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6
INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS.
Bird's Eye \'ievv of Toronto .
Armoury .....
Arms and Mott- of Toronto .
Chl-rciiks —
Methodist Metropolitan Church
St. Andrew's Church
St. James' Cathedral
St. Michael's Cathedral
City Hall (Old Buildinir)
City Hall, The
Entrance to City Hall
Main Corridor, City Hall
Stained Glass Window, City Hall
Government House
Horticultural Gardens .
Industrial Exhibition Ground
Massey Hall .
Mayor Lyon Mackenzie (1834)
Mayor John Shaw (1899)
Normal School Building
Osgoode Hall
Parliament Building
Toronto University
Trinity University.
Windmill, the Old .
York Pioneer's Cabin
P.\C5E.
Frontispiece.
9
23
24
21
22
'7
32
34
36
35
27
25
16
28
9
'3
•9
20
19
40
41
8
6
«| I !■ I w^ ,1 IPMI^mi^
i
Toronto,
Historical, Descriptive
.nd Pictorial.
BY
ALEXANDER ERASER,
Author of •• Historical Sketch of Toronto." " Historv of T<,ronto." Etc.
Compilfd and Published by the Authority of the
CITY COUNCIL.
Under the Direction of the
BOARD OF CONTROL OF TORONTO.
flR5T SERIES. COMPLETING FIVE THOUSAND.
i
^^tor.c >^;^ X
^^
MBRARY
MAY 23 1956 |
TORONTO: j
PR|jj*.^^Y R. G. McLEAN. .' V *»
^Ji^mn end W^^
■ Bill I ■■ I T-
r
Entered aceordinsf to Act of the Parliament of Canada in the vear
one thousand eight hundred and ninety-nine, byJALEXANDKK Fka'skk,
in the office of the Minister of Agriculture.
...CONTENTS...
P/.GK.
I.— Historical Sketch .... 5
Boundaries Extended . .10
Capture of the Town, 1813 . 8
Confederation of the Piovinces. 11
Eastern Gap F"ormed . . . .11
First Mayor and Council. . . 9
First Railway Promoted . .11
F"irst Weekly Market ... 8
Incorporated as a City, 1834 . g
Industrial Exhibition F"ounded,
1878 M
Mayor and Council of 1899 . . 12
.Name Chanj^ed to York, 1793 . 7
Old Residenters 9
Orig'inal Town Plan .... 7
Original Names of Streets . 7
Police System Inaugoirated, 1814 9
Prince of Wales Visit, i860 . .11
Seat of Government Removed . 10
Self-Government Granted, 1814 9
Semi-Centennial Celebration
1884 II
Site of Town Selected, 1793. . 7
Valuation of Property, 1834. . 10
II -MiNiciPAL Progress and
Government 13
>3
'3
13
14
14
City Boundaries Extended .
Present System Adopted, 1896
Board of Control ....
St rinding- Committees
Administration : The Depart-
ments
Treasury : City's Financial
Standing 14
Works Department . . . .15
Assessment and Other Depart-
ments
Protection Against Fire
Police Department
1^
16
III
r-A City of Ho.mes. A Centre
OF Tr.wel
Art Gallery
Climate,, etc. ...
Convention City ....
Hotel Accommodation
Industrial Exhibition.
Natural Surroundings
Out-door Sports ....
Outlying Resorts ....
Public Parks . . . . .
Railway and Steamboat Lines
Situation of the City .
The Stage, Theatres, etc. .
Street Railway Service .
Toronto Island
Winter Residence ....
AGE.
'9
30
«9
29
29
29
20
30
27
20
27
20
30
30
26
28
IV.
Population 16
PiBLic Blildings and Insti-
TLTIONS 33
Churches 42
City Hall and Court House . 32-37
Colleges 39-41
Education Department 38
High Schools 42
Hospitals and Charities . • ■ 39
Libraries 38
Osgoode Hall 38
Parliament Building • ... 37
Public Schools 42
Separate Schools 42
The Press 43
V. — Indlstrv, Commerce,
Finance 44
Banks, Loan and Insurance
Companies 45
Factories, etc 44
Freight Transportation ... 46
Live Stock Trade 46
Retail and Wholesale Trade . 44
■ mwM« w fm
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E
Toronto:
^ ^ THE QUEEN CITY.
