History

Willowdale, originally known as Kummer’s Settlement, was a small village on Yonge Street, nine miles from the town of York and situated between Lansing to the south, and Finch Avenue to the north. In 1857 its population was 150.

 

– “Pioneering in North York: A History of the Borough,” by Patricia W. Hart, Toronto: General Publishing Company Limited, 1968, pg. 167.

Learn About Your Local History

Gibson House Museum (photo: Sarah McCabe)

• Visit The Gibson House Museum, your local City of Toronto Museum.
• Read “Willowdale: Yesterday’s Farms, Today’s Legacy,” by Scott Kennedy (Toronto: Dundurn Press, 2013). It’s available from Toronto Public Library as a print book and an ebook.
• Browse hundreds of photos in Facebook’s Vintage Willowdale & North York group, and in Toronto Public Library’s digital archive.
• Check out the North York Historical Society’s website with local history articles, and upcoming events listings (and consider becoming a member).
• Take your own Historical Walking Tour of North York Centre with Toronto Public Library’s 2012 booklet (opens 36-page PDF).

Do you recognize West Willowdale in the top left of this aerial photo, looking north-east towards Yonge Street? It sure has changed since 1927! (Spot the airfield that became York Cemetery? )

Aerial view of land east and west of Yonge Street between Burndale Avenue and north of Finch Avenue, North York, 1927 (photo: Toronto Public Library NYHS00373, gift of North York Historical Society)