shows the side view of the lift lock in Peterborough,

It was restarted in the late 1880s by the government of Sir John A. Macdonald, but little progress was made, and it was generally used as a political tool to get votes from the communities along the route. In the late 1890s it was undertaken with a new commitment, and it reached Peterborough and Lake Simcoe in 1904. The First World War slowed progress again and it didn’t reach Trenton until 1918 and Georgian Bay in 1920. By this time the ships had grown too big for the canal system and railways were carrying most of the commercial traffic. It became a pleasure route and eventually would be declared a National Historic Site of Canada and be used as a linear park. The image below shows the lift lock with the left hand side elevated and the right side being loaded for the next lift.

When it was completed in 1904 it was the highest hydraulic boat lift in the world and the largest concrete structure in the world. The vertical lift was 65 feet (20 metres) while most conventional locks had a lift of 7 feet (2.3 metres). The system consists of two identical caissons that sit at the level of the river at their lowest point. They each sit on a 7.5 metre diameter ram. In the picture below the lift is half completed and the two caissons can be seen beside each other.

When the lift reaches the top, it stops 12 inches below the water level in the upper reach. The gate is opened and water flows in to equalize with the level of the river in the upper reach. This causes the upper caisson to increase in weight so that it is 1844 short tons compared to the lower one which has 1700 tons of water in it. When the system is ready to reverse the valve between the two rams is opened and the extra weight in the upper caisson pushed the ram of the lower caisson up until the positions are reversed. The system requires no external power as the weight of the water is enough to operate the system.

Just below the lock is a swing bridge that allows the Canadian Pacific Railway to cross the river. When not in use by the railway it is moved out of the way of boat traffic on the river.

The Peterborough Lift lock was declared a National Historical Site in 1979.

Google Maps Link: Peterborough Lift Lock

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Milne Dam Conservation Area 2022

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Milne Dam Conservation Area is a 305 acre park in Markham which we have visited a few times. There are two previous blogs which talk about the park and the new bridges that were added across the Rouge River near the dam. We won’t be repeating very much of the information from those two stories and links to them can be found at the end of this blog.

The east end of the lake has become overgrown with lily pads this summer. Although the pads appear to float on the surface they are actually on long stems that grow from the bottom of the lake. The top side is flat but on the bottom of the leaves they have a series of tubes that are connected to openings on the top of the pad called stomas. Up to two litres of air are transported each day from the top of the pad to the root system using these tubes. Lily pads provide protection for small fish and also a safe place for frogs to sit and hide from underwater predators and catch flies and other insects.

Before you reach the dam you come to the newly constructed Milne Creek Bridge. It is 42 metres long and helps connect the Markham Rouge Valley Trail which begins in Unionville at Toogood Pond. The new bridges in the Milne Dam Conservation Area were officially opened on September 21, 2019. The first three phases of the 15 kilometre trail are completed with the final phase currently under construction.

The first concrete and steel dam in Canada was built by Archie Milne on the Rouge River in 1911. It replaced a mill dam that had been located on the site since 1820. In the 1950s the dam and surrounding lands were bought by the Metropolitan Toronto and Region Conservation Authority who created Milne Dam Conservation Area using the dam to help with flood control on the Rouge River.

Canada Thistle is also known as Creeping Thistle and in spite of its name is not native to Canada. It was likely imported from the Mediterranean area by early settlers. Residents of New England blamed the emergence of the thistle on French Canadian traders and therefore gave it the name Canada Thistle. It grows both by seeds that are carried on the wind and by horizontal roots that spread below ground. It grows in open areas and likes lots of direct sunlight and can be found growing amongst crops such as canola, wheat and barley where it reduces the cash value of the crops. It tends to attract pollinators like bees and butterflies so therefore it has some benefits as well.

There is a small trail at the west end of the lake that leads down to the river where a floating walkway allows you to cross to the other side and into Camp Chimo. There is no entry fee for people who walk in to Camp Chimo and it can also be accessed from McCowan Road.

For a small fee families and youth can take basic canoe training and safety lessons at the camp.

Camp Chimo is a day camp for children that operates on the south side of the lake. They have archery, a climbing wall, a large bonfire pit and plenty of activities for the children to participate in.

