Military Hospital

Details of Site Location: The Garrison Ravine on the east side, north of Fort York, opposite a tributary of the Garrison Creek flowing from the west into the main creek, roughly where Tecumseth and Wellington Streets meet today.

Boundary History: The hospital was small and probably occupied less than half an acre.

Current Use of Property: Streets and housing.

Historical Description: In the beginning, the only medical treatment facility in York consisted of a pair of sheds, which local military forces blew up during the War of 1812 in the explosion of a powder magazine. Accounts of the suffering of both war casualties and the doctors who attempted to treat them are truly heartbreaking. Added to these problems were those of the town, which never had any facility and depended upon individual practitioners and clinics. This placed a heavier demand on the military facility. In 1813, Chief Justice Elmsley’s house had been converted into a hospital and his stables into a barracks. In 1815, a military hospital was built north of Fort York on the east bank of Garrison Creek. Between 1813 and 1815, it was the residents of the town who came to the assistance of those mangled so badly in the war, and John Strachan writes of visiting “the hospitals” and care of the wounded “till a regular military hospital was again established.” Strachan also opened his church to the wounded and sick and remarks that it was necessary, as all of the public buildings had been destroyed during the war. John Douglas, an assistant surgeon in the 8th Regiment, wrote in 1829 that the sick and wounded from the Battle at Lundy’s Lane were sent to the general hospital in York, and spoke of a church hospital trying to cope with the overflow of wounded. These were the pressures that led to the building of the 1815 hospital quickly, while the entire town was rebuilding itself. It is not clear how long the hospital was in use and when it was demolished. Also not clear, given a lack of records on the subject, is how many deaths occurred at this hospital and where the burials were made. Burials may have been made in the cemetery between the fort and Strachan Avenue, which was built later over the cemetery, and it is quite probable that there were burials in the immediate area of the hospital. The precise location of the hospital and any burials associated with it can never be known without a massive disturbance of the area and extensive archaeology.

Relative Importance: This was the first military hospital in Toronto and is associated with the battle that kept Canada Canadian. Both British regulars and local militia would have received treatment here, and all of them are regarded as heroes.

Planning Implications: The site merits important recognition. How this can be done will have to wait for the release from military archives of more information pertaining to the War of 1812, and for the extensive archaeology required. The potential site of burials would have to be included in recognition of the hospital site and in archaeological investigation. The site should be flagged for protection and investigation.

Reference Sources: Richard Bonnycastle, No. 1 Plan of the Town and Harbour of York, Upper Canada, 1833; Edith Firth, The Town of York (2 vols, 1962 and 1966).

Acknowledgements:  Maps Project.