Toronto's Historic Museums
Colborne Lodge
Designated a historic site June 20, 1973
- Colborne Lodge is one of the last surviving examples of an Upper Canadian country estate, and one of the only examples of an early Picturesque villa in the province.
- Colborne Lodge and High Park have produced archaeological evidence of human habitation that stretches from pre-contact times to the modern period.
- Despite the installation of modern roads, recreational facilities, and landscaping, many natural areas have been left intact and contain native plant and animal species that are rare or extinct in urban neighbourhoods.
Fort York
Designated a National Historic site 1923
- Built in 1793, Fort York National Historic Site is the birthplace of urban Toronto.
- Fort York contains Canada’s largest collection of original War of 1812 buildings.
- Fort York located within a 43-acre site that includes remnants of the late eighteenth-century landscape, part of the 1813 battlefield, military cemeteries and vast archaeological resources.
Gibson House Museum
Designated a heritage site December 15, 1980
- The Gibson property has produced a number of archaeological findings, including artefacts dating from the mid- to late nineteenth century that are associated with the domestic lives of the Gibson family and those of the house’s later inhabitants.
- Gibson House is one of the few surviving features of historic Willow Dale, a small crossroads community that was situated on Yonge Street nine miles from the town of York.
- A Tolman Sweet apple tree, the last remaining tree from the orchard that David Gibson established in 1832, stands on the parkland south of Gibson House.
Mackenzie House
Listed in the Toronto Heritage Properties Inventory June 20, 1973
- William Lyon Mackenzie was designated as a National Historic Person by Parks Canada in 1949, and a plaque commemorating this designation was installed at Mackenzie House in 1951 by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.
- The house is significant for its connection to William Lyon Mackenzie, the city’s first mayor and a radical journalist and political reformer. 82 Bond Street was Mackenzie’s final residence, and it is the only Mackenzie home that has survived to the present day.
- Mackenzie House is situated within a radically altered historic landscape. The building survived a number of major urban developments that transformed Toronto in the late-nineteenth and twentieth century, and is one of the last original structures still standing in the Bond Street district.
Montgomery's Inn
Designated heritage site February 16, 1976
- Montgomery's Inn is situated within the Mimico Creek Floodplain and Valley. This natural heritage area is protected under Ontario Regulation 166/06.
- The Museum is recognized as a valuable cultural centre by community stakeholders and residents, who fought to retain the building as a heritage site in 1961.
- Montgomery's Inn was a stopping point along a major nineteenth-century transport route, and an important social centre in the historic Village of Islington. The Inn provided supplies for local inhabitants and travelers, and hosted many ceremonial events and gatherings, such as meetings for local and regional orders of the Orange Lodge and the Home District Council.
Scarborough Museum
- Scarborough Museum was established in the hamlet of Bendale, within the historic Thomson Settlement. This was the first permanent settlement in the township, and is recognized as a culturally significant district by the Ontario Heritage Trust.
- Scarborough Museum is historically significant for its association with some of the region’s earliest settlers. The Museum was established on land that was owned by the first European inhabitants in the area, David and Mary Thomson.
- The Scarborough Museum artefact collection contains over 3300 objects dating from the 19th and 20th centuries.
Spadina Museum
Designated a historic site June 20, 1973
- The restored Spadina Museum, operated by the City of Toronto, opened to the public in 1984 under the joint ownership of the City and the Ontario Heritage Trust. The Museum has a community board that is appointed by City Council, whose members act as advisors, ambassadors and advocates for the site. A member of Council is appointed to the board.
- The Ravine and Natural Feature Protection by-law is associated with the protection of the local natural landscape; the property is situated on the shoreline of the ancient Lake Iroquois that is protected under by-law 513-2008, added on May 27, 2008. (City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 658, Ravine and Natural Feature Protection).
- Regular archaeological excavations since 1982 have uncovered over 30,000 artefacts at Spadina Museum.
Todmorden Mills Heritage Site
Designated heritage site November 6, 1989
- Todmorden Mills is one of the earliest industrial communities in the City of Toronto (it was established in the late 1790s) and provides an important example of the development of such settlements over time.
- The paper mill was the first of its kind in Upper Canada to produce machine-made paper; the mill provided newsprint for some of the colony’s first publications including William Lyon Mackenzie's newspaper, The Colonial Advocate.
- The wildflower preserve was established in 1991 by Charles Sauriol and Dave Money and is used as an educational tool to demonstrate the importance of ecological stewardship and the impact of human settlement on the natural landscape. It provides a green oasis within a major urban centre, and is a highly valued spiritual, cultural, and environmental space.
Historic Zion Schoolhouse
Designated heritage site December 15, 1980
- The one-room schoolhouse represents an important phase in the development of educational policy in the country; such schoolhouses were common throughout rural and outlying areas from the 1850s to the mid-twentieth century.
- Together with the nearby Zion Church, the Schoolhouse is one of the last remaining features of the historic rural landscape.
- This heritage site is one of the original settlement’s few remaining features, and serves as an important educational resource on the history and development of Upper Canadian rural communities.
To learn about the exciting events that take place every day at Toronto's Historic Sites please go to our featured events page toronto.ca/museums-events.