Transportation historical site.
Details of Site Location: Located at the intersection of Dundas Street and Davenport Road near the east bank of the Humber River, at Scarlett Road, Toronto.
Boundary History: The tollhouse and gate occupied a small area on the south side of Dundas Street, with the gate across Old Dundas Street.
Current Use of Property: This site, and others adjoining, are presently occupied by a Loblaws store. Loblaws has mounted a small plaque on a stone at the corner of the property commemorating the tollhouse.
Historical Description: No. 5 Tollgate. was established circa 1857 as one of a series along the route of Davenport Road. The first was at Yonge and Bloor. These tollhouses did not collect fees or control traffic on Davenport, but collected fees from travellers leaving Davenport to enter the city via one or another of the major access routes. In this case, the route was Dundas which led into the city proper, which was some distance away. Much later than Tollgate No. 3, this one was a board-and-batten structure with a very small closed-in porch on one facade, a door which may have been under a little porch roof at one time but opened directly to the outside at the time it was photographed, and had a fairly large attached shed at the rear inboard-and-batten, As a toll, the building ceased to function and was sold for conversion into residential use. At this time, it was brick veneered. The centrally located chimney, characteristic of several tollhouses, was retained and other additions were made. The windows were altered from multi-light units to simpler double-hunp windows. In its renovated state it was photographed in 1954. In the 1970s it was demolished to make way for a gas station, which occupied the site until Loblaws bought the property with others and put up the present store.
Relative Importance: In the city’s road and transportation history, tollhouses and tollgates are extremely important, whether erected by the province or in the privatized system which followed the failure of the government system. The tolls were to pay for improving existing roads and to build new roads and streets. The Privatized system was also abolished just before the turn of the 20th century, and the buildings sold off. Some, like this one, were converted, while others were moved and still others simply demolished. Only one tollhouse from the very earliest period survives. This tollhouse, No. 5 has vanished, but its site is historically important as it marks the point at which two routes met to cross the Humber River and continue across southwestern Ontario.
Planning Implications: The Loblaws plaque commemorates the tollhouse. A plaque mounted By the City should inform the public about the evolution of the road system and the importance of this site, which is close to property once owned by a Father of Confederation who operated a mill, stable, and inn nearby.
Reference Sources: City of York LACAC; Weston Historical Society files; Archives of Ontario; Community History Project collections.
Acknowledgments: Community History Project; Weston Historical Society.