Discover Toronto's history as told through its plaques

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Lansing

Photo by Alan L Brown - Posted October, 2013

Photo Source - Toronto Public Library

This plaque, erected by the TTC and the City of Toronto at the northwest corner of Sheppard and Yonge Streets, has this to say:

Coordinates: 43.761932 -79.411304

A prominent landmark building, the Joseph Shepard House/Dempsey Brothers Store once occupied this corner of Yonge Street and Sheppard Avenue.

Built in 1860, by Joseph Shepard II, the building was constructed as a general store and originally included the Shepard family's residence. In 1886, a post office was added. The post office, and subsequently the immediate surrounding community, was called "Lansing". The store served as a depot for the coach from Yorkville to Richmond Hill. It then became the milk depot for local farmers and was the main source for all manufactured goods in the vicinity. In 1888, Benjamin F. Brown took over the operation of the store. He purchased it in 1904 and sold it to George and William Dempsey in 1923. From that time, the building operated as the well-known Dempsey Brothers Hardware Store and was owned by a member of the Dempsey family until the late 1980s.

The building and property were sold to developers in 1989. In 1996, the building was relocated to its present park site just north of here at 250 Beecroft Avenue. The City of North York rehabilitated and restored the Georgian Revival building, returning its original storefront appearance and superimposed late Victorian verandah. In the early Fall of 1997, the Dempsey Store was officially reopened by the City of North York as a municipal archival storage and research facility.

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