I.— HISTORICAL.
TORONTO has a record second to none in the Muni-
cipal, Educational, Ecclesiastical and Commercial
affairs of Canada. She lays no claim to a long,
historic past, bristling with great event and stirring
incident, nor does she boast landmarks on which
the mold of ages has engraved its impression. Yet
her story, if not inscrolled on the page of classic
antiquity, is interwoven with glowing legend, the
romantic creations of picturesque or poetic fancy, devoid
neither of passion nor pathos, in the domain of love or war;
while to the student of the curious, the short chapter of her
early topography offers material o( some historic value.. For,
long ere her site had been staked out by Governor Simcce, nation
met nation on the shores of her beautiful bay to rendezvous for
raid and rapine, or to smoke the calumet of peace ; and later on,
when the pale-face sought adventure or gain, on the great Indian
trails, he bivouacked with the friendly Hurons at Toronto, — the
most important port between the Georgian Bay and the outlets on
the south-eastern shores of Lake Ontario. The fierce struggles of
the warlike Iroquois for racial supremacy resulting in the exter-
mination of the Hurons, and the martyrdom of the Jesuit mission-
aries, fill a chapter of horrors and of heroic sufferings, as do the
energy and stratagem of the Voyageurs, one of pioneer enterprise.
It was then, in 1749, that Toronto was first organized as a white
man's centre of trade by the erection of a wooden fort, protected
by a stockade. It was named Fort Rouille, after the Colonial
Minister of France then in power. Around this post a small com-
munity of French and Indians sprang up, and a few hundred acres
of land were cleared. The British colonies to the south also sent
out their intrepid traders, and thenceforward the strife was not
between the Wyandots and Iroquois, but between the British and
6
HISTORICAL, DESCRIPTIVE AND PICTORIAL.
the French, and Fort Rouille was the centre o( intri£i;-ue and plot,
if Ip»%s rniel not loss calculating^ than those ofthe stolid children of
the forest. Fort Rouille, sometimes known as '* Fort Toronto,"
and " The Old French Fort," was destroyed in 1759 by the instruc-
tions of (lovernor Vaudreuil, so that it mi^ht not fall into the hands
of the victorious Britons. It was situated at the south-western
YORK PIONEEH&' CABIN, EXHIBITION GROUNDS.
corner of the Industrial Exhibition grounds of to-day, and a
memorial pillar near the Pioneers' Cabin now marks the spot.
But Toronto entered upon the stage of throbbing modern life
just before the beginning of the progressive nineteenth century,
and she has kept pace with its majestic onward march. She is
essentially a modern city, and the enterprise and achievements of
HISTORICAL, DESCRIPTIVE AND PICTORIAL. 7
her citizens as displayed in extensive and varied commerce, in her
magnificent buildings, her palatial mansions, her unrivalled
climate, and her beautiful natural surroundings, are her crowning
glory and the source of her especial pride.
Lieut. -Col. John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant-Governor
of Ontario, in 1793 selected the site on which the city of Toronto
stands, with the view of building a Capital for the province. The
first settlers of the prospective town were the Corps of Queen's
Rangers who arrived from Queenston, in August, 1793, followed
by the governor in the same month. During the fall of 1793 and
the winter of 1794 Simcoe lived in a canvas tent which had
belonged to Captain Cook, the famous navigator. Of this first
"Government House" of Toronto the facetious Bouchette says that
although its substance was but frail, '* it was rendered exceedingly
comfortable, and soon became as distinguished for the social and
urbane hospitality of its venerated and gracious host, as for the
peculiarity of its structure." On the 27th August, 1793, the
Lieutenant-Governor changed the name of the place from Toronto
— " A place of meeting*" — to York, in honor of the Duke of York,
the second son of King George IIL, at that time engaged in the
war with France. The camp was located near the mouth and on
the western bank of the river Don. Two Indian families of the
Mississaga tribe with their wattled wigwams had settled on the
bay before Simcoe's survey was made, but no other human
inhabitants were found. So energetically, however, did the
Lieutenant-Governor set to work that before he had left the Province
in 1796 the place had taken on the appearance of a growing town.