Surprisingly, the children’s day camp is full of dense stands of wild parsnip. This toxic plant isn’t native to North America and was likely brough in by people who grew it for its edible root. Unfortunately, it has spread in the wild and can choke out native plants. The stems, leaves and flowers contain chemicals that make the skin more sensitive to sunlight and can cause burns and severe dermatitis. While the City of Markham cannot possibly eradicate the weed, they should try to control it in a day camp for children.

There is a nature trail on the south side of the lake which is a 5.3 kilometer loop that will bring you back to the summer camp. It is an easy trail and is suitable for all skill levels of hikers but is not accessible for handicapped people. It can also be followed to the far end of the lake and then, using the bridge by the dam, it can be turned into a longer loop back through Milne Dam Park.

Milne Dam Conservation Area has a nominal entrance fee of $4.50 per person on the weekends and holidays but is free during the week. It is well worth the entry fee because it is usually not crowded and there’s lots of picnic tables and several kilometers of trails to walk on.

Related stories: Milne Dam Conservation Area, Milne Dam Bridge

Google Maps Link: Milne Dam Park

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Old City Hall

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May 29, 2022

When Toronto was incorporated as a city in 1834 it changed its name from York and it started a city hall in a temporary accommodation in the market buildings. They stayed there from 1834 until 1844 as the city continued to grow. By 1845 they were looking for a new larger space for the city council to meet. They found it in what is now St. Lawrence Market but as the city continued to expand it soon needed even more space. Toronto city architect Edward James Lennox was commissioned to design a new city hall. The building was intended to house both the Toronto City Hall and York County Court House. The design work was begun in 1883 but not completed until 1886. Construction began in 1889 and there is a date stone on the west side of the building to commemorate it.

Construction would last for ten years and along with delays there were many cost over-runs. The building of the foundations was particularly slow and delayed completion. When it opened on September 18, 1899 it was the largest municipal building in North America. The cost ran up to 2.5 million dollars which is the equivalent of 53 million dollars in 2022.

The building was constructed in the Richardsonian Romanesque Revival style which was popular for large public buildings in that era. The dominant feature of the building is the 104 metre tall clock tower. It was placed off centre so that it would be seen as central by those looking up Bay Street.

The east side of the building was identified as City Hall and the lettering can be seen among the finely carved sandstone above the doorway.

York County Court House was entered from the west side of the building and the words can be seen in the sandstone carvings above that entrance.

The building features sandstone from the Credit Valley as well as near Orangeville and as far away as New Brunswick. There’s plenty of towers and round arched openings and delicate carvings all around the façade.

The building is four storys tall and includes an attic and basement. The steeply pitched hipped roof is cut by gable dormers and the windows are often set in pairs or arcaded bands with colonettes and stone mullions.

Clock tower still has a working clock and and is set with medieval motifs.

The original gargoyles on the clock tower were in poor shape by 1938 and so they were removed to eliminate the risk that they would fall and injure someone. New ones were fashioned out of bronze in 2002 and installed on the tower bringing back some of its former glory.

The details that can be seen around all four sides include an image of the sun as well as butterflies and caricatures of some of the city councilors who gave Lennox a hard time about the delays and price increases.

It was only a few decades before the building was becoming too small for the size of city council and the courthouse. When Metropolitan Toronto was formed in 1953 the courthouse was moved to Newmarket and City Hall occupied the entire building. In spite of this, the building was destined to be replaced with a new city hall in 1965.

The building shape is known as a quadrangle and it has an inner courtyard. In its present use as a courthouse this is where the police vehicles enter with the people who are being charged with a crime and are facing the judge for trial or a bail hearing. The courtyard can be accessed from the inside of the building but is not open to casual pedestrians who merely wish to look around.

The original plan for the Eaton Centre included the demolition of the Old City Hall but a group of concerned citizens managed to save it. It became a courthouse once again and was designated as a National Historic Site in 1984. The city has built a new courthouse and the plans for the old city hall are once again up for discussion. One plan would see it used as a new city museum. There are over 150,000 historic artifacts in the city archives which are rarely put on display and this could make an excellent home for them.

Old City Hall is just as elaborate inside as it is on the outside and you used to be able to get in on any day that court was in session.

