Discover Toronto's history as told through its plaques

2004 - Now in our 12th Year - 2016

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The Founding of Weston

Photo by Alan L Brown - Posted March, 2004

Photo Source - Toronto Public Library Digital Archive

In a park on the north side of Little Avenue just west of Weston Road, north of Lawrence Avenue West, stands this Ontario Heritage Trust plaque which has this to say about the town:

Coordinates: 43.700322 -79.520290

Settlers were attracted to this vicinity in the 1790s by the area's rich timber resources and the water power potential of the Humber River here. By 1792 a sawmill was established on the west bank and within two decades a small hamlet, known as 'The Humber', had developed. About 1815 James Farr, a prominent local mill-owner, named it Weston after his English ancestral home. The community subsequently expanded along both sides of the river until 1850 when a disastrous flood destroyed the west bank settlement. Improvements to the Weston Road and the arrival of the Grand Trunk Railway in 1856 stimulated substantial further growth on the east side. Incorporated as a Village in 1881, Weston became part of the Borough of York in 1967.

Related webpages
Weston
Grand Trunk Railway
Borough of York

Related Toronto plaques
The Humber River
Weston Road
James Gilbert Gove 1884-1974

More
Towns and Villages

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