The original town plan was in the form of a parallelogram,
the boundary streets being, on the west, George Street; on the
south. Palace Street ; on the east Ontario Street ; on the north,
Duchess Street. It may be interesting to recall the meaning of
the early street nomenclature of the city. George Street was
named after George, Prince of Wales (George IV.), Duchess Street,
after the Duchess of York, Frederick Street, after the Duke of
York, Caroline Street, after the Princess of Wales (Queen
Caroline), Yonge Street, after Sir George Yonge, Secretary of
State for War, and Simcoe Street, after the founder of the city.
•According to Rev, Dr. Scadding—" Toronto Past and Present "-the word
"Toronto' is of Huron origin, and means, "A place of meeting" He quotes
Sagard's " Dictionary of the Huron Language," published at Paris in 1632, in which
"Toronton" is given as meaning in French, "beaucoup" or "plenty," applied to
men as well as to things, and applicable to the rendezvous of the Indian tribes. Lake
Simcoe, at that time was Lake Toronto, the Humber river, Toronto river, and by the
name Toronto the Otonabee and the Trent rivers were also known.
8
HISTORICAL, DESCRIPTIVE AND PICTORIAL.
'HE first meetinjEj o( the Upper Canada Legisla-
ture was held in York in 17CJ7 and was opened
by President Peter Russell, who carried on the
administration durinj^ the interrej;;num betw .en
Lieutenant-Governor Simcoe's departure in 1796
and Lieutenant-General Peter Hunter's arrival
in 1799. Alter President Russell, old Russell
Square and Peter Street were named. The
year 1803 is interesting" in the history of the
city as the year in which the first weekly market
was established, by the setting apart of about
five acres of land for the purpose. On a portion
of* this site St. Lawrence market is built, and
the city still owns the land, from which a large
revenue is now derived. St. James Cathedral had
its beginning this year, in which also a visit was
paid to the town by the Duke of Kent, whose daughter,
then unborn, was to become Victoria the greatest of British
monarchs.
The aggregate value of the town property then was ;;^i4,87i
and ;£^62 were paid in taxes. The area was 420 acres, and the
population 456. In 1807 the first public school was established
and it still flourishes as the Jarvis Street Collegiate Institute. The
surrender of the town to the Americans in 1013 was no disgrace
to the citizens who were left practically unprotected by the acting
Governor and Commandant, General Sheaff"e. Britain and the
United States were at war, General Hull had surrendered, Brock
and Macdonell had fallen at Queenston, and in pursuance of the
campaign Commodore Chauncey and General Dearborn made a
descent on York, on their way from Sacketts' Harbor to Fort
George. The soldiers landed at old Fort Toronto after a stubborn
resistance by a few regulars, the Militia and Indians, and marched
on the town. General Sheaffe withdrew the garrison and made
for Kingston leaving only the small militia corps behind. Sergeant
Marshall fired the powder magazine, the explosion of which
wrought death and damage to the invaders, but the handful of
citizens in face of a superior force wisely capitulated. Private
property was respected, but the public stores were seized and the
Parliament Buildings were destroyed. In the fight, about 52
Canadians were killed and 87 wounded, the American casualties
being about 200. The town was occupied eleven days. Three
months later Commodore Chauncey took possession of the town
HISTORICAL, DESCRIPTIVE AND PICTORIAL. 9
' ~^ >^ ai^-ain, when the ordinary rules
^^ ^^ ^ of war were disregarded and
/ r* ^ll^ neither property nor the per-
.' ■"'"'f^ ' sonsof the citizens werespared.
/ ^ The General Hospital was
' */^ I originated in 1814 and muni-
^\ w - ■» ,. ^w cipal self-government was con-
r.'^:>. ferred upon the town by an
^ /•■>^ ^ ^'-'t of '87, in which provision
^ ^"w^ ^^^^ made for police regula-
1 ▲ » ^ i'j# tions. Business was extend-
ing and the prosperity of the
citizens attracted the attention
of the country, during the
/ second decade of the century.
,^ Among the leadin;if men, the
y more familiar names were,
Rev. Dr. Strachan, Thos.
WM. LvoN MACKCNzic. ESQ.. Scott, Johu McGill, Dummer
, TOBONTo-B Finar MAvoR. Powell, Osgoode, the Bald-
wins, Jarvises, Ridouts, Allan,
Shaw, Cameron, Macdonell, Mercer, Cawthra, Jordan, Post,
John Small, Wm. Chewett, Draper, Emsley, Boulton, Bidwell,
Hagerman, Denison, Robinson, Rolph, and shortly afterwards,
that of Mackenzie.
