IN THE MATTER OF THE ONTARIO
HERITAGE ACT
R.S.O. 1990, CHAPTER O.18 AND
CITY OF TORONTO, PROVINCE OF ONTARIO
18 GREAT OAK DRIVE
NOTICE OF INTENTION TO DESIGNATE
THE PROPERTY
TAKE NOTICE that Council for the
City of Toronto intends to designate the property, including the lands, buildings
and structures thereon known municipally as 18 Great Oak Drive under Part IV,
Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.O.18, as amended, as a
property of cultural heritage value or interest.
Reasons for Designation
The property at 18 Great Oak Drive is worthy of
designation under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act for its
cultural heritage value and meets Regulation 9/06, the provincial criteria for
municipal designation.
Description
The subject property at 18 Great Oak Drive is
located on the north side of Great Oak Drive, west of Islington Avenue and
south of Rathburn Road, within the Islington Heights neighbourhood of
Etobicoke. Constructed between 1842 and 1851, the property contains a detached
one-and-a-half storey brick farmhouse known as the Moore Farmhouse, with a
later rear addition. The property was originally part of Lot 11, Concession A
(Clergy Block), and was historically associated with the Moore family, early
agricultural settlers in Etobicoke Township.
Statement of Cultural Heritage Value
Design and Physical Value
The property at 18 Great Oak Drive has design
and physical value as a representative example of a mid-19th century vernacular
farmhouse with elements of the Georgian style. The house displays the
characteristic symmetry and restrained detailing of the Georgian architectural
style, expressed through its three-bay composition, central entrance,
rectangular window openings and low-pitch side gable roof. Classical detailing
including the pronounced eaves with brackets reinforce its Georgian style.
The building retains key features of its period
of construction, both original and rehabilitated, including its brick cladding
laid in Flemish bond, the replacement twelve-over-twelve sash windows set
within rectangular window openings with radiating brick lintels and lug sills,
and a central entrance with a multi-paned transom window. The decorative
cornice returns and bracketed eaves distinguish the building within its rural
architectural context and contribute to its elevated architectural expression.
As a surviving farmhouse constructed when this
region was primarily agricultural in nature, the building is an important
example of early rural domestic architecture in Etobicoke and contributes to an
understanding of mid-19th century construction practices and rural settlement
patterns and design.
Historical and Associative Value
The property at 18 Great Oak Drive has
historical and associative value through its association with the Moore family,
early Irish immigrants who settled in Etobicoke Township in the early 19th
century and established a working farm on Lot 11, Concession A (Clergy Block)
to the north of the then-newly established village of Islington. The
construction of the house, between 1842 and 1851, marked the transition from an
initial log dwelling to a more permanent farmhouse following the acquisition of
the property by John Moore, and signalled the wealth the Moore family was
generating through their operation of a farm on this land.
The subject property is associated with the
architect William Tyrrell, a significant figure in Etobicoke and Weston whose
work includes institutional, industrial, and residential buildings. The
attribution of the design to Tyrrell reflects his contribution to mid-19th
century architecture in the region and his connection to local communities,
including St. George’s Anglican Church-on-the-Hill, of which the Moore family
were founding members.
The later history of the property, including its
retention as part of George P. Wood’s Islington Heights subdivision following
its sale in 1946, reflects the transformation of the area from a rural
agricultural landscape to a post-war suburban community. The decision to retain
the subject property as part of the subdivision reflects an intentional act of
heritage conservation, and a desire to maintain a part of the property’s
heritage value into the post-war period.
Contextual Value
The property at 18 Great Oak Drive has
contextual value as it is important in defining and maintaining the historical
character of the Islington Heights neighbourhood. As a surviving farmhouse from
the mid-19th century, it represents a connection to the former Moore farm which
historically included the 96 acres that were incorporated into the subdivision
and provides a tangible link to the area’s agricultural origins.
The building contributes to the understanding of
the evolution of Etobicoke from a rural landscape to a planned suburban
community and remains a distinct and highly visible connection, within a
neighbourhood characterized by post-war and contemporary residential
development, to its agricultural past.
Heritage Attributes
Design and Physical Value
Attributes that contribute to the property at 18
Great Oak Drive as a representative example of a mid-19th century vernacular
Georgian style farmhouse include:
·
The scale, form and
massing of the one-and-a-half storey detached house form building
·
The rectangular plan
and low-pitched side gable roof
·
The symmetrical
three-bay composition of the primary (south) façade
·
The central entrance,
including the multi-pane transom window
·
The brick cladding
laid in Flemish bond, currently painted
·
The rectangular
window openings with radiating brick lintels and lug sills on the primary
(south) façade
·
The rectangular
window openings with radiating brick lintels and lug sills on the side (east
and west) façades
·
The smaller
rectangular window openings on the second storey side (east and west) façades
·
The two brick
chimneys located along the roof ridge
·
The cornice returns
at the gable ends
·
The bracketed eaves
Historical and Associative Value
Attributes that contribute to the historical and
associative value of the property at 18 Great Oak Drive as part of the Moore
farm and its early agricultural context include:
·
The location of the
farmhouse within the historic Lot 11, Concession A (Clergy Block) associated
with the Moore family from their arrival in the 1820’s until 1846
·
The siting and
orientation of the building reflective of its historic use as part of a
farmstead, situated to the north of Mimico Creek and well in from Islington
Avenue
·
The surviving
mid-19th century building that has historically and continues to be associated
with the Moore family
Contextual Value
Attributes that contribute to the contextual
value of the property at 18 Great Oak Drive as a remnant of the Moore farm that
was subsequently subdivided to create the Islington Heights subdivision
include:
·
The placement and
siting of the farmhouse within a post-war residential subdivision on lands
historically associated with the Moore farm
·
The retention of the
building on a large lot reflective of its agricultural origins
·
The relationship of
the property to the surrounding mature tree canopy and low-density residential
character
·
The orientation of
the house to Great Oak Drive, which angles northward from Cedarland
Drive to Islington Avenue providing access and frontage to the subject property
and breaking from the grid pattern of the surrounding subdivision
Notice of Objection to the Notice of Intention to Designate
Notice of an objection to the Notice of
Intention to Designate the Property may be served on the City Clerk, Attention:
Registrar Secretariat, City Clerk's Office, Toronto City Hall, 2nd Floor West,
100 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario, M5H 2N2.; Email: RegistrarCCO@toronto.ca within thirty (30) days
of August 4, 2026, which is September 3, 2026. The notice of objection to the
Notice of Intention to Designate the Property must set out the reason(s) for
the objection and all relevant facts.
Getting Additional Information:
Further information in respect of the Notice of
Intention to Designate the Property is available from the City of Toronto at:
https://secure.toronto.ca/council/agenda-item.do?item=2026.PH32.11.
Dated at the City of Toronto on August 4, 2026.
John D. Elvidge
City Clerk