House.
Details of Site Location: West side of what became Rosedale Road, just south of Cluny Avenue.
Boundary History: Part of the original 200-acre farm granted to Captain George Playter in 1796. In 1821, John Small bought the western part of the grant. In 1824, William Botsford Jarvis bought 120 acres from Mr. Small
Current Use of Property: Numerous streets and houses.
Historical Description: Rosedale, the home of William Botsford Jarvis, stood until 1905 at Cluny Drive and Rosedale Road. In May of 1827, William Jarvis was appointed High Sheriff of the Home District, and two months later married Mary, granddaughter of the Chief Justice of Upper Canada, William Dummer Powell. Mary named the estate Rosedale because the house was built amidst rambling bird-filled hedgerows and wild roses that dotted the hillsides. The 120 acres was partially farmed. The approach from Yonge Street crossed a primitive bridge over the ravine and climbed steeply to the house. In Mary’s Rosedale it said that “the muffle of thunder comes to her ears as the coach crosses the loose-laid planks of the bridge.” Eight years and five children later, two new wings were added to the house. William’s father, Colonel Stephen Jarvis, lived with the family till his death. John Howard’s plans for the additions included a morning room, a large verandah, a grape house, a peach house, a conservatory, and additional bedrooms. Mary and staff had also developed beautiful gardens. In 1836, Joseph Bloor and William Jarvis subdivided the land between the ravine and modern Bedford Road and laid out the village of Yorkville. Jarvis also made a new road to Rosedale, now Roxborough Road. In 1953 he sold 100 acres of his estate to a developer who divided it into 62 lots on four roads: [pls check: Rosedale Crescent????, South Drive, Avondale Road, and South Drive????]. William’s nephew, Edgar Jarvis, built many of the homes. William died in 1864 and the remaining estate was sold to David Macpherson. In 1905 the house was demolished when Cluny Drive was extended.
Relative Importance: Rosedale was the first area in Canada to have curved streets. It has been the chosen place for the wealthy to live for many generations.
Planning Implications: Plaques telling the story of William Botsford Jarvis and his wife, Mary, could be placed at many of the entrances to Rosedale and or the subway stations.
Reference Sources: Alden G. Meredith, Mary’s Rosedale (1928); Liz Lundell, The Estates of Old Toronto; Michael Kluckner, Toronto, The Way It Was. See also sketch by James W. Hamilton in the Metro Toronto Reference Library: MTRL JRR T30696.