Playter Estates Commemorative plaque, 2023
| File information | Options |
Original JPG File8400 × 6515 pixels (54.73 MP) 71.1 cm × 55.2 cm @ 300 PPI 10.4 MB |
Restricted |
Resource ID
10518
Access
Open
Credit Line
Heritage Toronto
Date of Creation
2023
Historical Themes
Architectural Heritage, Agricultural History, Indigenous Heritage, Residential History
Program Category
Historical Plaques
Rights
Heritage Toronto
Time Period
1794-1834, 1835-1899, 1900-1953
Caption
Playter Estates Commemorative plaque, 2023
Description
This land has been a place of human activity and settlement for more than 7,000 years. The Don River provided drinking water and served as hunting grounds for many Indigenous Peoples. A village and a communal burial site, most likely Wendat, was south of here. The Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy moved into the region in the 17th century. The Mississaugas at the head of Lake Ontario signed Treaty 13 (1805) with the British Crown, and the land was colonized as York, and later Toronto. In 1793, Captain George Playter and his sons were granted 500 acres in this area for their loyalty to the British Crown. Their land was on the northside of Bloor Street from Yonge Street to about Pape Avenue. The Playter family cleared the land of trees, building homes and a farm near Castle Frank. They also took on leading roles in the Town of York.In the mid-1870s, the Playters built a two-storey red-brick farmhouse at 28 Playter Cresent that remained in the family until 2006. Various parts of the farmlands were subdivided to form the neighbourhood Playter Estates by 1912. Featuring many Edwardian and Victorian style homes, Playter Crescent and Playter Boulevard still bear the family name, while Ellerbeck Street references Sarah Ellerbeck, who married John Playter, one of George’s sons.