Todmorden Mills
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Todmorden Mills was a small settlement located in the
Don River The Don ( rus, Дон, p=don) is the fifth-longest river in Europe. Flowing from Central Russia to the Sea of Azov in Southern Russia, it is one of Russia's largest rivers and played an important role for traders from the Byzantine Empire. Its ...
valley in
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
,
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
. It started out as a lumber mill in the 1790s. Originally known as "Don Mills", it grew into a small industrial complex and village before becoming part of
East York East York is a former administrative district and municipality within Toronto, Ontario, Canada. From 1967 to 1998, it was officially the Borough of East York, a semi-autonomous borough within the upper-tier municipality of Metropolitan Toron ...
in the 20th century. Currently the valley site is occupied by the Todmorden Mills Heritage Museum and Arts Centre, which includes the museum, art gallery, a theatre and a forest preserve.


History

In 1795, the settlement of
York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
in
Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...
was a small but growing community on the shores of
Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...
. To supply construction material, Lieutenant-Governor
John Graves Simcoe John Graves Simcoe (25 February 1752 – 26 October 1806) was a British Army general and the first lieutenant governor of Upper Canada from 1791 until 1796 in southern Ontario and the Drainage basin, watersheds of Georgian Bay and Lake Superior. ...
granted land on the Don River to Aaron and Isaiah Skinner for the purpose of building a mill to supply lumber. Simcoe wrote to a friend "A mill should be thereon". A third partner to the Skinner's was their Brother-in-Law, Parsall Terry - husband to their Sister, Rhoda Skinner. Parshall was the first Watermaster on the Don and died in 1808 while trying to cross the Don via horseback during floodstage. He had also been a member of the first Legislature of Upper Canada. The mill was operated by the Skinners until about 1855, when it was sold to the Taylor family. In 1820, a brewery (Helliwell or Don Brewery) was built next to the mill and operated by Thomas Helliwell and John Eastwood. The Helliwell family operated it until 1855, when it too was sold to the Taylor family. Todmorden Mills acquired its name from John Eastwood, one of the original brewery owners. His family had emigrated from
Todmorden Todmorden ( ; ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Upper Calder Valley in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England. It is north-east of Manchester, south-east of Burnley and west of Halifax, West Yorkshire, Hal ...
, a town then straddling the two counties of
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
and
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
in
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. The Taylors owned a number of industrial mills in the neighbourhood including the
Don Valley Brick Works The Don Valley Brick Works (often referred to as the Evergreen Brick Works) is a former quarry and industrial site located in the Don River Valley in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Don Valley Brick Works operated for nearly 100 years and provided ...
. Under their ownership the mill was converted to produce felt paper. The mill continued to operate until the 1920s when the building was converted into a riding stable. In the early 1940s, the site became the location of a small
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...
camp. The camp housed men from the German merchant marine who were interned in Allied ports at the start of the war. The prisoners often worked as labourers at the nearby Don Valley Brick Works. In 1945, the prisoners were repatriated and the camp was shut down. Soon afterwards, the camp buildings were destroyed by fire, likely set by vandals. Between 1930 and 1967, the property housed a collection of horse riding schools and light industry. In the 1930s, the ''Windermere Riding Academy'' used the property. ''Don Vale Textiles'' occupied the property in the late 1940s. From 1950 and 1963, the ''Whitewood Riding School'' was housed at the stables."Todmorden Mills - A Timeline", ''Town Crier'', April 2004. During the building of the
Don Valley Parkway The Don Valley Parkway (DVP) is a municipal expressway in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which connects the Gardiner Expressway in downtown Toronto with Highway 401. North of Highway 401, it continues as Highway 404. The parkway run ...
, the site was extensively modified. The river which used to pass through the site in a wide meander was straightened so that it was entirely cut off from the site. The former riverbed was turned into a pond and the bridge that used to cross the river is now only used to reach a parking lot. In 1965, the mill site was proposed as a
centennial {{other uses, Centennial (disambiguation), Centenary (disambiguation) A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century, a period of 100 years. Notable events Notable centennial events at a ...
project by East York's mayor,
True Davidson Jean Gertrude "True" Davidson, CM (19 April 1901 – 18 September 1978), was a Canadian politician, teacher, and writer. She was the first mayor of the Borough of East York, Ontario, and she was one of Metropolitan Toronto's most colourful polit ...
. On May 22, 1967, it was opened as the ''Todmorden Mills Historic Site'' and started to function as a community museum. Davidson remained as an honorary curator until her death in 1978. Currently the museum maintains four buildings from the original settlement including the old paper mill which dates from 1825, a brewery and two homes. The
Don railway station Don railway station was built in 1896 by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) on the western bank of the Don River at the south side of Queen Street in Toronto. History Permission was given to the CPR to build a branch line (Don Branch) from Leas ...
was moved to Todmorden in 1969, and remained at Todmorden until 2009 when it was moved to
Roundhouse Park Roundhouse Park is a 17 acre (6.9 ha) park in the downtown core of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is in the former Railway Lands. It features the John Street Roundhouse, a preserved locomotive roundhouse which is home to the Toronto Railway Muse ...
. In the near future, the museum is hoping to re-restore Helliwell House to resemble its appearance in the 1890s. In 1991, two local naturalists,
Charles Sauriol Charles Joseph Sauriol, (May 3, 1904 – December 16, 1995) was a Canadian naturalist who was responsible for the preservation of many natural areas in Ontario and across Canada. He owned property in the Don River valley and was an advocate fo ...
and Dave Money proposed that a small forested area adjacent to the museum site be turned into a nature preserve. A committee was formed and the ''Todmorden Mills Wildflower Preserve'' was created. Since then the committee has performed restoration in the forest to remove non-native
invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...
and restore flowers and trees native to the Toronto area.


See also

*
John Taylor (paper manufacturer) John Taylor (1809–1871) was a British-born Toronto-area businessman and a pioneer in the pulp and paper industry. Early life The Taylor family immigrated to Upper Canada in 1821 from Uttoxeter, Staffordshire. By 1834, John Taylor and his bro ...
*
Pape Village Pape Village is a commercial district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located within the neighbourhood of Old East York. It is a mixed-use shopping street, consisting mainly of small-scale retail, restaurant and personal service uses. Location Th ...


References

;Citations


Further reading

*


External links


Todmorden Mills Heritage SiteEast Side Players community theatre group20th Century Todmorden: A Community in the Don Valley
{{coord, 43.68625, N, 79.36024, W, display=title Don River (Ontario) History of Toronto Museums in Toronto Art museums and galleries in Ontario History museums in Ontario