Davenport Road at Bathurst · Toronto

The little cottage that collected Toronto’s tolls.

Built in the 1830s for the families who kept the Davenport toll gate — saved by its neighbours, restored to its 1861 appearance, and run entirely by volunteers ever since. Step inside a Toronto without electricity or plumbing.

Plan your visit Support the Cottage Open Sat, Nov 7

List of Tolls

To be collected at this gate · Davenport Road at Bathurst

  • Admission, drop-inBy donation
  • TodayNext open: Saturday, November 7, 12 noon – 4 pm
  • Booked group visits$6 per person$7.50 with tea and cookies — arranged in advance
  • Guided walksBy donationroute leaflet $5
  • Saturdays12 noon – 4 pmyear-round
  • Next Sunday openingDecember 6: 1 – 4 pmusually the first Sunday of the month
  • Winter closingMid-December to early Februarywe close after Cookie Day and reopen the first Saturday of February

Tax receipts are issued for donations of $20 or more, including donations given on our walks. Booked group visit fees are not eligible for a receipt. The Cottage is operated by the Community History Project, a registered non-profit.

Plan your visit

Styled after the toll boards once posted at plank-road gates across Upper Canada — see a surviving example on our Visit page.

Plan a visit

Come on your own — or bring everyone.

Docents in period dress welcome walk-in visitors every open day, and we arrange private visits for classes, daycares, seniors’ residences and community groups.

For families & drop-ins

Visit the Cottage

Spend half an hour to an hour with an interpreter and see how a Toronto family lived without electricity or plumbing. Children love it — so do their grandparents.

Hours, admission & directions
For teachers

School & daycare visits

Hands-on 19th-century daily life, paced to your students’ age and built around your curriculum. A recent daycare group churned cream into butter and ate it on fresh baguette.

Plan a class visit $6 per child, or $7.50 with a snack.
For group organizers

Seniors’ & community groups

Private guided visits for seniors’ residences, clubs, Guide and Scout groups, faith groups and community organizations — unhurried, seated where needed, with time for questions and tea.

Ask about a group visit $6 per person, or $7.50 with tea and cookies.
For explorers

Guided neighbourhood walks

Two-hour docent-led walks through eight historic areas — the West and East Annex, Wychwood Park, Seaton Village, Christie Pits, Casa Loma, Tarragon Village and the Garrison Creek ravine. History, geology, architecture — and a little gossip.

Join the walks list By donation, which counts toward a tax receipt. Route leaflet $5. A walk goes ahead once four or more sign up.
The Howland Plain, an 1875 painting by Arthur Cox showing the tollkeeper's cottage on Davenport Road
“The Howland Plain” by Arthur Cox, 1875 — the cottage at its post on the Davenport toll road.
Our story

A road, a gate,
and the families who kept it.

  1. 1830s

    A tollhouse on a plank road

    Davenport Road was a toll road, and this modest board-and-batten cottage housed the tollkeepers who collected from every cart and carriage that passed.

  2. 1861

    The Bulman family’s home

    Restored to the year tollkeeper John Bulman and his family lived here, the Cottage is furnished with period artifacts — some from the Bulman family itself.

  3. Today

    Saved and run by neighbours

    One of Toronto’s oldest surviving buildings, rescued by its community and operated entirely by volunteers — with very little government funding.

Read the full story

What’s on

Coming up at the Cottage

 
A LIVELY RE-ENACTMENT OF THE COUREURS DES BOIS OR 
“THE DAVENPORTAGE”
Saturday November 7 about 3 pm onwards
The Davenportage honours the historic ancient portage route which the Cottage faced (and still faces) known as Gete-Onigaming (meaning “at the old portage” in Ojibwe). This ancient route was used for thousands of years to connect the Humber River and the Don River via Davenport Road. The participants of this re-enactment may be enacting one of two groups: the coureurs des bois, French for “runners of the woods”, were independent, unlicensed French Canadian fur traders who traded tools, cloth and brandy for furs, especially beaver pelts. They travelled deep into the North American interior during the 17th and early 18th centuries. The Crown tried to curb their unlicensed trade by introducing the voyageur system about 1681. Participants in the Davenportage cover roughly a 16.5-kilometre to 17-kilometre journey traversing the city’s old trails, ravines, and streets between Toronto’s west and east.

The Tollkeeper’s Cottage welcomes this hardy and intrepid group of re-enactors known as the Davenportagers, led by founder and organizer, Michael Bumby. They will be tired by the time they reach the halfway point of their journey on Saturday at the Tollkeeper’s Cottage. They are eager for our pea or lentil soup and scones in keeping with historical cuisine and take a few moments to relax as they have this meal. They usually arrive sometime after 3 pm depending on traffic, etc.

This event is free for our members and email subscribers. Bring a friend! Snacks, if available, by donation!

