Castle Frank Brook is a buried creek and south-west flowing tributary of the

Don River The 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 basin is betwee ...

in central and north-western

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, originating near the intersection of

Lawrence Avenue Lawrence Avenue is a major east–west thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is divided into east and west portions (Lawrence Avenue East and Lawrence Avenue West) by Yonge Street, the dividing line of east–west streets in Toronto. Rout ...

and

Dufferin Street Dufferin Street is a major north–south street in Toronto, Vaughan and King, Ontario, Canada. It is a concession road, two concessions (4 km) west of Yonge Street. The street starts at Exhibition Place, continues north to Toronto's nor ...

. Residential and industrial development in the former suburban cities of

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

and

North York North York is a former township and city and is now one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the northern area of Toronto, centred around Yonge Street, north of Ontario Highway 401. It is bounded by ...

have obliterated nearly all traces of its original course and topography in the uppermost reaches, but the original stream valley is evident in several older districts bordering the lower reaches. Sections of the lower valley include Cedarvale Park ravine, the Nordheimer Ravine near the intersection of St. Clair Avenue and Spadina Road, and the Rosedale Ravine just above the brook's confluence with the Don. Water still runs in short segments in Cedarvale Park and the Nordheimer Ravine but this is only a collection of

surface runoff Surface runoff (also known as overland flow or terrestrial runoff) is the unconfined flow of water over the ground surface, in contrast to ''channel runoff'' (or ''stream flow''). It occurs when excess rainwater, stormwater, meltwater, or other ...

and ravine slope seepage. The channels are all artificially created and run into a storm sewer that carries the remnants of the brook. The southern section of

Vaughan Road Vaughan Road is a road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is a contour collector road that is parallel to a Subterranean river, buried Urban stream, creek to the north called Castle Frank Brook. Vaughan Road begins on Bathurst Street (Toronto), Bathu ...

roughly parallels the brook's course, bypassing the steep slopes of the Cedarvale ravine. The brook's topographic influence is still evident at Ramsden Park, to the north of the intersection of

Avenue Road Avenue Road may refer to: * Avenue Road, Bangalore, busy shopping and commercial street in Bangalore * Avenue Road, London, street in the Swiss Cottage and St John's Wood districts of London * Avenue Road tram stop, tram stop in the London Borough ...

and

Davenport Road Davenport Road is an east–west arterial road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is believed to be the oldest road in Toronto, starting as a native trail called "old portage" along the shoreline scarp of Glacial Lake Iroquois. It currently run ...

, representing the boundary of the densely developed Yorkville district. The

Toronto Transit Commission The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the primary public transport agency in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operating the majority of the city's transit bus, bus and rail services. It is the oldest and largest of the urban transit service providers ...

's Spadina subway line follows the path of the creek from

Eglinton West station Eglinton West is a subway station on Line 1 Yonge–University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the median of Allen Road on the north side of Eglinton Avenue West. It will become an interchange station with the upcoming Line 5 Eg ...

St. Clair West station St. Clair West is a subway station on Line 1 Yonge–University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It spans the block north of St. Clair Avenue West to Heath Street, between Bathurst Street and Tweedsmuir Avenue. The station serves the local communit ...

, finally deviating southward at Spadina Road. The brook is named for the summer residence of Ontario's first colonial governor,

John Graves Simcoe Lieutenant-General (United Kingdom), Lieutenant-General John Graves Simcoe (25 February 1752 – 26 October 1806) was a British army officer, politician and colonial administrator who served as the lieutenant governor of Upper Canada from 1791 u ...

, which in turn was named for Simcoe's son, Francis Gwillim. It was built either on the west side of the

near the modern Prince Edward (Bloor) Viaduct, or on the east side of Cabbagetown near the river. The home featured a façade in the Georgian architectural style. It was abandoned when Simcoe returned to England in 1794, and burned down in 1829. Castle Frank subway station takes its name from the former residence. A second home of the same name was built north of this site by Sir Edward Kemp. It was demolished in 1962 for the current

Rosedale Heights School of the Arts Rosedale Heights School of the Arts (RHSA) is an arts-based high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. History Formerly Castle Frank, the school has been reinvented and re-purposed by Principal Barrie Sketchley. It is a semestered school with an ...

. The site of the original summer home can be seen from aerial photos as a partially cleared area with a ring-like shape. File:Cedarvale_park_sign.jpg, Cedarvale Park File:Nordheimer Ravine.JPG, The Nordheimer Ravine, named after

Samuel Nordheimer Samuel Nordheimer (February 6, 1824 – June 29, 1912) was a businessman and music promoter in 19th century Toronto. In part to build this business, Nordheimer became one of the most active promoters of music in Canada. He brought prominent fore ...

, a piano importer who lived nearby File:RusselHillEmergExit.jpg, The

Russell Hill Russell Hill may refer to: * Russell Hill (artist) (born 1988), British artist * Russell Hill (footballer) (1920–1987), Australian rules footballer * Russell Hill (war correspondent), see New York Herald Tribune The ''New York Herald Tri ...

Emergency exit located in Winston Churchill Park File:Castle Frank Historical Marker.jpg, Historical marker, located south of

Bloor Street Bloor Street is an east–west arterial road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Bloor Street runs from the Prince Edward Viaduct, which spans the Don River (Ontario), Don River Valley, westward into Mississauga where it ends at Central Parkway. East ...

adjacent to Castle Frank station, was placed on the approximate site of the historic Castle Frank residence in 1954 File:Castle Frank, 1794.jpg, Map of Castle Frank File:Simcoe Castle Frank Sketch.jpg, Sketch of Castle Frank by Elizabeth Simcoe, 1796 The waterway was once referred to as Severn Creek after local brewer John Severn (1807-1880).https://findagrave.com/memorial/8610346/john-severn Severn also operated breweries in San Francisco and Davenport, Iowa (Severn Ale Brewery) during his brief absence from Toronto in 1858-1863.

References

* *

External links

Toronto Dreams Project Historical Ephemera Blog
(March 1, 2012)
BlogTO.com entry by Chris Bateman
(April 7, 2012) {{Toronto Waterways Don River (Ontario) Rivers of Toronto

See also

References

External links