Discover Toronto's history as told through its plaques

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Stone Church Site of Jesse Ketchum Hall

Photos by Alan L Brown - Posted April, 2009

Just west of Yonge Street at 45 Davenport Road, on the south side, is this church. This 1993 Toronto Historical Board plaque is mounted on a pedestal in an alcove just west of the church entrance. Here's what it says:

Coordinates: 43.672737 -79.389396

Jesse Ketchum (1780-1867) was a tanner, politician and generous public benefactor in the town of York. He helped to establish churches, schools and libraries. A life long opponent of the use of liquor, he worked diligently to further the cause of temperance, even calling a street which he opened through his property "Temperance Street". He built a meeting hall on site in 1848, which was used by the community for various functions. In 1853, he donated the building to the York Sons of Temperance and it remained the centre of the temperance movement in Toronto for a century. The hall was sold to The Stone Church in 1969 on condition that temperance continues to be served. In 1986, the church built a new sanctuary for their increased congregation and active downtown ministry, which maintains the temperance cause. The bricks supporting the plaque were saved from the only remaining portions of the original hall, which had undergone many alterations over the years.

Related Toronto plaque
Jesse Ketchum School

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> Posted October 27, 2011
I remember attending the young adults' group on Monday nights at this church a number of years ago.

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