Incorporation of the City, — From 1824 to 1834 the population
increased from about one to nine thousand with a goodly variety
of industries, and in the latter year York was incorporated as a
city with its old name "Toronto " restored
to it. Mr. Jarvis, member for York,
introduced the bill for incorporation into
the Legislature in February, 1834, and it
became law on the 6th of March following.
Under its provisions the city was divided
'*y ^Mi l^iiP into five wards, the names oi which and of
"^Jwl^^mwSL their representatives were: St. Andrew's,
K^^^^^^^^T T. D. Morrison, John Harper, Aldermen ;
jtgr\^ John Armstrong, John Doel, Councilmen ;
St. David's, Wm. Lyon Mackenzie, James
Lesslie, Aldermen ; Franklin Jackes, Colin Drummond, Council-
men ; St. George's, Thos. Carfrae, Jr., Edward Wright, Aldermen ;
John Craig, George Gurnett, Councilmen ; St. Lawrence, George
lO HISTORICAL, DESCRIPTIVE AND PICTORIAL.
Munro, George Duji^g-an, Sr., Aldermen ; Wm. Arthurs, Lardner
Bostwick, Councilmen ; St. I atrick's. Dr. John Rolph, George T.
Denison, Sr., Aldermen ; Joseph Turton, James Trotter, Council-
men. Dr. Rolph resigned his seat before the first meeting of the
Council ai^d Dr. John E. Tims was elected in his stead. This
Council mei for the first time on the 3rd of April, 1834, and on a
vote of 10 to 8 (Dr. Rolph being absent and Mr. Mackenzie refrain-
ing from voting) Wm. Lyon Mackenzie was elected Mayor. He
was not only the first Mayor of Toronto, but the first who held
the position of Mayor in Upper Canada. Rev. Dr. Scadding's
estimate of his character as Mayor seems to be judicious and fair :
— "An able, vigorous and sensible organizer, who, with a spice of
Oliver Ciomwell in his composition, and much of the insight of an
Adam Smith into the arcana of social science in his understanding,
grappled boldly, and, as will be allowed on all hands, successfully,
with the great difficulties of the situation." The city's motto:
"Industry, Intelligence, Integrity," was designed by Mayor
Mackenzie.
The first assessment of the city was made in June, 1834, and
the returns amounted to ;^i86,882, St. David's Ward leading. A
tax of 3■
u
(0
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ffl
^«9|ip^fVi(qHi)« n
MUNICIPAL PROCIRKSS AND GOVERNMENT.
17
THE OLD CITY HALL. 1844-1899.
three to one, the cost of which (paid to private companies) exceeds
$104,000. The police system is admittedly ^ood, and the obser-
vance of law and order is so general as to attract the attention ot
the stranger. The system is controlled by a Board of Commis-
sioners, consisting of the Mayor, the Senior County Judge and the
Police Magistrate. The force numbers 260 disciplined men under
the command of a Chief Constable, assisted by a Deputy Chief and
six Inspectors, one in charge of each police precinct.
The population of the City is placed, exclusive of its populous
suburbs, at 235,000, and it is rapidly growing. In 1834 the popu-
lation was 9,254, in 1841, 15,000, in 1851, 30,775, in 1861, 45,000,
in 1871, 56,000, in 18S1, 86,000, in 1891, 181,000, and in 1899,
235,000. The bank Clearing House total for 1896 amounted to
$342,031,851.00, in 1898 to $437,661,651. The commercial ratings
have reached 6,500, while the \alue of goods imported rose from
$20,000,000.00 in 1896, to $25,244,405 in 1898.
Such is the record of a century, creditable to the past, en-
couraging for the future.
-A City of Homes. A Centre of Travel.
TORONTO has been correctly described as a city of homes.
Its situation and fine cHmate, as well as its many natural
advantages, have much to do with its pre-eminence as a city
of beautiful residences. It is favored in its location, l\nig- as it
does in latitude 43" 39' north, and lonjj^itude 79" 24' west, and on a
g-ently undulatin^^ slope leadini^ from the shore of Lake Ontario to
the summit of a ridi,'e about 260 feet hig'h. This rid