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Leslieville is named for Scottish horticulturalist and businessman George Leslie, who established the Toronto Nurseries in the area in 1845.

In 1824 the Leslie family came to Canada, and settled into the Streetsville area of Mississauga. Young George Leslie had worked as a gardener in Scotland and soon found work here. George worked for William Allan whose son, George William Allan became a good friend, and he grew many of the first trees that were planted in Allan Gardens. In 1830, George started selling grain, seed and groceries in Toronto. In 1834 he, with others, founded the Toronto Horticultural Society.

In 1845 George leased 10 acres of land on Kingston Road (now Queen Street East) close to today's Leslie Street, and launched what would become one of Canada's largest nurseries - it eventually covered 200 acres south of Queen and west of Leslie Street, down to about Eastern Avenue. The greenhouses and extensive fields of the Toronto Nurseries produced everything from flowers to ornamental shrubs and trees. Leslie's trees were transplanted to provide shade in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, in Allan Gardens, and along some Toronto streets.

At the same time as Leslie was earning an international reputation as a horticulturalist, he and his family played important roles in the growing community of Leslieville - including that of postmaster in the Leslie Post Office located in their family store. Though the family left the nursery business shortly after George Leslie's death, the Leslie legacy lives on in Leslie Grove Park, once the family's property. Leslie Grove was the affectionate name given to the now lost, leafy oasis of the Toronto Nurseries.

The George Leslie plaque was presented as part of the Leslieville Tree Festival on Saturday, June 20th, and will be located at Leslie Grove Park, at Queen St East at Jones Avenue.

Photos (left to right): Hutchinsons Toronto Directory, 1862, Toronto Public Library; Adam G. Mercer's Toronto Old and New, 1891, Toronto Public Library; Toronto Public Libary, Copyright CGI.