A TALK by Shannon Kyles
ONTARIO ARCHITECTURE: WHAT WE BUILT AND WHY 
Sunday November 8 at 2 pm
Author Shannon Kyles provides a comprehensive history of architecture in Ontario from Indigenous pointing trees, through early settlement, onto Victorian splendor and the rise of the middle classes in the 20th century. She includes both rural and urban residential and civic styles over the past three centuries, ranging from the earliest settlements to the arrival of Europeans. In each era, she shows how the style of housing tells a story of the society and materials that built it. Even as their original contexts fade, these buildings continue to shape the places that we live. Kyles’ rich architectural history of Ontario reminds us that the buildings we make record our history and decisions.

Shannon will bring copies of her 400 page book. 

Entrance for this Talk will be $10. per person. Refreshments will be served.

A TALK ON REMEMBRANCE DAY by Catherine Little
The Chinese Canadians of Force 136 whose clandestine service in World War II helped lead to the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act 
Wednesday November 11 at 7 pm
Approximately 150 Chinese Canadians were recruited into Force 136 to operate covertly behind Japanese lines. Despite facing systemic racial discrimination and being initially barred from regular enlistment in Canada, they were valued for their ability to speak English and Cantonese and integrate into Asian communities. Their wartime service later helped fuel the post-war civil rights push that led to the repeal of Canada’s Chinese Exclusion Act in 1947.
 
The 2026 Canada Post Remembrance Day Stamp commemorates the contributions of Force 136 to the Second World War. Author Catherine Little describes the contribution of this group of Chinese Canadian soldiers, who sacrificed to preserve our democracy and way of life despite the challenges they faced from prejudice from the people around them. Catherine documented their story in her book, Endgame, that was recommended as one of eleven Canadian books to read for Remembrance Day when it came out a few years ago. In her energetic style, Catherine will speak about the mysterious Force 136 and the sacrifices its members made to show their loyalty to a country that had utterly disregarded them.

Entrance charge for this Talk will be $10. per person. Refreshments will be served.

 
BEADING WITH REVA
Sunday November 22 noon to 3 pm
Once more we welcome beading expert Reva Marie Peters Ackroyd to the Cottage for another very popular session with beading of all types for those who have done, and those who are just starting, this old and meaningful Indigenous art form. You will be able to choose from among the many and assorted varieties of beads from Reva’s generous collection to produce articles for giving in the upcoming holidays, or for keeping as a souvenir of a beautiful day together!  Beading with Reva Sun Nov 22 Noon to 3pm

The fee of $20. cash only please, will cover instruction and materials and refreshments.
✉ Request a place

 
MYSTERIES OF THE TAROT with Claire Goodchild  Sun Nov 29
Sunday November 29 at 2 pm
Claire Goodchild is an author, artist and astrologer who will reveal myths and mysteries about the art of the tarot. She will present truths and dispel myths about tarot reading and share some of the meanings to be discovered in the cards. Whether you are using traditional tarot cards or Claire’s beautifully designed set, you will develop your understanding and practice of this meaningful tool. 

Entrance: $10. per person, Refreshments will be served 
✉ Request a place
COMMUNITY HISTORY PROJECT 2027 MEMBERSHIP DRIVE
You are welcome to renew or start a membership for 2027: you may do so anytime now for January to December 2027.
Your membership of $20. for an individual and $35. for a family helps us so much, as all of that money goes directly to support the Cottage. It gives us your confidence that preserving a building from Toronto’s past is worthwhile. It also allows you to engage in any number of volunteer activities (we have a handbook at the Cottage for you to browse!) and to attend and vote a the Annual General Meeting usually in April. And if you have been truly bitten by the “history bug” you may wish to run for our Board of Directors at that time too!
The rhythm of our year

Our calendar shifts with our volunteers’ interests, but here’s the shape of a typical year — anything dated above is confirmed; everything below is what to look forward to.

  • JanuaryClosed — docents plan the year’s programming
  • FebruaryMending days, knitting & crochet lessons
  • Late winterSpeaker series on local history & conservation
  • AprilEgg dyeing with natural dyes; spring crafts
  • MayVictoria Day Tea; the pollinator garden wakes up
  • JuneBook sale on the lawn
  • July – AugustOutdoor crafts, wool dyeing, garden readings
  • October – NovemberThe Davenportage — canoes, pea soup & biscuits
  • DecemberVictorian Ghostly Tales by lamplight
  • DecemberCookie Day — our beloved fundraiser
See the full year with photos

Events are announced to newsletter readers first — dates, times and how to take part.

Get the newsletter
Support the Cottage

Help keep the gate open.

We receive very little government funding. Every membership and every dollar donated goes to maintaining this rare historic building.

Membership

Become a member

$20 a year · $35 for a family

  • Our newsletter, with first word on events
  • A voice and a vote at the annual meeting
  • A tax receipt for your membership
Join or renew — takes 2 minutes
Donation

Make a donation

Give securely by credit card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. Tax receipts are issued for gifts of $20 or more.

Prefer e-Transfer or cheque?

Interac e-Transfer: send to tollkeeperscottage@gmail.com and include your name and mailing address in the message so we can issue your tax receipt.

By mail: Community History Project, 207–580 Christie St., Toronto ON M6G 3E3.

More ways to help: volunteer with us · donate a pre-1860 artifact · lend a professional skill

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"THE DAVENPORTAGE" Saturday November 7 about 3 pm onwards