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Bendale: About Place
Scarborough Historical Museum
Toronto , Ontario

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   This project invokes the
rich history of Bendale, a
neighbourhood located in
Toronto’s northeast end and
the site of Scarborough’s
first farm fields. Through
the voices, images and
documents of the community,
it details Bendale’s
remarkable transformation

from rural crossroads to
multicultural suburban
centre.
   Because of Scarborough’s
large geographical area, the
settlement began life as a
series of villages. The first
of these was Bendale, where
Scarborough’s first immigrant
settlers, David and Mary

Thomson chose to homestead in
1798. The Bendale community
grew around them and as the
centre of Scarborough, the
village became home to the
area’s first church and
school, and eventually the
first hospital. After the
Second World War, suburban
developments sprang up in the

farming community, altering
the landscape. Its population
saw significant growth as
waves of immigrants
established homes alongside
the descendants of much
earlier settlers. Each new
wave brought, and still
brings, profound demographic
change to the area.

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