From the Post's Toronto Magazine
Link to article
Toronto's first congestion tax
Sarah B. Hood
National Post
Saturday, March 03, 2007
The intersection of Bathurst and Davenport is not a place where people linger for long, so the funny little building on the northwest corner goes largely unnoticed. Few people would pick it out as a heritage treasure, but in fact it is the only known remaining example of the toll keepers' cottages that used to guard key Toronto intersections in the 1800s.
Long before the advent of Highway 407, tollgates were used to finance roadwork. A plaque at Dundas West near Scarlett Road marks the site of a toll that operated there from 1857 onwards. It informs us that tolls were charged for riders on horseback, wagon drivers and even cattle, although fees were waived for funerals, churchgoers and the military. Kingston Road and Bloor Street were also toll roads.
Davenport had several tollgates; the little cottage at Bathurst, originally located on the southeast corner, was the home and office of the toll keeper for tollgate No. 3. He was authorized to charge between one and six pence, according to the nature of the traffic passing through.
The cottage has been dated to about 1835, but the tollgate may only have started operating around 1850. By 1895, it had been moved. After at least two relocations, it was rediscovered in 1993, and a community effort rescued it and brought it back to the present site. Since then, it has been designated as a historic site by the City of Toronto, and it is now undergoing restoration to an approximation of its original state, including furniture and housewares.
Meanwhile, the Tollkeeper's Cottage is occasionally open to the public. On March 17, traditional Irish snacks will be served there for St. Patrick's Day, and historic walking tours start there every Sunday in May. For more information, contact the Community History Project (416- 515-7546, tollkeeperscottage.ca).
- The Tollkeeper's Cottage is located in Davenport Square Park. Sarah B. Hood is the co-author of Toronto, The Unknown City, published by Arsenal Pulp Press; she continues her urban explorations at unknown toronto.blogspot.com.
