Richview
The successful farming community of Richview received its name in 1852 when a post office opened on the Sixth Line of Toronto Township (now Mississauga), just north of today’s Eglinton Avenue. John Davis was the postmaster until he resigned in 1865. Robert Burgess replaced him and after he died in 1876, his sister, Jane (Joanna) Burgess, replaced him until she resigned in 1886. Then the post office was moved about 2 miles east into a house in Etobicoke Township on the southwest corner of Richview Side Road (now Eglinton Avenue West) and Third Line (now Highway 427.) The new postmaster, David Watt, held the position from 1887 to 1906. Louie LaRose replaced him from 1906 to March 1911. James Peacock replaced him, but his term lasted only four months because rural mail delivery was introduced in July 1911.
In 1906, Will Watt made this pencil sketch of the southwest corner of Eglinton and Highway 427. In the drawing are his daughter Eva Watt milking a cow, son David Watt in his blacksmith shop, a stooped James Peacock walking by with his dog, Nineva La Rose ploughing in the foreground, and William John Gracey heading home after his daily bicycle excursion to pick up the family mail. The house on the right is the location of the post office where Will Watt is the postmaster. Source: Montgomery’s Inn Museum
Of course, the community existed long before there ever was a post office. Some lots were granted as early as 1802, but many of those grantees sold their properties and moved on. By the 1830s, the area was completely settled, mostly by families who stayed for generations with names like Agar, Bigham, Canning, Coulter, Dawson, Dixon, Gracey, Knaggs, Peacock, Stonehouse, and Thirkle. Before 1852, the main intersection was often called “Union” after a small non-denominational church built on that corner. It was also often called “Kit’s Corners” after Christopher “Kit” Thirkle who bred horses and was the local blacksmith. At its peak, the village had 2 shoemakers, 2 wagon makers, 2 carpenters, 1 tailor, 1 hotel, 2 churches, 2 cemeteries, 1 school, 1 butcher, 1 general store, and 1 greenhouse.
Richview was a community whose residents supported each other to the mutual benefit of all. The Richview Branch of the Women’s Institute was formed in 1914 and many stories of the village can be found in the pages of the Tweedsmuir History of Richview that they compiled as a group.
Richview hosted its first ploughing match in 1864 on John Davis’ property. After that this event was held annually, even if the earth was covered in snow and they had to clear a quarter acre of snow for each contestant. Most farmers competed for prizes at agricultural fairs that were held each fall in nearby communities. Weddings were often held between the offspring of neighbouring families. Prior to 1900, weddings were often held in downtown Toronto or in the bride’s home. By 1875, a community brass band had been formed, featuring members of the Knaggs and Thirkle families. William Knaggs was a well-known violin maker. At his death in 1921, The Globe newspaper said that for 100 years, some of the finest fiddles had come from his shop. Garden parties were held on the Gracey farm on the Fourth Line (Carlingview Drive.) Strawberries and ice cream were served and entertainment was provided by local talent. Sunday school picnics were held at Center Island in the 1920s, at Eldorado Park on the Credit River in the 1930s, and at Peel Park in Streetsville in the 1940s. There were skating parties at Chapman’s Skating Rink in Weston and at least one or two sleighing parties each winter followed by square dances.
Barn-raising bees were large community events – a survival strategy at a time when many tasks required more hands than one family could supply on their own. Building a large frame barn required as many as 60 to 100 men to lift the bent frames into place. The whole community would anticipate an upcoming bee as a major social event, with the women supplying an enormous feast after the physical labours. In July, 1908, Oliver and Elizabeth Dixon hosted a bee to raise a large new barn on their 100-acre farm on the southwest corner of Martin Grove Road and Malton Road (now called Dixon Road.)
Richview was a community whose residents supported each other to the mutual benefit of all. The Richview Branch of the Women’s Institute was formed in 1914 and many stories of the village can be found in the pages of the Tweedsmuir History of Richview that they compiled as a group.