See also our post on Queens Park, another of the historic government buildings in downtown Toronto.

To see a list of our top 50 stories check out our post Back Tracks – 8 Years of Trails.

Google Maps Link: Old City Hall

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Back Tracks – 8 Years of Trails

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Sunday April 24, 2022

Hiking the GTA was founded in April 2014 and this post marks our eighth anniversary and our 553rd post. To celebrate, we’re presenting our top 50 posts as determined by the number of times the story has been read. You can click on either the post title or the picture caption to be taken to the original post, each of which is about a five minute read with 10-12 pictures. Each one also has a Google Maps link so that you can find it for your own exploration. How many have you been to and how many are going on your “places to visit” list? Have a look and see.

50 – The Bloor Viaduct (Published June 23, 2018)

The story behind one of Toronto’s most iconic bridges.

49 – Coopers Falls – Ghost Towns of Ontario (Published Dec. 12, 2020)

A famous cottage country ghost town with multiple empty buildings.

48 – Culham Trail Mississauga (Published May 23, 2016)

This trail along the Credit River links a lot of historic places.

47 – Adamson Estate (Published Jan. 25, 2015)

An historic estate linked to the Cawthra family and built in 1920.

46 – La Grande Hermine (Published Sep. 19, 2016)

This ship has become a landmark along the QEW but recently had its masts removed.

45 – The Alexandria (Published Jan. 12, 2019)

The story of a steamer that sank off the Scarborough Bluffs in 1915.

44 – Ontario Place (Published Jul. 21, 2018)

The creation and abandonment of a downtown Toronto theme park.

43 – Horseshoe Curve Rail Disaster (Published Jun. 14, 2016)

Seven people were killed and 114 injured in the worst rail disaster in this part of the province.

42 – Barber Paper Mills Georgetown (Published Jun. 9, 2015)

The story of the famous paper mill ruins in Georgetown.

41 – Cache Lake Trestle – Algonquin Park (Published Jul. 18, 2016)

The story of a railway through Algonquin Park and the decaying trestle left behind.

40 – Kerosene Castle – Oakville (Published Aug. 18, 2015)

A home and an empire built on refining kerosene in Oakville.

39 – Joshua Creek (Published Mar. 29, 2017)

A journey from upstream to the mouth of the creek.

38 – Glenorchy – Ghost Towns of the GTA (Published Dec. 17, 2017)

A ghost town in Halton with a famous bridge collapse.

37 – Taber Hill Ossuary (Published Apr. 16, 2017)

An indigenous burial site disturbed by construction in Scarborough.

36 – David Watson House – 1859 (Published Nov. 26, 201)

This house near Orangeville recently had the rear wall collapse and may soon disappear.

35 – Milkman’s Lane (Published Jan. 7, 2016)

The story of an old roadway near downtown Toronto that is now a walking trail.

34 – Hog’s Back Park – Oakville (Published Feb. 1, 2017)

A park on Sixteen Mile Creek with interesting ruins.

33 – The Devil’s Well (Published Nov. 30, 2015)

A giant glacial pothole near Rockwood Conservation Area.

32 – The Devil’s Punch Bowl (Published Dec. 29, 2015)

One of the most beautiful waterfalls in the Hamilton area.

31 – The Hilarious House of Frightenstein (Published Apr. 6, 2019)

Actor Billy Van once owned this house which is falling over the Scarborough Bluffs.

30 – Cedarena (Published Feb. 2, 2019)

A once famous skating rink in now abandoned near Rouge Park.

29 – Spadina (Published Dec. 27, 2014)

28 – The Ridgetown – Port Credit (Published May 25, 2015)

The story of the ship at the end of the break wall in Port Credit.

27 – Raymore Drive (Published Jun. 15, 2014)

This community was washed away by hurricane Hazel.

26 – The Devil’s Pulpit (Published Jun. 12, 2015)

One of the most scenic hikes in the Caledon area.

25 – London Asylum For The Insane (Published Jun. 22, 2019)

The London Asylum for the Insane opened in November of 1870.

24 – Mullet Creek’s Secret Waterfalls (Published Oct. 18, 2015)

This beautiful little spot in Mississauga has lately been posted as No Trespassing, a real shame.

