Residence.

Details of Site Location: Kingston Road, behind the present George Creber Monument Company at 208 Kingston Road.

Boundary History: The Small land holdings were in excess of 400 acres, and the farmhouse occupied only a fraction of the acreage, and there were also many other buildings in the vicinity of the house.

Current Use of Property: Housing and some commercial buildings.

Historical Description: Major John Small (1746-1831) was born in Gloucestershire, England, and came to Canada in 1792 in the entourage of his commanding officer, then- Colonel John Graves Simcoe. He was a Clerk of the Executive Council from 1793 to 1831. In 1800, he fought a duel with Attorney General John White over the honour of Mrs. Small. John White died in the duel, but Small was aquitted of murder. Small also had a city residence, which he called Berkeley House, and it was at the southwest corner of Berkeley and King. The first part of this house was built in 1794. In 1801/02, Small acquired Lot 7 in Concession 1 from the Bay, including the Broken Front Lot. He named his country estate there after his patron, the Earl of Berkeley. Small’s youngest son, Charles Coxwell Small (1800-1854), took over the property in 1829 and developed it further. The 1834 directory lists his farm and sawmills as three miles from the Don Bridge. It is in connection with the mills that Serpentine Creek was dammed. In 1844, Small agreed to erect, furnish, and lease a tannery and other buildings to Samuel Hill. Most of Berkeley was subdivided and sold off by the 1870s, but a grandson of the original owner, Alderman Charles Coxwell Small II, opened a section around the millpond to the public in 1896. Small’s Pond, as it was called, was for many years a favourite pleasure spot for boating, fishing, skating, and country rambles. By 1921, construction of 150 mid-sized homes north of Small’s Pond was under way. The city approved the draining and filling of Small’s Pond, ostensibly for reasons of public health.

Relative Importance: The Small family, industrious and prosperous, helped to develop a large part of East Toronto on their lands. Their alliances with other partners also helped the local economy to grow.

Planning Implications: It would be a good idea if, somewhere on the Small’s Berkeley estate lands (shown in Goad’s Atlases), a plaque could commemorate an early land-owner other than the Ashbridges.

Reference Sources: Edith Firth, The Town of York 1815-1834 (1966); G.P. Glazenbrook, The Story of Toronto (1971); Goad’s Atlas (1884, 1890, 1910).

Acknowledgements: Maps Project.