Other

Tom Longboat
Junior Public School

If I be lifted up I will draw all men unto me
Because I live ye shall live also
Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life

[plaque]

FORT ROUILLÉ
The last French post built in present-day southern Ontario, Fort Rouillé,
more commonly known as Fort Toronto, was erected on this site
in 1750-51. It was established by order of the Marquis de La Jonquière,
Governor of New France, to help strengthen French control of the Great
Lakes and was located here near an important portage to capture the trade
of Indians travelling southeast toward the British fur-trading centre at
Oswego. A small frontier post, Fort Rouillé was a palisaded fortification
with four bastions and five main buildings. It apparently prospered until
hostilities between the French and British increased in the mid-1750s.
Following the capitulation of other French posts on Lake Ontario, Fort
Rouillé was destroyed by its garrison in July 1759.

ERECTED BY THE ONTARIO HERITAGE FOUNDATION
MINISTRY OF CITIZENSHIP AND CULTURE

[plaque]

LE FORT ROUILLÉ

Le Fort Rouillé, plus connu sous le nom de Fort Toronto, fut le dernier poste français construit dans l'actuel Sud de l'Ontario. Il fut établi en 1750-1751, sous l'ordre du Marquis de La Jonquière, gouverneur de la Nouvelle-France, pour renforcer l'emprise française sur la région des Grands Lacs. Il était situé près d'un important portage, pour intercepter le commerce des Indiens avec le comptoir britannique d'échange des fourrures situé à Oswego. Ce petit poste-frontière comprenait cinq bâtiments principaux entourés d'une palissade fortifiée à quatre bastions. Il fut apparemment prospère jusqu'à l'intensification des hostilités entre Français et Britanniques au milieu des années 1750. Après la capitulation des autres postes français sur le lac Ontario, le Fort Rouillé fut détruit en juillet 1759 par la garnison qui y stationnait.

[plaque]

needs further research/recherche incomplète

STANLEY
BARRACKS

The British army established a military post here in 1840-
41 to replace aging Fort York. Known as the New Fort, it
consisted of seven limestone buildings around a parade square, and a number of lesser structures. Massive defen-
sive works were planned for the perimeter but never built.
In 1893 the fort was renamed Stanley Barracks in honour
of Governor Lord Stanley. Canadian forces assumed
responsibility for the post in 1870 and garrisoned it until
1947. The barracks then served as public housing until the
early 1950s, when all but this building, the Officers’
Quarters, were demolished.

Ontario Heritage Foundation, Ministry of Cutlure, Tourism and Recreation

L’armée britannique établit un poste militaire ici en 1840-1841 pour remplacer le fort York. Le poste comporte sept bâtiments en Pierre à chaux érigés autour d’une cour de parade et plusieurs autres structures. Les fortifications prévues ne sont jamais construites. En 1893, le fort est rebaptisé Stanley Barracks en honneur du gouvernement general Lord Stanley. Les forces canadiennes en assument la responsibilité en 1870 et y restent publics avant sa demolition au début des années 1950. Il n’en reste plus que les quartiers des officiers.

THE QUEEN’S RANGERS

The young province of Upper Canada (Ontario) required
troops to defend it and to build public works essential to
its development. The Queen’s Rangers was the first regiment
raised in Britain specifically for service in the colony. It
arrived in 1792 and was stationed in York (Toronto) in
1793. Over the next three years the regiment constructed
government buildings and fortifications. It also cut impor-
tant roads through the forest, including Yonge Street north
to the Holland River, and Governor’s Road (Dundas Street)
west to London. In 1794 detachments were posted along
the Great Lakes in response to mounting tensions on the
frontier with the United States. When the regiment was
disbanded in 1802, many of its men settled on lands in
nearby Etobicoke Township.

Ontario Heritage Foundation, Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Recreation

LES QUEEN’S RANGERS

La jeune province du Haute-Canada (l’Ontario) avait besoin de troupes pour se defender et entreprendre les travaux publics essentials à son dévelopement. Les Queen’s Rangers constituent le premier regiment recruté en Angleterre spécifiquement pour servir dans la colonie. Il arrive en 1792 et est envoyé en garnison à York (Toronto) en 1793. Le regiment construit des bâtiments gouvernementaux et des fortifications. Ils déblaient des routes à travers la forêt, dont la rue Yonge vers le nord jusqu’à la rivière Holland, et le chemain Governor’s (rue Dundas) vers l’ouest. En 1794, des détachements sont expédiés le long des Grands Lacs où les tensions s’intensifient avec les Américains. Lorsque le regiment est disperse en 1802, nombre de ses homes s’installent sur des terres du canton avoisinant d’Etobicoke.

GIBRALTAR POINT

Because of its large and easily defended harbour Lieutenant-
Governor Simcoe decided to make Toronto the naval and
military centre of Upper Canada. This site, guarding the
harbour, was named Gibraltar Point. Fortification was begun
here in 1794 and by 1800 two defensible storehouses and a
guard house had been erected. These buildings were destroyed
by the Americans during the second raid on York (Toronto)
in 1813. By the following May a small blockhouse mounting
one gun had been constructed. This building, in ruins by 1823,
was dismantled some time before 1833 and not replaced. This
area later became known as Hanlans Point after the family of
the world-champion sculler “Ned” Hanlon who settled near here.