Richview hosted its first ploughing match in 1864 on John Davis’ property. After that this event was held annually, even if the earth was covered in snow and they had to clear a quarter acre of snow for each contestant. Most farmers competed for prizes at agricultural fairs that were held each fall in nearby communities. Weddings were often held between the offspring of neighbouring families. Prior to 1900, weddings were often held in downtown Toronto or in the bride’s home. By 1875, a community brass band had been formed, featuring members of the Knaggs and Thirkle families. William Knaggs was a well-known violin maker. At his death in 1921, The Globe newspaper said that for 100 years, some of the finest fiddles had come from his shop. Garden parties were held on the Gracey farm on the Fourth Line (Carlingview Drive.) Strawberries and ice cream were served and entertainment was provided by local talent. Sunday school picnics were held at Center Island in the 1920s, at Eldorado Park on the Credit River in the 1930s, and at Peel Park in Streetsville in the 1940s. There were skating parties at Chapman’s Skating Rink in Weston and at least one or two sleighing parties each winter followed by square dances.
Barn-raising bees were large community events – a survival strategy at a time when many tasks required more hands than one family could supply on their own. Building a large frame barn required as many as 60 to 100 men to lift the bent frames into place. The whole community would anticipate an upcoming bee as a major social event, with the women supplying an enormous feast after the physical labours. In July, 1908, Oliver and Elizabeth Dixon hosted a bee to raise a large new barn on their 100-acre farm on the southwest corner of Martin Grove Road and Malton Road (now called Dixon Road.)
The bent frames for the new barn have been raised at the home of Oliver and Elizabeth Dixon in July 1908. Oliver is in the centre of the photo with his right hand on his bent knee. Elizabeth is the woman furthest to the left in the group of five women standing at the back.
Source: Montgomery’s Inn Museum
Almost time for dinner at Oliver and Elizabeth Dixon’s barn raising in July 1908. Oliver is seated at the third table from the front, fifth man from the left. Elizabeth is the woman second from the back, at the left edge of the picture (partially cut off.) Source: Montgomery’s Inn Museum
Oliver was the grandson of James Dixon, who had emigrated from England to Canada prior to 1827 and settled in Etobicoke. He purchased the property shown in these photos in 1836. His son Richard inherited the lot in 1860, and Richard left it to his son Oliver in 1882. Many of James’ descendants farmed lots north and south of Dixon Road, and Dixon Road itself was named after these early Etobicoke settlers.
Two cemeteries remain today as reminders of Richview’s past. The Second Line or Stonehouse Cemetery sits on land donated by Joseph Stonehouse on the east side of Martin Grove, opposite today’s Longbourne Drive. Joseph was the first burial there in 1835. Twenty-six people are known to be interred there, including 24 members of the Stonehouse family. Today it is surrounded by a locked chain-link fence.
In 1888, the Union Church mentioned above was demolished and replaced by a red brick Methodist church that sat immediately south of the Union Church’s cemetery. In 1960, when the Highway 427/401 interchange was being built, the church was expropriated and the congregation moved to a new church they built on Wellesworth Drive. Miraculously, the cemetery survived, surprising many passers-by who catch a glimpse of it as they whiz past on the highway ramp from 427 northbound to 401 westbound. You can visit the cemetery by finding its gate on the south side of Eglinton, east of Renforth, in between two highway overpasses.
Two cemeteries remain today as reminders of Richview’s past. The Second Line or Stonehouse Cemetery sits on land donated by Joseph Stonehouse on the east side of Martin Grove, opposite today’s Longbourne Drive. Joseph was the first burial there in 1835. Twenty-six people are known to be interred there, including 24 members of the Stonehouse family. Today it is surrounded by a locked chain-link fence.
In 1888, the Union Church mentioned above was demolished and replaced by a red brick Methodist church that sat immediately south of the Union Church’s cemetery. In 1960, when the Highway 427/401 interchange was being built, the church was expropriated and the congregation moved to a new church they built on Wellesworth Drive. Miraculously, the cemetery survived, surprising many passers-by who catch a glimpse of it as they whiz past on the highway ramp from 427 northbound to 401 westbound. You can visit the cemetery by finding its gate on the south side of Eglinton, east of Renforth, in between two highway overpasses.
Horses ploughing on the farm of Jimmy Thirkle in the 1920s, looking north. Behind
the field is a row of evergreens, with the 1888 church behind them. Not visible behind
the church is Richview Cemetery. Source: Montgomery’s Inn Museum
Richview Cemetery, looking north, in 2013. To the right is Highway 427 northbound
and in the distance, is the ramp to Highway 401 westbound. Approximately 300 people are
buried here, most of whom were early settlers of Richview. Source: Denise Harris
Richview had a series of school houses, each larger than its predecessor. In 1838, residents built their first small log school on the west side of Martin Grove, north of Eglinton. When school attendance was made compulsory in 1846, a larger log school was built on the east side of Martin Grove. By 1874 this second school was overcrowded, and a new school was built on the northwest corner of Eglinton and Martin Grove – a classic “little red schoolhouse” where one teacher in one room was expected to perform educational miracles instructing kids of every grade. Soon after opening, the school’s walls mysteriously began to bulge outward. The problem was tackled by mounting wooden logs vertically on each of the four sides of the school and tying each log to its opposite with iron silo rods running through the classroom. Three of these dark vertical logs are visible in the school photo below.