23 – Half-Mile Bridge (Published Aug. 17, 2014)

The Don River and DVP both pass under this unused rail corridor which was opened in 1891.

22 – Cedarvale Park (Published Jul. 27, 2019)

Three people were killed and thirty taken to the hospital in 1995 in Toronto’s worst subway accident with rescue operations being conducted in this city park.

21 – The Vandalized Memorial – Taras Shevchenko Museum (Published Dec. 15, 2015)

This memorial to Ukrainian hero Taras Shevchenko was vandalized several times and now is a housing development.

20 – Palermo – Ghost Towns of the GTA (Published Nov. 29, 2017)

Palermo still has several original structures but is threatened with urban sprawl.

19 – River and Ruin Side Trail (Published Aug. 19, 2017)

Unfortunately, someone decided to knock this old stone house over and ruined the famous ruins.

18 – Country Hospital For Sick Children (Published Oct. 27, 2016)

In 1928 the Hospital For Sick Children opened a building in the country for the care of children and the building still stands amongst the abandoned grounds.

17 – Scarborough’s Most Eccentric Home (Published Nov. 13, 2021)

One man’s collection of architectural styles all mixed together makes this a very unique home.

16 – Lotten – Cawthra Estate Mississauga (Published Feb. 4, 2016)

This beautiful house stands in the forests surrounding the old Cawthra estate.

15 – Omagh – Ghost Towns of the GTA (Published Jan. 23, 2021)

Omagh is outside of Milton and seems to have escaped urban spawl up to now.

14 – Graydon Hall (Published Jan. 12, 2015)

Apartment buildings surround the mansion and its gardens.

13 – Camp 20 – Bowmanville (Published Apr. 7, 2018)

These buildings have been a school as well as a POW camp for German prisoners during WW2.

12 – The Longhouse People of Crawford Lake (Published Nov. 24, 2015)

Several longhouses have been reconstructed at Crawford lake where an indigenous village once stood.

11 – Gates Gully – Scarborough (Published May 8, 2016)

Gates Gully cuts through the Scarborough Bluffs and holds tales of hidden treasure and sunken ships.

10 – Ringwood – Ghost Towns of the GTA (Published Feb 3, 2018)

Ringwood is near Markham but still has much of its small town architecture intact.

9 – Camp Calydor – Gravenhurst German POW Camp Published Aug. 6, 2015)

Little remains of the German POW camp in Gravenhurst as most of it lies under a subdivision now.

8 – Mimico Branch Asylum (Published Jan. 2, 2017)

Many of Toronto’s mental patients were housed here between 1890 and 1979.

7 – Toronto’s Abandoned Roads Published Apr. 9, 2017)

There are several abandoned roads within Toronto and this post shows you where to find them.

6 – Moccasin Trail Park (Published May 7, 2018)

This park features the famous Rainbow Tunnel that can be seen from the Don Valley Parkway.

5 – Merriton Tunnel (Blue Ghost Tunnel) (Published Feb. 28, 2018)

This abandoned railway tunnel was built under the third Welland Canal.

4 – Bond Lake (Published Sep. 13, 2016)

Bond lake once hosted a theme park and an electric railway station.

3 – The Gap (Published Nov. 16, 2016)

A gap in the escarpment is crossed by the Bruce Tail.

2 – Rice Lake’s Sunken Railway (Published Jul 26, 2016)

A railway used to run straight across Rice Lake and is still just below the surface.

1 – Newmarket Ghost Canal (Published Jun. 25, 2015)

The remains of a failed attempt to build a canal from Lake Simcoe to New Market

So, which one is first on you list now? Have fun and stay safe.

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Mongolia – Ghost Towns of the GTA

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Sunday, April 3, 2022

Mongolia was a community that grew around the modern intersection of Elgin Mills Road and Reesor Road. Peter De Guere arrived in 1801 and took the north west corner on lot 26. The adjoining lots were soon taken up as people cleared land for farming. As the community grew it got a tavern in 1841 and took on the name California Corners. It was never more than a farming community with a school, Methodist Church, and a Temperance Hall beside the blacksmiths shop. The rural atmosphere was lost in 1972 when the federal government decided that the flat land north of Pickering would make a good site for a future airport. They expropriated the entire town and then never built the airport. Studies show it won’t ever be needed and slowly the government is giving sections of the airport lands to help create Rouge National Urban Park. This is a far better use for the land, although it could still be productive farm land again. To explore and record what remains before it is lost we parked at the trail parking lot on the south east corner of the intersection. From there you can walk up or down Reesor Road to view the old homes or follow the trail to the historic Boyles Pioneer Cemetery. We did both. The 1877 county atlas section below shows many of the homes that still remain as well as the trail to the cemetery, which is marked with a star.

