Scarborough European Settlers History

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European Settlement

Black and white photo of three men standing outside of a wooden building with large double doors. One man is leaning against a carriage, another holds the reigns of a horse and is facing the camera, and the other man is bent over tending to one of the horse's hooves but is facing the camera. — Hough Blacksmith Shop, Eglinton Avenue West and Birchmount, Scarborough, 1930s. Courtesy of Scarborough Archives.

Hough Blacksmith Shop, Eglinton Avenue West and Birchmount, Scarborough, 1930s. Courtesy of Scarborough Archives.

Black and white photo a man pulling a horse by the reigns on a muddy road. The horse is pulling a carriage and behind them is a fence and two buildings. — Hough Carriage Works, Eglinton Avenue West and Birchmount, Scarborough, 1930s. Courtesy of Scarborough Archives.

Hough Carriage Works, Eglinton Avenue West and Birchmount, Scarborough, 1930s. Courtesy of Scarborough Archives.

Black and white photo of a structure being built. Only the frame and stone foundation are completed. Many people pose for the photo, some of which are sitting or standing on the beams of the structure. — Barn raising, Highland Creek, Scarborough, 1909. Image: Toronto Public Library

Barn raising, Highland Creek, Scarborough, 1909. Image: Toronto Public Library

Black and white photo of a large group of men, all wearing hats, sitting at a long table with food, drinks, and various dishware on it. In the background is a large house, and off to the left of the photo is a tree. Behind the tree, a woman wearing a white apron is partly obscured from view. A few of the men look at the camera. — Barn raising party, Highland Creek, Scarborough, 1909. Image: Toronto Public Library

Barn raising party, Highland Creek, Scarborough, 1909. Image: Toronto Public Library

European settlement

The land which had been cultivated by First Nations for thousands of years very quickly became a prime location for early settlers to establish farms, permanent homes, and businesses. David and Mary Thomson, both from Scotland, were the first known European Scarborough settlers, having built a home in the area in 1799. While the family has a high school named after them today, it was the Loyalists who brought huge waves of new settlement throughout Upper Canada after the American Revolution and subsequently the War of 1812.

Rural life

Among the Loyalists to settle in Scarborough were the Huffs. John Huff and his brother, originally from Germany, fought under Thayendanegea (also known as Joseph Brant) during the American Revolution. He moved to Upper Canada and with his sons, William and Joseph Huff, he bought 200 acres of land on lot 30, Concession Road B – along what would eventually come to be known as Eglinton Avenue.

Joseph Huff established a sawmill in 1816 along the small stream running through the property. He married Elizabeth Devenish and by the 1830s, the couple and their nine children had developed a small hamlet around the sawmill, which grew to include a school, blacksmith, and carriage-making shop.

Sometime after starting these businesses, the family changed their name from Huff to Hough, and the intersection of Birchmount and Eglinton Ave. East became known as Hough’s Corners. Most of the buildings from this era have been demolished, but the Scarborough Museum has built a replica of the Hough Carriage Works, housing many original tools donated by the Hough family.

The journals of Thomas Edward Hough, who grew up in the area, describe local farm life in the early 1800s. He refers to bobcat attacks when using the outhouse, growing crops throughout the year, and barn raisings. The latter events provided an opportunity for the community to gather, support each other, and share food, music, and conversation. The journals also describe waking up at 3:00 am for the four-hour horse and buggy trip to the St. Lawrence Market where the family would sell their goods.

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