Natural heritage area.
Details of Site Location: Between Lake Ontario and the area just north of Danforth Avenue, primarily on Concession 1 from the Bay, straddling Leslie Street.
Boundary History: Almost all of the creek’s drainage area is within Farm Lots 10 and 11, and the Broken Front Lots south of them, with some drainage from the northern part of Farm Lot 12.
Current Use of Property: The creek has been completely filled in and built over.
Historical Description: The three Leslieville Creeks are actually three parts of one system, and two of the parts are significant. The 1795 map by Alexander Aitken recorded all of the mouths of creeks flowing into Ashbridge’s Bay, but he mapped only the portions that ran south of his base line. Understanding the entire system requires collecting fragmentary information from other and later historic maps, and it should be noted that information about the area east of the Don River is skimpy. The 1884 maps in Goad’s Atlas vary in detail, leave out a large part of the system, and are contradictory from one plate to the next. Only what is reliable must be taken into consideration. The system involves two main branches of unequal length, and one of the branches has a main tributary that makes up the third creek. The westernmost branch is the Leslieville Creek proper, which originates in the northern part of Farm Lot 12, flows diagonally across Farm Lot 11, and unites with the other main branch south of Queen Street. All but a very short length of this branch flows west of Leslie Street. The second main branch is the larger of the two. Its primary branch flows south from the south end of Farm Lot 10, Concession 2, north of the Danforth; and when it is well into the Farm Lot below it picks up a small tributary originating at the centre of the south end of Farm Lot 11, Concession 2, north of the Danforth. This joint flow continues straight south, bends into a long easterly curve near Gerrard Street, then corrects its course to flow south-southwest to the forks area just south of the base line or Queen Street East. From there, the united flow heads south through the Broken Front Concession to discharge into Ashbridge’s Bay. Most of the flow is in Lots 10 of the Broken Front and Concession 1 up into Concession 2. The Leslieville Creek, or westerly branch, flowed through lands owned by the Leslie family, who farmed their properties. The easterly branch, referred to in Maps Project files as Hastings Creek in order to distinguish it from the other branch, flowed through property farmed by the Hastings family. It was also important to the brickyards along Greenwood Avenue. The fact that it is not mentioned in historical records as Hastings Creek, only as Leslieville Creek, serves to confuse. The system emptied into the bay at the original shoreline, which was initially less than a quarter mile south of the base line. Up until around 1917, the mouth of the system was still visible. The creek beds and ravines were filled in with garbage earlier, and Ashbridge’s Bay lasted until the 1912 plan for public parkland was abandoned. Infilling continues with the development of the Leslie Street Spit, located to the south of the original mouth.
Relative Importance: The Leslieville Creeks were important, first of all, to George Leslie and his nursery, to the Hastings family farm, and to the later brickyards along Greenwood. They were important to the community called Leslieville that developed when the Farm Lots were broken up and built with streets and houses. It seems that then, as now, they were largely ignored and unrecognized for their intrinsic natural value. Early mapmakers never gave the creeks in this area names, and the Indian names have vanished into history.
Planning Implications: There is no hope at all that the creeks can be rehabilitated, and they should not be brought to the surface in any case. But they should be remembered through the placement of a plaque at the intersection of Queen and Leslie; it should show a map of the system and the position of the original shoreline. The plaque should also contain information about the early landowners and their activities.
Reference Sources: Alexander Aitken, Plan of York Harbour, 1795; Goad’s Atlas 1884, 1890; Registered Plans, Toronto Registry Office.
Acknowledgements: Maps Project.