Erected by the Archaeological and Historic Sites Board,
Department of Public Records and Archives of Ontario

COLONEL W.J. STEWART CBE, CD.
1889-1969

A LIFELONG CITIZEN OF TORONTO, WILLI AM JAMES STEWART
DEVOTED MOST OF HIS LIFE TO PUBLIC SERVICE. HE SERVED AS
ALDERMAN 1924-30 AND AS MAYOR 1931-34. DURING HIS TENURE
AS MAYOR HE WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN RESTORING FORT YORK TO
COMMEMORATE THE CITY’S CENTENNIAL 1934.

ELECTED TO THE ONTARIO LEGISLATURE (1938), HE SERVED UNTIL
1959, AND FOR FOUR YEARS WAS SPEAKER OF THE LEGISLATIVE
ASSEMBLY. A STRONG SUPPORTER OF THE MILITIA, HE JOINED THE
QUEEN’S YORK RANGERS (1ST AMERICAN REGIMENT) AND WAS
FOR FIFTEEN YEARS ITS HONORARY COLONEL.

HE WAS ACTIVE IN NUMEROUS CHURCH, FRATERNAL AND CHARITABLE
ORGANIZATIONS, AND SERVED AS CHAIRMAN OF THE TORONTO
HISTORICAL BOARD FROM 1961 UNTIL HIS DEATH.

ERECTED BY THE
TORONTO HISTORICAL BOARD
1970

MILITARY BURIAL GROUND

THIS CEMETERY OPENED IN 1860 AND WAS THE THIRD MIITARY BURIAL GROUND IN TORONTO. IT REPLACED
ONE SITUATED A SHORT DISTANCE TO THE WEST, WHICH WAS ABANDONED AFTER A FEW BURIALS AND THE
BODIES WERE MOVED THIS LOCATION. THE LAST KNOW INTERNMENT HERE WAS IN 1911.

The following is an extract from Robertson’s Landmarks of Toronto, Vol, 1, 1894:

"There are about two hundred graves distinguishable by the mounds of earth. In the whole cemetary there
are only twenty-eight stones or wooden slabs standing to tell who lies beneath. A few broken stones have
fallen
most of them are indecipherable and the rest are nameless. All the headstones are of the simplest
and plainest character. There is not a monument or shaft in the yard. On a few graves are simple wooden
crosses without any inscription. Here and there is a square picketed enclosure about a grave, the fence in a
very dilapidated condition and overgrown with grass, thistles and ivy. But one grave bears token, that its
occupant is still cherished in memory. The grave is that of Sergeant-Major F.W. Gathercole of the
Canadian School of Infantry, who died at the new fort, Toronto February 13, 1883 aged forty-two years. A
neat marble slab, simple but quite as pretentious as any in the cemetery, bears the inscription that it was
erected by his comrades in affectionate remembrance. About the grave the grass and thistles have been
cleared away and four pots of geraniums in bloom had been placed on it. The stone marking the resting
place of assistant Commissary-General John Moirs McLean Sutherland, is broken and down. Everything
about the grounds bears evidence that they are seldom visited. The proportion of soldiers drowned among
the twenty-eight whose names are decipherable is large. They are John Manley Rattle, Deputy-Assistant
Commissary-General, J. Ramsey Akers, Ensign in the 16th Regiment, James Walsh, Private in the 30th
Regiment, and Corporal John Smeeton, of the 13th Hussars. Several graves are those of the wives and
children of soldiers. The head stones range in date, from 1860 down to that of Private E.A. Heath, of the
Canadian School of Infantry, who died in 1885, being the most recent. Among the graves is one of Walter
Toronto Lewis, the one-year old son of Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Lewis, who died in 1868. The 13th Hussars
has the greatest number of burials. At two graves are tiny marble slabs, not over five inches wide and a foot
high, bearing simply the inscription ‘G.M. and G.F.S.’ they are evidently remembered, for loving hands
had recently propped up the broken and fallen memorials with pieces of wood. Most of the stones bear
inscriptions to the effect that they were erected by comrades. But little attempt at decoration has been
made on the slabs. Here and there is a flag, a pair of crossed swords, a wreath, a cross, a crown, and other
usual emblems of this character, all very simply executed. Among the dead who lie here are: Trumpeter
James McMahon, 13th Hussars
Rachel, wife of Sergeant-Major William Ross, of the 4th Artillery
Isabella
Thompson, Private George Miller, 13th Hussars, and Colour-Sergeant John Hanney, 47th Regiment."

THIS MEMORIAL AREA WAS CREATED TO PRESERVE THE
REMAINING HEADSTONES AND TO COMMEMORATE ALL
THOSE WHO LIE HERE.

TORONTO HISTORICAL BOARD

A.D. 1970

1813 - 1963

A few yards south of this spot, on
what was then the Lake Shore, stood The Grand Magazine.

During the Battle of York, 27 April 1813,
the British Forces, finding the unfinished
Fort untenable, withdrew and blew up
the Magazine.

The explosion killed 38 American
soldiers and wounded 222, many of
whom died. Among the dead was
Brigadier-General Zebulon M. Pike.

Several British and Canadian Soldiers
were also killed or wounded.

SUGAR MAPLE
STATE TREE OF NEW YORK

PRESENTED TO TORONTO HISTORICAL BOARD BY BUFFALO
AND ERIE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY IN THE SPIRIT OF
RUSH-BAGOT AND IN APPRECIATION OF OUR TWO
COUNTRIES WHO BUILD NOT WALLS, BUT BRIDGES.

1968