It was in 1853 that James Holden bought the corner of David Nightswanders property and the following year he opened a general store which he operated until 1861. When Nightswander got a post office for the town in 1864 he was told the name California Corners could not be used and so Mongolia was chosen from a list of approved names. A house was added beside the store in about 1870 but the store and post office burned down in 1920, leaving just the house behind. It is now being used as an information centre for Rouge National Urban Park and is one of the few homes from Mongolia that is still in great condition.

Martin Noble built this farm house in1840 and like several other older homes in the community it has been covered in white siding. I wonder if it was built of field stone like so many of the local homes were in the mid 1800s. I think we’ll be able to find out soon as the roof is caving in on this home in spite of it being on the heritage listing for Markham. Mongolia appears to be falling victim to neglect like so many of the heritage properties in the Pickering Airport Lands. It’s interesting that a designated home can’t have unapproved alterations because they can detract from the heritage properties that set it aside for preservation. However, there’s no provision in the listing to require a property to be maintained even though lack of maintenance is seriously detracting from the heritage value of these buildings.

The fields and forests around Mongolia are littered with the neglected dreams of the former inhabitants. Many out buildings, barns and drive sheds remain as well as several abandoned cars and at least a couple of boats. Now that this section of the former airport lands has been designated as part of Rouge National Urban Park it may be that some of this will be demolished while the rest is left to vanish into the new forest as it regrows across the farm fields.

The James Collins house was built in 1850 and was also subjected to white siding which likely hides a lovely brick or stone home on its stone foundation. The entire back side of this house is missing the roof and it won’t be long before this heritage designated home is lost forever.

The drive shed on the property is still in very good condition even though it may have been 50 years since the farm was active.

Another heritage property is the David Burke house from 1850. This home still looks pretty solid but has had all the interior walls stripped down to just the framing. One noticeable alteration to the home is the ground floor windows which have been replaced with smaller ones. Buff coloured bricks have been used to fill in the openings around the smaller windows which hides the alteration from a casual glance.

The Adam Betz house stands on the south west corner lot as it has done since 1851. Another one of the white siding victims in town, it stands an a thick stone foundation that may indicate another beautiful stone house.

Henry Barkey took over the North East corner of the intersection from Jacob Barkey in 1832 and lived near the centre of the lot. In 1860 a blacksmith shop was built near the corner of the intersection and was rented by George Calvert who appears in the 1861 census and the following couple as well.

The tenant in the house next door was usually the blacksmith although after the blacksmith shop closed it was rented to various people until it was taken over for the airport. It still appears to be lived in under a rental arrangement with the government.

School section #22 originally occupied a frame building on the east side of Reesor Road but in 1882 a new brick school house was opened across the street. When the school was closed the building was renovated and continues to serve as a residence.

There is a new trail that leads west from the parking lot and then turns south. It currently runs for only a little more than a kilometre but will eventually connect to a new parking lot on Major Mackenzie Drive. If you keep your eyes open you will find a 1965 Plymouth Fury which has obviously been parked here for quite some time. The Fury model was first released for the 1956 model year and was updated to its fourth generation for 1965.

The Methodist church stood north of the main intersection but its burial grounds were on the property of John Boyles. Located on a small plateau overlooking the river, it stands about 400 meters from the road. The stones have been gathered up and placed into an unusual ground level cairn with the stones lying flat. They may be more subject to the weather than they would be in a more common vertical presentation. There are at least 47 burials commemorated in this cairn and one additional one from 2002 that has a grave marker beside it. Please note that the trail ends before the cemetery and it is not part of the trail. If you choose to visit, please do so respectfully.