Photo of third Richview school in 1914. Source: Montgomery’s Inn Museum
In 1915, this third school was finally deemed unsafe and demolished. It was replaced by a fourth school, two storeys high with a playroom on the main floor and a classroom upstairs. Over the years, enrolment varied and there were 53 students attending when the school was closed in 1957. Children were then bussed to neighbouring schools until a fifth Richview Public School opened in 1963 at 59 Clement Road. School enrolment in 1968 was 498, but by 1981, it had dropped to 130 and this school too was closed. The property was sold in 2015 and a new French Language Catholic School was built on the footprint of the 1963 school. The plaque from the 1915 school now hangs in the lobby of the new school named École élémentaire catholique Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. For awhile the bell from the 1915 school was missing, but after a long search, it was recovered in 2017 and will be hung in Richview Collegiate at Islington and Eglinton.
As the 20th century approached, several developments in the dairy industry led Richview’s farmers to change their ways of doing things. There was a growing demand for milk in the cities, transportation had improved, and there was better production equipment available. More significant, however, was the growing realization that a dairy cow was a distinct breed. Richview’s farmers gradually abandoned their multi-purpose (beef/dairy) cows in favour of Holstein dairy cows and purchased them as they became available after 1881. Holsteins gave larger volumes of milk, but had a lower butter fat content than desired. Soon farmers like Normand and Roy Cannning, Alex. J. Gracey, the Kingdon Brothers, Gordon Jefferson, and Albert and Walter Pearson were breeding their own cows with higher butterfat levels. As the dairy business grew, milk routes were developed throughout the Richview area. About 1932, Alex Gracey started hauling milk from Richview’s farms to downtown dairies such as City Dairy, Donlands Dairy and Roger’s Dairy and continued until 1956 when expropriation claimed the last dairy farm in Richview.
As the 20th century approached, several developments in the dairy industry led Richview’s farmers to change their ways of doing things. There was a growing demand for milk in the cities, transportation had improved, and there was better production equipment available. More significant, however, was the growing realization that a dairy cow was a distinct breed. Richview’s farmers gradually abandoned their multi-purpose (beef/dairy) cows in favour of Holstein dairy cows and purchased them as they became available after 1881. Holsteins gave larger volumes of milk, but had a lower butter fat content than desired. Soon farmers like Normand and Roy Cannning, Alex. J. Gracey, the Kingdon Brothers, Gordon Jefferson, and Albert and Walter Pearson were breeding their own cows with higher butterfat levels. As the dairy business grew, milk routes were developed throughout the Richview area. About 1932, Alex Gracey started hauling milk from Richview’s farms to downtown dairies such as City Dairy, Donlands Dairy and Roger’s Dairy and continued until 1956 when expropriation claimed the last dairy farm in Richview.
A mechanized hay harvest on the Alex J. Gracey Farm on west side of Carlingview Drive,
south of Dixon Road, in 1955. Source: Montgomery’s Inn Museum
There are several old farmhouses from Richview that have survived to this day, including the Bigham/Agar Farm, the Andrew and Martha Coulter Farm, and the Robert Coulter House.
The following two properties, now vanished, still hold fond memories for many people who grew up in the Richview area during the 1940s, 50s and 60s.
CULLEN’S PONY FARM
The following two properties, now vanished, still hold fond memories for many people who grew up in the Richview area during the 1940s, 50s and 60s.
CULLEN’S PONY FARM
Cullen’s Pony Farm in the 1950s looking east towards wood lot at Kipling Avenue. Property owned by the Peacock family. Photo from Ilamay Peacock Vineham.
From 1935 to 1966, there was a farm that raised Shetland ponies on the north side of Richview Side Road (now Eglinton Avenue West), west of Kipling Avenue. On weekends it was common to see cars stopped along the roadside as families watch the ponies or took a ride on one for a small fee.
