James Gilbert Gove (1884-1974) Commemorative Plaque, 2009
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Resource ID
4932
Access
Open
Address
Little Avenue Memorial Park
Credit Line
Heritage Toronto
Date of Creation
2009
Historical Themes
Program Category
Rights
Heritage Toronto
Time Period
Caption
James Gilbert Gove (1884-1974) Commemorative Plaque, 2009
Description
Weston is distinguished by many retaining walls constructed from Humber River stone. One man, skilled stonemason James Gilbert Gove, built a number of these walls as well as a war memorial in this park.
Before immigrating to Canada James Gove acquired his exemplary skills in the southwest of England. Living and working in the Weston area for the remainder of his life he often used stone gathered from the nearby Humber River for his projects - breaking large rocks with a heavy hammer then carefully shaping each one before arranging them in the wall according to size and colour. A veteran of WW1 he was particularly proud of the war memorial and plaza in this park just a short walk from his home (now demolished) two blocks away on Weston Road. Designed by James Shaw the memorial was completed by Gove in 1950.
In 2007 Weston's riverstone walls and war memorial were officially recognized as an important part of the community's unique identity and Heritage.
Marker lat / long: 43.699815, -79.520397 (WGS84)