Food Focus Days:
The earliest settlers survived because of the indigenous foods they learned about from the local indians. In due course, they introduced new species brought from the old world as their farms and gardens developed.
Food Focus Days are held at the tollkeeper's cottage from 11am to 5pm (or until sold out). Visitors receive a free brochure, and may purchase the foods featured that day plus historic recipes using that food. Also offered at a special price are copies of Dorothy Duncan's history book on Canadian food: Nothing More Comforting: Canada's Heritage Food (which contains recipes).
Tollkeeper's Walking Tours:
These are repeats of the series given in May of the four corners around the tollkeeper's cottage, one area at a time. All the tours begin at the tollkeeper's cottage at 2pm and last approximately two hours. Tours 3 and 4 (northwest and northeast) involve walking up hills.
Each tour costs $5, or passes for all four are $18. Tours are "rain or shine".
Mementos of the tollkeeper's cottage
Help support the project - and reward yourself - with a little bit of Toronto's history. Available from CHP - see Contact Us page.
Souvenir Cut Nails: $10 each.
Salvaged from The tollkeeper's cottage as it was being stripped
down, these are rusty handmade nails dating from about 1835 which could not be re-used in the restoration work - on a card with some history - makes a nice gift of some authentic history.
Cedar Shavings: $5 per large bag.
Produced by the volunteers who made the shakes for the roof, these shavings vary from strips to bits and are good for garden mulch, fire starters, or may be reduced in size mechanically for composting.
Cedar Sachets: $3 each.
Little bags of tiny cedar bits to scent and mothproof a clothes closet, made by volunteers.
Maple Syrup: $9 per 300ml
Each year CHP orders fresh syrup from the Beaver Valley and sells small bottles all year after the Sweet Heritage event.
Jan. 25 - Thurs. |
CHP Regular meeting at 7:30 pm, showing "An Inconvenient Truth" by Al Gore on global warming, at the office. |
| Feb. 17 & 18 Sat. & Sun. |
Monday 19 February 2007 is Heritage Day in Canada. To recognize this event a modest HERITAGE SHOWCASE will be held on Saturday and Sunday, the 17th and 18th from 11 am to 6 pm both days at the historic Tollkeeper's Cottage Participants will be: Toronto Chapter, Ontario Archaeological Society Humber Heritage Committee Toronto Historical Association Regal Heights R.A. Historical Committee Lost Rivers Project Community History Project Dorothy Duncan on Canadian Cuisine Dorothy will demonstrate antique kitchen gadgets and make real Sugar Plums for sale. For further information call: 416-515-7546 Admission is free! |
Mar. 17 - Sat. |
St. Patrick's Day at the Tollkeeper's Cottage:11 am to 1 pm for Irish sodabread, marmalade and tea. (More info) |
Mar. 22 - Thurs. |
CHP Meeting - 7:30pm at the Office, 719 Yonge Street. |
Mar. 30 - Friday 7-9 pm City of Toronto Archives Auditorium 255 Spadina Road Advance ticket sales only! (More info) |
Don't Miss THE MAGNIFICENT NORTH AS SEEN ON FOOT, ON SKIS, AND BY CANOE BAFFIN ISLAND, ELLESMERE ISLAND, BANKS ISLAND, THE YUKON, AND THE NAHANNI RIVER! Slides and a talk by hiker DOUG BEECROFT Special Exhibit: A visual Legacy 1856 - 1997 The City of Toronto's Use of Photography (TTC University Line Dupont Station, then walk one block north, or park besides the Archives) Tickets $25 Advance ticket sales only, limited to 60 maximum. Send cheque to Community History Project c/o Spadina Road Library, 10 Spadina Road Toronto, ON M5R 2S7 for a numbered ticket by return mail. (A fundraiser for the Tollkeeper's Cottage.) |
Apr. 20 - Fri. |
Heritage Showcase by the Toronto Historical Association, Rotunda at City Hall - all day, displays and sales. (More info). |
Apr. 22 - Sun. |
Earth Day - 2 to 4 pm a major clean-up at the Tollkeeper's Cottage and Davenport Square Park, preparing for planting. (More info) |
Apr. 26 - Thurs. |
CHP Meeting - 7:30pm at the Office, 719 Yonge Street |
Apr. 28 & 29 Sat. & Sun. |
Sweet Heritage - 11am to 6 pm at the Cottage. Sale of maple syrup & pancakes. |
Sundays in May - walking tours with Bruce Ferreira Wells. Each tour begins at 2 pm at The Tollkeeper's Cottage, |
|
May 6 - Sun.  |
Walking Tour 1. (click for pamphlet)  (click for times, cost, etc.) This walk explores the southwest corner of The Tollkeeper's Cottage area which includes: - The Escarpment, the shoreline of Lake Iroguois that, over 10,000 years ago shrank to form the Great Lakes; - Davenport Road, shown on a map drawn on birchbark by Elizabeth Simcoe in 1796 extending from Montreal to Niagara - possibly the oldest road in the world; - Taddle Creek, the most "muscular" creek around (ask your tour guide!); - The top part of Seaton Village (never incorporated); - The MacNamara Farm, Market Garden, Hillcrest Racetrack, and Toronto Transportation Commission Hillcrest Yards. |
