Public Notice

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.