Before the Park

When the little town of York (Toronto) came into existence, the area we now know as Queen’s Park was an isolated spot almost a mile north of the new settlement, covered with groves of elm, white pine, maple and oak trees. Here, the land rose on a slight slope – the result of a shoal from an ancient glacial lake long since receded. A ravine with a creek and a pond naturally divided the site. With the town’s founding, this untouched land was parceled off to reward and encourage settlement to the area. York was now the capital for the colony of Upper Canada, and some settlers received a 100-acre lot to make up for being displaced from their previous homesteads. The surveyed lots ran between what is now Queen Street and Bloor Street.