The pony farm was started by Elgin Cullen ca. 1935, and his son Fred joined the business as he grew older. They raised Shetland ponies, mares, geldings, colts and registered stallions, and sold saddles, harnesses and carts. There was a large house with a barn, as well as a long paddock for the ponies. It operated until 1966 when the land was rezoned for apartment buildings. At that time, there was a plan to make Richview Side Road the route of Highway 403, and it was decided that single family homes along Eglinton would not be suitable. A group of 30 children attended a hearing to oppose the loss of their ponies. They came armed with 25 reasons why the farm should be saved– one reason for each of the 25 ponies saddled up every weekend for children to ride. Despite the attention that this protest garnered, the pony farm was demolished and Widdicombe Hill Blvd. was opened, complete with apartment buildings, and Highway 403 followed a different route.
Today, the land where this farm was located is being developed and the name Pony Farm Drive has been accepted for a new street in that area. Soon Pony Farm Drive will be lined with townhouses where Shetland ponies used to roam.
BERT’S TURKEY PALACE
The pony farm was started by Elgin Cullen ca. 1935, and his son Fred joined the business as he grew older. They raised Shetland ponies, mares, geldings, colts and registered stallions, and sold saddles, harnesses and carts. There was a large house with a barn, as well as a long paddock for the ponies. It operated until 1966 when the land was rezoned for apartment buildings. At that time, there was a plan to make Richview Side Road the route of Highway 403, and it was decided that single family homes along Eglinton would not be suitable. A group of 30 children attended a hearing to oppose the loss of their ponies. They came armed with 25 reasons why the farm should be saved– one reason for each of the 25 ponies saddled up every weekend for children to ride. Despite the attention that this protest garnered, the pony farm was demolished and Widdicombe Hill Blvd. was opened, complete with apartment buildings, and Highway 403 followed a different route.
Today, the land where this farm was located is being developed and the name Pony Farm Drive has been accepted for a new street in that area. Soon Pony Farm Drive will be lined with townhouses where Shetland ponies used to roam.
BERT’S TURKEY PALACE
Aerial view of Bert’s Turkey Palace in 1961. Note the turkey statue on the roof.
Photo from Ontario Archives.
Bert’s Turkey Palace holds fond memories for many people who ate there, often as teenagers. This restaurant was located on the north side of Richview Side Road (now Eglinton Avenue West), just east of Highway 27. People still recall stopping at Bert’s for the great turkey burgers and milkshakes after school dances. But Bert’s was much more than a burger joint. He advertised that he sold “Turkey Anyhow”, and indeed you could buy turkey live, dressed, custom cut, or pre-cooked. He also sold chickens, geese and ducks – all raised and prepared on his adjacent farm.
Albert “Bert” Hedges was born in York Township in 1898. He married Gerilda Bell McCullough in 1921 and they had one daughter. Bert started his career as a bookkeeper, but went on to work for over 20 years as a referee for the Ontario Hockey Association and the NHL. Around 1945, the Hedges bought a 50-acre farm and built a family house, a restaurant, and assorted barns and outbuildings, all overlooking the Mimico Creek Valley to the north.
Bert died in 1965 at the age of 66. He is remembered in an Etobicoke street called Hedges Boulevard that runs east off Martin Grove Road, two blocks south of Eglinton. All of the buildings on the Hedges’ property were demolished in 1967 to make way for a reconstruction of the Highway 401/427 interchange. Today, the former site of Bert’s Turkey Palace lies under a highway ramp near Eglinton and Highway 427.
Researched and Written by Denise Harris
Albert “Bert” Hedges was born in York Township in 1898. He married Gerilda Bell McCullough in 1921 and they had one daughter. Bert started his career as a bookkeeper, but went on to work for over 20 years as a referee for the Ontario Hockey Association and the NHL. Around 1945, the Hedges bought a 50-acre farm and built a family house, a restaurant, and assorted barns and outbuildings, all overlooking the Mimico Creek Valley to the north.
Bert died in 1965 at the age of 66. He is remembered in an Etobicoke street called Hedges Boulevard that runs east off Martin Grove Road, two blocks south of Eglinton. All of the buildings on the Hedges’ property were demolished in 1967 to make way for a reconstruction of the Highway 401/427 interchange. Today, the former site of Bert’s Turkey Palace lies under a highway ramp near Eglinton and Highway 427.
Researched and Written by Denise Harris