Is it possible that a once-bustling transit hub could fade into memory? Here at Ellesmere, we stand where the Ellesmere station once stood. It was a stop on Line 3 Scarborough. This station served passengers at Ellesmere Road between Kennedy Road and Midland Avenue.
Ellesmere station holds a unique record. It was the least-used station on the entire Toronto Transit Commission network. From 2006 to 2008, it saw only about 1,700 to 1,800 passengers daily. This was partly because there were no direct bus connections. Passengers had to walk to nearby bus stops on Ellesmere Road.
The station opened with the rest of Line 3 in 1985. It served the community for many years. However, in 2021, the TTC recommended closing Line 3 in 2023. A bus service was planned as a replacement. This was meant to last until the Scarborough extension of Line 2 was completed. The station closed permanently in July 2023. This was due to a derailment.
Ellesmere station’s design was simple. The building was under the elevated Ellesmere Road section. It sat in the corridor between Kennedy Road and Midland Avenue. The station resembled Lawrence East station in appearance. It had two levels. The platforms were at ground level. The entrance and collector were underneath.
Access to the station was via stairs. These stairs led from Kennedy Road or Midland Avenue. This made the station inaccessible to those with mobility issues. A commuter parking lot with 68 spaces was east of the station. It was also under the elevated road.
Even after its closure, several TTC bus routes passed near Ellesmere station. These routes ran along Kennedy Road. They provided connections to other parts of the city.
North of Ellesmere station, the Line 3 tracks turned east. They dipped into a tunnel. This allowed the line to pass under GO train tracks. After the tunnel, the line rose onto an elevated structure. It continued towards Midland station. South of Ellesmere, the line ran at ground level. It followed the GO train tracks to Lawrence East station.
But let’s step back in time. Imagine Ellesmere as a quiet village. It was established with a post office in 1853. The name came from Ellesmere, England. That Ellesmere is near the border of Wales. It’s just south of Liverpool.
Pioneer settlers bought entire farms here for very little. One story tells of a man who traded his riding boots for a hundred-acre farm. The land was fertile. It had large stands of pine and maple. The Forfar, Glendinning, and Loveless families were key to the community’s development. They arrived in the 1820s. They built fieldstone homes on their properties.
Archibald Glendinning’s home was on the southwest corner of Kennedy and Ellesmere. He opened the community’s first store there. He also became Ellesmere’s first postmaster. The Forfars had the northeast corner. They ran the village blacksmith shop. They were known for their wagons, cutters, and sleighs. Robert Loveless lived on the northwest corner. He helped start the Free Methodist Church. The Loveless family were also award-winning dairy farmers.
Ellesmere was once home to School Section 5. A large frame school was built in 1871. It stood west of Kennedy on Ellesmere Road. Before that, children went to a brick school built in 1848. The reason for the change from brick to wood is unknown. The frame school was destroyed by fire in 1946.
Ellesmere was also known for sports. The Ellesmere Central Football Club won the Ontario Championships in 1890. The Ellesmere Brass Band and Maple Leaf Curling Club called the Ellesmere Arena home. The arena was rebuilt in 1883 after collapsing. It was moved to the Agincourt Fair Grounds in 1913.
The arrival of a second railway in Agincourt in 1884 led to Ellesmere’s decline. Today, Dorset Park, Wexford, and Maryvale have replaced the 19th-century village. Only the name Ellesmere reminds us of its past.
And though the Ellesmere station is now closed, its story remains. It connects us to the past. It reminds us of the evolution of Scarborough. The station may be gone, but the name Ellesmere lives on. It echoes through the streets. It whispers tales of a village. A village that once stood at a crossroads.