May 13 - Sun. |
Walking Tour 2. (click for pamphlet) (click for times, cost, etc.) This walk explores the southeast corner of The Tollkeeper's Cottage area which includes: - Farm lot 25, part of the amorphous area known as Seaton Village; - Farm lots 23 and 24 which belonged to the great Baldwin family and included parts of The Annex, Yorkville and Seaton Village. - The Tollkeeper's Cottage, being the first building constructed in the area; - The fascinating history of land use and later buildings in The Tollkeeper's Cottage area from the 1800's through 1970's, including a blacksmith, Patterson (truck) Springs, the narrowest house in the City, a bakery (including George Weston and Cawthra Mulock), George Brown College, Cooey's Machine Shop (building WW1 rifles ), a brickyard and Tarragon Theatre. |
May 19 - Sat. |
Grassroots Albany Plant Sale - all day, venue to be announced. |
May 20 - Sun. |
Walking Tour 3. (click for pamphlet) (click for times, cost, etc.)This walk explores the northwest quadrant of The Tollkeeper's Cottage area which includes: - Taddle Creek, Wychwood Park & Pond; - Tyrrell Street, named after the Squire of Weston; - History relating to the Davenport Street Railway; - The Wychwood Railway Yards (1913 - 1921) and Poverty Pond; - Bracondale, Hillcrest Park & Sir William Gage's Bon Air (1913); - Davenport Square Park. |
May 24 - Thurs. |
 SORRY - the Victoria Day Tea has had to be cancelled (that's the bad news) as the Cottage will be FULL of the long-awaited windows and glass walls (that's the good news!). Please bear with us and look for the Victoria Day Tea next year. |
May 26 - Sat. |
Heritage Seeds, Plant & Wildflowers Sale - from 10 am to 1 pm at two locations: The Tollkeeper's Cottage (cursor over for location & map) and at 155 Upper Canada Drive (click for map) East of Yonge, South of 401 - Willowdale. Do something nice for Mother Earth and support the restoration of the historic Tollkeeper's Cottage. (More info) |
May 26 & 27 Sat. & Sun |
Doors Open city-wide, Tollkeeper's Cottage open. |
May 27 - Sun. |
Walking Tour 4. (click for pamphlet) (click for times, cost, etc.) This walk explores the northeast quadrant of The Tollkeeper's Cottage area which includes: - Crookshank's Lane (Bathurst St.), a dirt path from Crookshank's house....; - Yorkville and Vaughan Plank Road; - Hillcrest School; - Kate Evans and the formation of Hillcrest Hospital in 1884: - Ensign John McGill, and his small frame house (1797) called Davenport; - The home of E.J. Lennox, who designed the old City Hall and Casa Loma; - Casa Loma and Henry Pellatt - The Baldwins, and Spadina; - 1905 - Ravenswood, Ardwold, and John Craig Eaton. |
May 31 - Thurs |
CHP Annual General Meeting - 7:30pm at the Office, 719 Yonge Street. |
All Month |
Yorkville Library is 100 years old this month. There will be a CHP exhibit on village history in the Library gallery all month. |
All Month |
Work on the Tollkeeper's Cottage grounds with plantings, weeding. |
Jun. 6 - Wed. |
CHP Lecture on village history at Yorkville Library, 6:30 pm. |
| Jun. 9 - 10 Sat. & Sun. |
Enjoy a Traditional Afternoon Tea on the Lawn at 155 Upper Canada Drive, Willowdale, 2 to 4 pm, advance ticket sales only. A fundraiser for the Tollkeeper's Cottage project. What makes this Tea so special is that it's on the lawn of Life Member Dorothy Duncan, and if you've ever been to one of her Teas before, you know what that means! Your Invitation More info |
Jun. 15 - Fri. |
 Gigantic Junque in June Sale - from 11 am - 6 pm in the laneway of Roy's Square (click for map - but it's only approximate!) (just behind the SE corner of Bloor & Yonge. |
Jun. 16 - Sat. |
York Pioneers meet at the Tollkeeper's Cottage. |
Jun. 21 - Thurs. |
National Aboriginal Day at the Tollkeeper's Cottage, 5 to 8 pm. |
All Month |
Work on the Tollkeeper's Cottage grounds with plantings, weeding. |
Jul. 1 - Sun. |
Canada Day at the Tollkeeper's Cottage. |
Jul. 5 - Thurs. |
William Morris Society meets at the Tollkeeper's Cottage. 7:30 pm |
| Food Focus Days: details will be announced later, but there will be 4 in the August - October period. |
|
Aug. 6 - Mon. |
Simcoe Day. Celebrating Ontario's first Lieutenant Governor and his successors (one introduced each year). |
Aug. 25 - 26 Sat. - Sun. |
Mississauga Pow Wow. Visit the Pow-Wow of the Mississaugas of the New Credit on their Reserve near Hagersville - our aboriginal landowners - and learn what is happening in the settlement of the Toronto Purchase. All day, Saturday & Sunday. |
Food Focus Days: details will be announced later, but there will be 4 in the August - October period. |
|
Sundays in September / October - walking tours with Bruce Ferreira Wells. Each tour begins |
|
|
Sep. 23 - Sun.
