Ever wonder about Toronto’s founding families. I am standing in front of The Ashbridge Estate Plaque. It marks the spot where the Ashbridge family made their home. The Ashbridge Estate Plaque tells a story of perseverance. It is a story of a family’s deep roots in Toronto’s history.
Let’s delve into the history of The Ashbridge Estate. The Ashbridge family journey began far from here. They were English Quakers living in Pennsylvania. Political persecution forced them to leave the United States. Sarah Ashbridge led her family to Upper Canada in 1793. She arrived with her sons daughters and their families.
Folklore says they spent their first winter in the ruins of Fort Rouillé. This was near present day Fort York. In 1794, they began clearing land east of Greenwood Avenue. John Graves Simcoe laid out three plots for them. This country trail later became Kingston Road.
As United Empire Loyalists, they received an official land grant in 1796. The grant was for 600 acres. It stretched from Lake Ontario to today’s Danforth Avenue. The Ashbridges built a log cabin near the shoreline. It was about 60 meters from Lake Ontario. The bay formed at the mouth of the Don River.
The family farmed and grew wheat. They sold ice cut from the bay in winter. Sarah Ashbridge died in 1801. Her sons John and Jonathan married in 1809. They built two storey frame homes. These houses were completed in 1811. They stood west of the present The Ashbridge Estate.
Jonathan’s son Jesse inherited part of the land in 1845. The Jesse Ashbridge house was built starting in 1854. Joseph Sheard a prominent architect designed it. He later became Mayor of Toronto. The house was in the Regency style. It had red brick a hipped roof and a treillage veranda.
Jesse married in 1864 but died in 1874. As Toronto grew, Jesse’s wife Elizabeth began selling land in 1893. In 1900, a second storey was added to the home. It was in the Second Empire style. The original veranda was kept. The old frame home was torn down in 1913. Elizabeth lived there until her death in 1918.
In 1920, Wellington Ashbridge designed a two storey addition. He was Elizabeth’s son and a civil engineer. The Toronto Harbour Commission began the Ashbridge’s Bay Reclamation Scheme in 1912. It was the largest infrastructure project in North America at the time. The bay was drained. Dredging filled the area creating the Toronto Port Lands. The home was now far from the water.
Elizabeth and Wellington Ashbridge sold much of the land. The Duke of Connaught Public School was built on their former orchard. Woodfield Road was the farm lane to the fields. By the 1920s, the family owned only 2 acres.
Wellington’s daughters Dorothy Bullen and Elizabeth Burton donated the estate to the Ontario Heritage Trust in 1972. Dorothy continued to live in the house until 1997. The Ashbridges are the only Toronto family to continuously occupy their land for over 200 years.
Many places in the area are named after the Ashbridges. Jonathan Ashbridge Park is south of the house. Sarah Ashbridge Avenue is slightly east. Ashbridge’s Bay is named for John Ashbridge. Ashbridge’s Bay Park is on the east and north sides of the bay.
This property was home to one family for two centuries. The Ashbridge Estate stands as a testament. It marks their contributions to Toronto’s development. The Ashbridges transformed from pioneers to farmers to professionals. They embodied Ontario’s journey. They helped transform Ontario from an agricultural frontier to an urban industrial society. The Ashbridge Estate Plaque commemorates their remarkable legacy.