High Park - History

History

In 1836, John George Howard purchased a 160-acre (65 ha) property in the County of York, to the west of Toronto, for a sheep farm, at the cost of $1,000.00. It was here that Howard designed and built Colborne Lodge, a Regency-style cottage in 1837 to complement its natural surroundings as the residence for himself and his wife Jemima Frances Meikle. The Howards named their property 'High Park' as it was situated on the highest point of land along the Humber Bay shoreline. After a successful career as architect, engineer and land surveyor to the City of Toronto, Howard retired here in 1855.

In 1873, Howard and his wife agreed to convey their country property to the City of Toronto. There were several conditions to the conveyance, including that the Howards continue to live at their residence, no alcohol ever be served in the park, and that the City hold the park "for the free use, benefit and enjoyment of the Citizens of Toronto for ever and to be called and designated at all times thereafter High Park". The city council voted 13 to 2 to accept the Howard's conditions. The two dissenters felt the park was too far away from the city to be of any use to its citizens. At the time, direct access to the Howard property was only by boat, the Great Western Railway line to the south or a toll road. Soon afterwards the "Road to High Park" was built from the Lake Road to the park lands, today's Spring Road and Centre Road. Howard received a lifetime pension from the City in exchange for the property.

In 1876, a 120-acre (49 ha) portion of the Howard's property formed the original park, along with 176 acres (71 ha) bought from Percival Ridout east of the Howard farm. The remaining southern 40 acres (16 ha) of Howard's property, including Colborne Lodge, passed to the city after John Howard's death in 1890. The western addition of 71.8 acres (29.1 ha) added in 1930 was purchased from the Chapman estate. 18 acres (7.3 ha) of High Park was later given to Metro Transportation when The Queensway was built in the early 1950s. This was in contravention of stipulations by original High Park owner John Howard that the lands be used for parkland only. Metro officials searched for descendants of Howard to obtain their consent.

The Howards are buried in High Park, under a stone monument that is fronted by a portion of ornate fencing from St. Paul's Cathedral in London, England, across the street from Colborne Lodge. Today, Colborne Lodge is a museum containing many of the original Howard furnishings including John Howard's watercolours of early Toronto. The museum is open year-round.

In 1993, the High Park Citizens' Advisory Committee was founded as a volunteer group to aid the City of Toronto in the stewardship of the park. The group was renamed the High Park Community Advisory Council in 2003. The group and its offshoots have developed various programs and initiatives for the park, including the Volunteer Stewardship Program, which is involved in preserving and protecting the environment of the park. The group is active in promoting the natural plant species in the park, and volunteers regularly remove invasive non-native species.

According to the Taiaiako'n Historical Preservation Society, there are ancient indigenous peoples burial mounds in the park. In May 2011, one such location was occupied by the Society. The site, a small hill known as "Snake Mound" on the west bank of Lower Duck Pond, had been eroded by illegal BMX bike use. The Society in co-operation with the City of Toronto, cordoned off the location and worked to restore the site, fixing the erosion, and removing the bike ramps present.

In 2012, Toronto City Council, in a round of cuts to city services, voted to discontinue supporting the High Park Zoo and seek alternate funding. The zoo cost over $100,000 annually to operate and was operated by the city's Park and Recreations Department. An organization "Friends of the High Park Zoo" was formed to fund-raise and seek other sponsors for the zoo. In April 2012, the organization was successful in finding a sponsor (The Honey Family Foundation) while the organization develops a permanent source of funding. The sponsor will match public donations for the next three years.