The gravestones in this cairn mark the lives of many of the early families in the area. John Boyles was the property owner and he died June 23, 1885 at the age of 91 and is buried here. Catherine Kester died on Sept. 12, 1816 in her 60th year and her headstone is one of the earliest that I’ve photographed anywhere in the GTA.

We previously looked at Brougham, which is another one of the Pickering Airport Lands ghost towns, which has also been left to rot and be demolished. Mongolia has a lot of heritage designated buildings that won’t be around in another ten years because they’re already becoming structurally unsound.

Related stories: For more information about the Pickering Airport check out our post Brougham – Ghost Towns of the GTA.

Google Maps Link: Mongolia

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Boynton House – Richmond Green

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Sunday, March 27, 2022

Richmond Green is the largest park in Richmond Hill and is located at the modern intersection of Elgin Mills Road and Leslie Street. When the land was surveyed for a farm lot it was numbered 26 and extended from East York Line (Bayview Avenue) to Leslie and comprised 200 acres of forest. The original land grant was given to Peter Gotfried Phillipson in 1816 but as soon as he had gained ownership he sold it to John Doner. It was sold several times and finally in the 1840’s the east half and the west half were each sold as separate 100 acre lots. Thomas Fenby Boynton bought the east half lot in 1874 and he is shown as the owner in the section of the 1877 County Altas map shown below.

The original log home on the property was replaced the following year with the present brick home. It was a typical three-bay, storey and a half house in red brick. The trim work was done in buff brick giving the home a distinctive look. In the early 1900s Thomas Edward Boynton added the front porch in the Edwardian Classical style that was popular after 1910.

A small amount of gingerbread adorns the front gable over the gothic window which is accented by the use of buff coloured bricks. The window has fine pattern of glazing which creates additional gothic arches in the glass.

The Town of Richmond Hill bought the Boynton farm in 1974 to create a new park and fairgrounds. Initially, the area around the barn was used for a recycling depot for the town. The Spring Fair had been a tradition in Richmond Hill since 1849 and in 1985 the new park was ready to welcome its first Spring Fair. However, as Richmond Hill expanded over the agricultural lands around it the Spring Fair became obsolete and the last one was held in 1996. In 1985 Richmond Green also became home to the first indoor soccer fields in Canada. The picture below shows how the house has been expanded on the back where the patterned brickwork wasn’t continued.

The barn is long gone but the silo remains. The use of concrete blocks identifies it as having been built in the early 20th century when it would have been used to store feed for the farm animals. There is still a barn and paddock on site as well as a host of other features including an in-line skate trail that is turned into a skating trail in the winter. There are also soccer fields, ball diamonds, bocce courts, outdoor basketball courts and two ice rinks as well as trails throughout the grounds.

The Canadian Northern Railway (CNO) arrived in Richmond Hill in 1906 and built a station, freight shed and water tower. The line linked Toronto with Northern Ontario and was one of the railway lines amalgamated to form the Canadian National Railway (CNR) in 1918. The standard design for CNO stations involved having a waiting room on one end and a freight area on the other. The station master had the section in the middle. The post card below shows the station in 1906 and was taken from The Richmond Hill Archives.

As diesel replaced steam in the 1950s, so personal automobiles replaced trains as a means of transportation. The water tower became obsolete and was removed and by 1968 there wasn’t enough passenger traffic to keep the station open.

In 1979 the station was moved to the soccer fields at Richmond Green and is now used as a clubhouse by The Richmond Hill Soccer Club.

The park hosts several seasonal events including Canada Day, a ribfest and antique shows making it a place worth visiting several times.

John Burk – Pioneers of the GTA

	Maria Borkowski on North Toronto Station
	Georgetown Community… on Barber Paper Mills –…
	Jan Hemmings on North Toronto Station
	Bjorn Visser on Roundhouse Park
	North Toronto Statio… on Boynton House – Richmond…

Hiking the GTA

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

Category Archives: Uncategorized

Milliken – Ghost Towns of the GTA

St. Lawrence Market

Peterborough Lift Lock

Milne Dam Conservation Area 2022

Old City Hall

Back Tracks – 8 Years of Trails

Mongolia – Ghost Towns of the GTA

Boynton House – Richmond Green

John Burk – Pioneers of the GTA

Doube’s Trestle Bridge