Kennedy Road between Finch and Linwood Avenues is, at first glance, an inconsequential stretch of street. 1km of nothing. A bit of digging, however, and there’s a story. There’s always a story.
Beginning at the top, there’s the Hugh Clark House. A rural leftover nestled in behind a gas station. The Clark family once lined the north side of Finch with their farms. The first of the Clarks to plant his roots was Hugh‘s father, William, who settled two lots over at Birchmount Road in 1838. I wrote a little bit about the elder Clark while exploring his property at today’s L’Amoreaux Park.
Crossing the street, one comes to an innocent looking parkette. Today’s park, however, is yesterday’s street jog. Kennedy at one time jogged left at Finch, forcing a northbound traveler to turn left and then right before continuing north. At some point Kennedy was reconfigured to run seamlessly through the intersection. An orphaned section of the old route remained south of Finch, however. The old Kennedy bus used to turn around at the loop when the bus route terminated at Finch. The triangular jog was eliminated for good in 1979, leaving us Kennedy Road Parkette.
Next, Lynnwood Heights on Southlawn Drive has been around since 1956. The school’s TDSB webpage notes an original population of 400, a staggering far cry from the current enrollment of 160 pupils. The surrounding subdivision also dates from around 1956, making it one of the older post-war developments in northern Scarborough. One can imagine as the area continued to grow, more schools opened to relieve Lynnwood.
Huntingwood Drive is an east-west alternative to Sheppard and Finch (at least, between Victoria Park and McCowan), but its existence is a relatively recent thing – around 1967, more specifically. It’s odd in the way it snakes close to Sheppard in some parts and close in Finch in others.
Bookending the kilometre stretch is another farmhouse, Elmridge. This was the Pat(t)erson family homestead. Or, at least, one of them. Like the Clarks, the Patersons were a pioneering Scarboro family who toiled the land on the east side of the street between Sheppard and Finch. Robert Bonis writes in A History of Scarborough that a Thomas Paterson arrived here in 1820 from Scotland, clearing the land with his son. His descendants continued his work at Elmridge, eventually making the Paterson name synonymous with Agincourt. This excellently researched WikiTree entry breaks down the life of Thomas Archibald Paterson, the great-grandson of the original Thomas Paterson.
I grew up on Kennedy road in the 60’s. The Kennedy’s lived across the street on the west side of Kennedy Road just south of Finch. Your article state that their farm house was once by Agincourt Mall. When did the move north to near Finch or were there two Kennedy Farm houses at the time. Thanks for this article it was great reading.
Hi Mark, thank you very much for the read! I enjoy getting comments like this! To your question, there was indeed another Kennedy farmhouse. As I understand it, there were historically two lots between Finch and Sheppard farmed by two Kennedy brothers and their respective descendants. The southern farmstead was the Samuel Kennedy house and, as you said, was located near where the old Tam O’Shanter rink and clubhouse was (north of the mall). It was torn down in the Seventies. I imagine the northern house you knew was also destroyed in the same period. There’s a cul de sac of houses there now anyways! Hope that info makes sense – Bob
Great work, Bob; there were three Paterson farms on the east side of Kennedy between Sheppard and Finch- each about the same size. Two are still in existence: the one you mentioned just south of Huntingwood, and another between it and Finch: it’s been somewhat altered, and it’s been abandoned for some years now, but it’s there still on a slightly larger lot. If you look for it, you’ll see it.
Hi Paul, I think I know the house! White, slightly larger. Boarded up and lawn/driveway overgrown?
This is amazing! My Grandfather grew up in that house! Do you have any other information on it?
Hi Bob
I currently live in Agincourt Village on Agincourt Drive and have been collecting snippets of history since. Thanks for your additions. Regarding the Paterson farms, perhaps this map will help out.
http://maps.library.utoronto.ca/datapub/digital/NG/historicTOmaps/trem0011.jpg