Wonscotonach commemorative plaque, 2023.
File information | File dimensions | File size | Options |
Original JPG File | 8400 × 6515 pixels (54.73 MP) 71.1 cm × 55.2 cm @ 300 PPI |
9.6 MB | Restricted |
Low resolution print | 2000 × 1551 pixels (3.1 MP) 16.9 cm × 13.1 cm @ 300 PPI |
1.6 MB | Restricted |
Screen | 1032 × 800 pixels (0.83 MP) 8.7 cm × 6.8 cm @ 300 PPI |
366 KB | Restricted |
Resource ID
10670
Access
Open
Credit Line
Heritage Toronto
Date of Creation
2023
Historical Themes
Indigenous Heritage
Keywords
Indigenous History
Program Category
Historical Plaques
Rights
Heritage Toronto
Time Period
Pre-colonization, 1615-1793, 1794-1834, 1835-1899
Caption
Wonscotonach commemorative plaque, 2023.
Description
The river in the valley below is one of the three main waterways in Toronto. Its two branches, which merge north of here, drain a large portion of the city’s watershed, one of the most urbanized in the country. Formed during the last ice age, the river runs from headwaters north of the city and drains into Lake Ontario. Its name in Anishinaabemowin is Wonscotonach, which suggests a meaning of “burning bright point or peninsula” at the mouth of the river. There, the Mississaugas fished by torchlight and used controlled burns to care for the natural environment. Around 1,000 years ago, the Wendat lived in what is now the Toronto region. The Haudenosaunee lived here in the middle to late 1600s, and the Anishinaabe, including the Mississaugas, lived here by about 1700. This river was an important hunting and gathering place for many Indigenous Peoples. In 1793, Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe founded the Town of York, and colonization of the region by Americans and Europeans began. Simcoe named the waterway after the River Don in Yorkshire, England, and it soon become a place of industry. The Skinner family built the first sawmill on the river, which evolved into Todmorden Mills. The Don Valley Brick Works used natural clay deposits in the valley to make building materials. Railways began to use the valley in the 1850s, and roads and bridges crossed the valley east to west. Industrialization and urbanization severely polluted the river valley before efforts to restore it began in the 21st century.