Guided Historical Walking Tours

Swansea Historical Society Simcoe walk with Madeleine McDowell and Bob Roden, Sept 24, 2016, in Lucy Maud Montgomery park in Swansea. Photo: Avocado Communications.

Why couldn’t you get a drink south of Bloor until the 1990s?
Find out on our historical walking tours!

Guided walking tours introduce participants to lesser-known aspects of the area. Each year we have an annual re-enactment of Governor Simcoe’s 1793 expedition. We also have an historic walking tour of Swansea where we explore the eastern part of the former village of Swansea, once an isolated area and summer escape from Toronto – and we learn about the distinct history of this piece of “country in the city,” including stories of how Catfish Pond got its name, why Swansea resisted annexation to Toronto, and why—despite not being under prohibition—you couldn’t get a drink south of Bloor until the 1990s.

Past Walks

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In 2017, we conducted three historical walking tours. In May, under the auspices of the Jane’s Walks programme, we led a walk to Sculpture Hill in High Park, marking the 50th anniversary of the public art which was installed in 1967 – Canada’s Centennial year.

As part of Heritage Toronto’s walking tour programme, we conducted two tours of eastern Swansea, one on our traditional June date and one in late August.

Annual Swansea Historical Society Historical Walk, June 2016. At the historic William Smith House, 22 Deforest Rd. Photo: Avocado Communications.

 

Annual Swansea Historical Society Historical Walk, June 2016. Swansea Historical Society walk leader, Lance Gleich holds a photo of Morningside Ave (then College St) at Ellis Ave circa 1900. Photo: Avocado Communications.

We have also taken over responsibility for the annual re-enactment of Governor Simcoe’s 1793 expedition, a walking tour that Madeleine McDowell had organized and led every year since 1998.  The 2017 Governor Simcoe walk took place on Saturday, October 7, 2017. Thank you to Lance Gleich for organizing and leading all of our walks.

History on the Humber walk with Toronto City Councillor Sarah Doucette, Michael Freeman, Heritage York. Photo: Avocado Communications.
History on the Humber walk with Parkdale-High Park. MPP, Cheri Dinovo giving opening comments. 
History on the Humber walk with Parkdale-High Park. MPP, Cheri Dinovo giving opening comments.  Photo: Avocado Communications.

Working with a group of local historical societies, we participated in the August 2017 staging of “Walk the 6 West: History on the Humber” commemorating the 150th Anniversary of Canada’s Confederation. Six theatrical presentations highlighting a variety of historical figures were mounted in Ėtienne Brûlé Park, and four guided walking tours along the Humber enabled viewers to watch each of the vignettes in turn. Even though the weather was threatening at first, more than 400 visitors attended. We thank the Province of Ontario and various private donors for financially supporting this highly successful event.

History on the Humber walk 2017. Standing within sight of the historic Lambton House -the only remains of his built legacy-William Pearce Howland addresses the electors of West York in 1864. As Canadians are about to decide on nationhood, he outlines his vision of a diverse Confederation. Concluding his remarks, Sir William shares his thoughts on Canadian citizenship and freedom. Jan-Michael Weir (Howland) is a Toronto-based actor. As a company member of Humber River Shakespeare, Jan performed as part of the 10th anniversary celebrations for the Humber River’s designation as a Canadian Heritage River in 2009. Photo: Avocado Communications.
History on the Humber, theatrical presentation: “Canadian Junction” a new play by Neil Ross. This is the story of a village/town/city/neighbourhood at the heart of Canada’s rail line. Neil Ross plays A.B. Rice., longtime Junction resident Eileen Jensen played Mrs. Julia Brown. Amanda Zhou played Anne Leung. Photo: Avocado Communications. See Bloor West Snap’d for a selection of photographs taken by Susan Roden.

Also in August, 2017, and under the auspices of the City of Toronto’s “Arts in the Parks” programme, we presented a Sesquicentennial Authors’ Symposium in High Park.

Authors George Elliott Clarke, Bruce Meyer, Bianca Lakoseljac, Bob Roden - Moderator, David DePoe. Photo by Susan Roden
At the “Arts in the Park” sesquicentennial Authors’ Symposium in High Park with Authors George Elliott Clarke, Bruce Meyer, organizer and author, Bianca Lakoseljac, Bob Roden – Moderator, David DePoe. Twelve local writers, including Canada’s Parliamentary Poet Laureate George Elliott Clarke and Swansea Historical Society members Bianca Lakoseljac and Will O’Hara, read excerpts from their work. Photo by Susan Roden.

View more past walks

Can’t wait until the next guided walking tour?

You can also do your own self-guided walk with our booklet: Walking Tour of Swansea – available at the front desk of Swansea Town Hall.


View more historical booklets published by the Swansea Historical Society ›