Moore Farm House is the Fifth Oldest Building in Etobicoke
The Moore farmhouse, built ca. 1842, at 18 Great Oak Drive. (Denise Harris)
John Moore was the head of a successful farm that is an excellent example of the diverse operations typical of 19th century rural Etobicoke. Tax records for 1843 show that his farm was valued in the top 15% of the approximately 335 farms in Etobicoke.
His story begins in 1825 when his parents, George and Mary Moore, emigrated from Northern Ireland with their 5 children: James (born 1806), John (1807), Isabella (1813), George (1820) and Jane (1822.) They lived in a log cabin on a Clergy Reserve lot they sublet, located on 100 acres (40 ha) of land bound by today’s Islington Avenue, Bywood Drive, Kipling Avenue and Rathburn Road. George Sr. died soon after their arrival, and James and John continued to pay the lease on the property. James married and moved to his own farm near Islington Avenue and Norseman Street.
In 1836, John petitioned to purchase their lot, receiving title in 1842. He hired Weston master builder, William Tyrrell, to design the house that still stands at 18 Great Oak Drive. This 1 ½ storey Georgian house is made of grey bricks, now painted white. Tyrrell added many decorative features to the home, including cornice returns with a quartet of decorative brackets under each of them and small brackets under the front eaves. The wooden eight-panelled “double-cross” main door has a transom window of multi-coloured glass above it.
John never married, but his household was typical of many at that time, consisting of his bachelor brother George; his widowed mother Mary; his widowed sister Jane; his late sister Isabella’s child Lavinia by Isabella’s deceased first husband; and the late Isabella’s second husband, William Duncan, and their two children, Mary Jane & Alan. It appears that death was never far away during this era.
Moore was active in the Etobicoke Agricultural Society. Lists of prizes he won at many 19th century agricultural fairs provide insight into the mixed nature of his farm: cattle, sheep, horses, wool, flax, woven linen cloth, wheat, oats and vegetables.
Moore was tax assessor for the township from 1839 to 1844, and was a returning officer in Etobicoke’s first municipal election in 1850. The Moores were charter members of St. George’s Anglican Church on-the-Hill when it was established in 1844.
When John died in 1872, George inherited the farm. When George died in 1885, he left the property to his great-nephew, Richard Morgan. The property remained in Morgan ownership, operated by tenant farmers, until 1946 when it was sold to George P. Wood of Islington who developed the land into the Islington Heights subdivision, retaining the old farmhouse. In 1979 the house was purchased by the current owners who lovingly restored it. 18 Great Oak Drive is listed on the Toronto Heritage Register and is the 5th oldest building in Etobicoke. One block east of the house is the magnificent white oak tree that gave Great Oak Drive its name.
Researched & Written by Denise Harris, originally published by the Etobicoke Guardian and reprinted with permission.
His story begins in 1825 when his parents, George and Mary Moore, emigrated from Northern Ireland with their 5 children: James (born 1806), John (1807), Isabella (1813), George (1820) and Jane (1822.) They lived in a log cabin on a Clergy Reserve lot they sublet, located on 100 acres (40 ha) of land bound by today’s Islington Avenue, Bywood Drive, Kipling Avenue and Rathburn Road. George Sr. died soon after their arrival, and James and John continued to pay the lease on the property. James married and moved to his own farm near Islington Avenue and Norseman Street.
In 1836, John petitioned to purchase their lot, receiving title in 1842. He hired Weston master builder, William Tyrrell, to design the house that still stands at 18 Great Oak Drive. This 1 ½ storey Georgian house is made of grey bricks, now painted white. Tyrrell added many decorative features to the home, including cornice returns with a quartet of decorative brackets under each of them and small brackets under the front eaves. The wooden eight-panelled “double-cross” main door has a transom window of multi-coloured glass above it.
John never married, but his household was typical of many at that time, consisting of his bachelor brother George; his widowed mother Mary; his widowed sister Jane; his late sister Isabella’s child Lavinia by Isabella’s deceased first husband; and the late Isabella’s second husband, William Duncan, and their two children, Mary Jane & Alan. It appears that death was never far away during this era.
Moore was active in the Etobicoke Agricultural Society. Lists of prizes he won at many 19th century agricultural fairs provide insight into the mixed nature of his farm: cattle, sheep, horses, wool, flax, woven linen cloth, wheat, oats and vegetables.
Moore was tax assessor for the township from 1839 to 1844, and was a returning officer in Etobicoke’s first municipal election in 1850. The Moores were charter members of St. George’s Anglican Church on-the-Hill when it was established in 1844.
When John died in 1872, George inherited the farm. When George died in 1885, he left the property to his great-nephew, Richard Morgan. The property remained in Morgan ownership, operated by tenant farmers, until 1946 when it was sold to George P. Wood of Islington who developed the land into the Islington Heights subdivision, retaining the old farmhouse. In 1979 the house was purchased by the current owners who lovingly restored it. 18 Great Oak Drive is listed on the Toronto Heritage Register and is the 5th oldest building in Etobicoke. One block east of the house is the magnificent white oak tree that gave Great Oak Drive its name.
Researched & Written by Denise Harris, originally published by the Etobicoke Guardian and reprinted with permission.