Gallows Hill and the Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837 Commemorative plaque, 2014.
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Original JPG File | 1800 × 1200 pixels (2.16 MP) 15.2 cm × 10.2 cm @ 300 PPI |
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Resource ID
8794
Access
Open
Address
1331 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON M4T 1Y1
Credit Line
Heritage Toronto
Date of Creation
2014
Historical Themes
Political History, War and Conflict
Program Category
Historical Plaques
Time Period
1835-1899
Caption
Gallows Hill and the Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837 Commemorative plaque, 2014.
Description
A steep escarpment that marks the ancient shoreline of glacial Lake Iroquois characterizes the landscape of this section of Yonge Street, Toronto’s oldest north-south thoroughfare. Early 19th-century travellers, who thought a nearby fallen tree resembled a gallows, used in executions, named this stretch of road “Gallows Hill”.
Although Gallows Hill was never the site of a hanging, dramatic events did occur here at the start of the Upper Canada Rebellion. On the evening of December 4, 1837, rebel leader William Lyon Mackenzie and two of his men captured Toronto alderman John Powell as he was riding up Gallows Hill. Powell was able to kill one of his captors and escaped. Riding back down Gallows Hill, Powell caught up with Mackenzie, who had continued his patrol south.
After Powell’s pistol failed when he tried to shoot Mackenzie, Powell made his way as quickly as possible into Toronto where he alerted Lieutenant-Governor Francis Bond Head that rebels were beginning to assemble north of the city. Thus, events at Gallows Hill altered the course of the Upper Canada Rebellion by eliminating the element of surprise that was Mackenzie’s main advantage.
Marker lat / long: 43.685157, -79.392663 (WGS84)