|
Walking Tour 1. (click for pamphlet) (click for times, cost, etc.) This walk explores the southwest corner of The Tollkeeper's Cottage area which includes: - The Escarpment, the shoreline of Lake Iroguois that, over 10,000 years ago shrank to form the Great Lakes; - Davenport Road, shown on a map drawn on birchbark by Elizabeth Simcoe in 1796 extending from Montreal to Niagara - possibly the oldest road in the world; - Taddle Creek, the most "muscular" creek around (ask your tour guide!); - The top part of Seaton Village (never incorporated); - The MacNamara Farm, Market Garden, Hillcrest Racetrack, and Toronto Transportation Commission Hillcrest Yards. |
Sep. 27 - Thurs. |
CHP Meeting - 7:30pm at the Office, 719 Yonge Street |
Sep. 30 - Sun. |
Walking Tour 2. (click for pamphlet) (click for times, cost, etc.) This walk explores the southeast corner of The Tollkeeper's Cottage area which includes: - Farm lot 25, part of the amorphous area known as Seaton Village; - Farm lots 23 and 24 which belonged to the great Baldwin family and included parts of The Annex, Yorkville and Seaton Village. - The Tollkeeper's Cottage, being the first building constructed in the area; - The fascinating history of land use and later buildings in The Tollkeeper's Cottage area from the 1800's through 1970's, including a blacksmith, Patterson (truck) Springs, the narrowest house in the City, a bakery (including George Weston and Cawthra Mulock), George Brown College, Cooey's Machine Shop (building WW1 rifles ), a brickyard and Tarragon Theatre. |
| Food Focus Days: details will be announced later, but there will be 4 in the August - October period. |
|
Oct. 7 - Sun. |
Walking Tour 3. (click for pamphlet) (click for times, cost, etc.) This walk explores the northwest quadrant of The Tollkeeper's Cottage area which includes: - Taddle Creek, Wychwood Park & Pond; - Tyrrell Street, named after the Squire of Weston; - History relating to the Davenport Street Railway; - The Wychwood Railway Yards (1913 - 1921) and Poverty Pond; - Bracondale, Hillcrest Park & Sir William Gage's Bon Air (1913); - Davenport Square Park. |
Oct. 14 - Sun. |
Walking Tour 4. (click for pamphlet) (click for times, cost, etc.) This walk explores the northeast quadrant of The Tollkeeper's Cottage area which includes: - Crookshank's Lane (Bathurst St.), a dirt path from Crookshank's house....; - Yorkville and Vaughan Plank Road; - Hillcrest School; - Kate Evans and the formation of Hillcrest Hospital in 1884: - Ensign John McGill, and his small frame house (1797) called Davenport; - The home of E.J. Lennox, who designed the old City Hall and Casa Loma; - Casa Loma and Henry Pellatt - The Baldwins, and Spadina; - 1905 - Ravenswood, Ardwold, and John Craig Eaton. |
Oct. 25 - Thurs. |
CHP Meeting - 7:30pm at the Office, 719 Yonge Street |
Oct. 27 - Sat. |
Apples & Pumpkins - 11 am to 4 pm at the cottage. Sales. |
Nov. 11 - Sun. |
Remembrance Day - Sunrise service at Prospect CemeteryVeteran' Plot. |
Nov. 14 - Wed. |
United Nations World Diabetes Day - display at the tollkeepers cottage including Banting (who was an area resident). |
Nov. 23 - Fri. |
CHP Meeting - 7:30pm at the Office, 719 Yonge Street |
Dec. 8 - Sat. |
Christmas Cookie Sale at the tollkeeper's cottage, 11 am to 6 pm. |
