1
St. Andrew's Road, Then and Now16 June 2004
St. Andrew's Road, Bendale, Scarborough, Canada
2
About 1799, David Thomson and his brother Andrew, built log homes on their 100 acre properties on the banks of the Highland Creek. Neither structure has survived, but David's son William built a fieldstone house in 1848, just north of the creek. To differentiate between himself and a cousin also named William, David's son became known as 'Stonehouse Willie'. His house, renovated early in the 20th century, still stands at number 1 St. Andrew's Road at Brimley. Andrew's son James built a brick house in 1840 overlooking a field and spring-fed creek. He became known locally as 'Springfield Jimmie'. A daughter, Agnes, married the famed Alexander Muir, composer of the Maple Leaf Forever. Springfield Farmhouse is located just west of McCowan Road on the north side of St. Andrew's Road.Between the two Thomson homes, on the south side of St. Andrew's Road, stand St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, the sexton's house, and the Scarborough Centennial Memorial Library. All five of these 19th century buildings have been designated under the terms of the Ontario Heritage Act.
In 1819, on land donated by the Thomson family, St. Andrew's Church was erected,to be replaced in 1848 by the present brick church. The church's cemetery has burial monuments of many of Scarborough's early settlers including many of the Thomsons. Nearby the church, Scarborough's first public library was founded in 1834. The original frame library building was replaced in 1896 as a Centennial project. The old Canadian Northern Railway bisected the Thomson farms from 1910 to 1917 when the line went bankrupt. Parts of the old railway right of way and its embankment can still be found in the area.
The community was initially given the Scottish name Benlomond, in 1878, when a post office opened on the south west corner of what is now Lawrence Avenue and McCowan Road, in William Forfar's General Store. However, as that name was already in use elsewhere, in close proximity to Scarborough, the post office was formally renamed Bendale in 1881. The name refers to the topography of the area, the hills and valley which make up this part of Scarborough. A major business in the area was John P. Wheler's Grist and Saw Mill, on Bellamy Road just south of Lawrence Avenue.
While the post office closed in 1913 as rural mail delivery was introduced to Scarborough, the name Bendale has been used in three schools, a library, a church, a senior citizens apartment and several businesses, as well as the Bendale and North Bendale communities.
The southern part of David and Mary Thomson's farm now form a permanent community facility known as Thomson Memorial Park to honour their contributions. Located within the park is the Scarborough Historical Museum comprised of historic homes which help tell the universal tale of the immigrant experience in a new land.
Excerpted from Scarborough Then and Now, Schofield, Schofield and Whynot, 1996.
3
Plaque dedication ceremony27 May 1978
Bendale, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
4
A village inhabited by early Iroquoian Indians stood on the north side of this Highland Creek valley about 1250 AD. This site was excavated in 1956 by University of Toronto students who recovered numerous projectile points, tools, and fragments of pipes and globular bodied pottery with simple geometric line decorations. Inside a palisade, the people of the village dwelt in large multiple family longhouses constructed of slender poles covered with slabs of bark. Down the centre of each house was a line of fireplaces used for cooking and heating. The inhabitants lived by fishing, hunting, and primitive agriculture growing corn, beans, squash and pumpkins. The bones of their dead were buried in mass graves on a hilltop a short distance east of the village where two ossuaries containing the remains of 472 individuals were discovered in August, 1956.-Text from historic plaque at the site
5
The rear view of William Thomson's 'Bonese' house.1940
St. Andrew's Road, Bendale, Scarborough, Canada
6
Built in 1848 by William Thomson, the eighth child of Scarborough's first settlers, David and Mary Thomson, natives of Dumfriesshire, Scotland, who came to Canada in 1795 and made their home in the forest below this spot in 1799. Their great granddaughter Dr. Isabella M. Davidson, became the first women to graduate in Medicine in 1902; and after serving as a doctor in India for forty years, she made her home here until her death at the age of 96 in 1970.-Text taken from historic plaque on site
7
William Thomson's 'Bonese' house.1940
St. Andrew's Road, Bendale, Scarborough, Canada
8
Looking north on Brimley toward St. Andrew's road, then (1900) and now (2004)14 December 2004
Brimley Road, Bendale, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
9
William Thomson's "Bonese" house visible in the distance on the right hand side of Brimley Road.10
Canadian Northern Rail Line embankment circa 1900 and 200415 December 2004
Bendale, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
11
This embankment, forty-two feet high, is all that remains of the old Canadian Northern Railway which was built through this area in 1910 to join Toronto with Ottawa. The railway went bankrupt in 1917 and was taken over by the CNR who continued to use it until 1925. The tracks were removed in 1926 and the right-of-way abandoned. On July 29, 1919, Miss Jane Ann Thomson probably saved the lives of many innocent people. Early in the morning she was awakened by a freight train making an unusually loud noise. Upon investigation, she discovered a broken rail and warned the Malvern station agent to flag down the 14 car Ottawa/Toronto flyer due about 5:30 AM. Remnants of the old road to Markham can be found leading out of the valley just east of the railway embankment.12
The Thomson house viewed from a different angle.1890
St. Andrew's Road, Bendale, Scarborough, Canada
13
May 21st, 1799, David Thomson petitioned for land "in Scarborough, where he now resides, and was the first settler in that township". Peter Russell who was the then the administrator of Upper Canada, endorsed the petition, stating "in consideration of the Petitioners large family, and his being the first settler who has built a house and resides in Scarborough, ordered 200 acres". David finally received his land patent after his wife had given birth to their 6th child, the first born in Scarborough.-Excerpted from Scarborough Then and Now, Scofield et al.
This house replaced the original log cabin, and was demolished in 1959.
14
Thomson farm house1890
St. Andrew's Road, Bendale, Scarborough, Canada
 |
 |
 |
 |