Rathnelly's history revolves around the former Rathnelly house built in 1830 by Senator William McMaster. McMaster's home was named after his birth place in Rathnelly, Ireland. The McMaster estate remained intact until the 1880's, when it was sold to developers. The present day neighbourhood began shortly thereafter.

The Rathnelly neighbourhood made headlines in 1967, while celebrating Canada's 100th birthday. During the celebrations Rathnelly residents playfully declared themselves as an independent republic of Canada. To mark their independence, the "Republic of Rathnelly" elected a queen, organized a parade, formed an "air farce" of 1,000 helium balloons, and issued Republic of Rathnelly passports to everyone in the neighbourhood.

Over twenty years later the "Republic of Rathnelly" is still going strong.

The Humewood neighbourhood is named after "Humewood", the country estate of William Hume Blake - a prominent lawyer and politician in early Toronto. Blake built Humewood in the 1850's and named it after his ancestral home in Ireland.

The former twenty-five acre Humewood estate was carved into various plans of subdivision in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Humewood Park was part of the old estate grounds and Humewood Drive was originally a private laneway to the estate.

The Humewood house was sold by the Blake family in the 1870's. Shortly thereafter it burned down but was replaced by a similar house built on the foundation of the original home.

In 1912 the Humewood house was purchased by the Anglican Diocese as a refuge for young women in distress. It has undergone many renovations and additions since this time however it remains a local landmark, standing proudly at number forty Humewood Drive.

Cedarvale's residential development began in 1912 when Sir Henry Mill Pellatt, the builder of Toronto's famous Casa Loma registered a plan of subdivision for the south end of this neighbourhood under the name "Cedar Vale". Vale denoted the ravine that runs through the centre of this neighbourhood and the Cedar part of the name makes reference to the many cedars that grew in the wet lowlands of the ravine.

The Cedarvale Ravine which has long been the foundation of this neighbourhood was threatened in 1966, when the proposed Spadina Expressway was slated to run straight through the ravine on its way downtown. Some Cedarvale houses were expropriated and the floor of the ravine was clearcut to make room for the expressway.

Fortunately strong opposition to the expressway was voiced throughout the city and in 1974 the decision was made to stop the Spadina Expressway (officially called the W.R. Allen Road ) at Eglinton Avenue, thus preserving the centrepiece of this popular Toronto neighbourhood.

Davisville Village is named after John Davis, who immigrated to Canada from Staffordshire, England in 1840. John Davis served as Davisville's first postmaster and helped found the Davisville Public School. He also operated the Davis Pottery, which became the Village's largest employer.

The south part of Davisville was subdivided in the 1860's on land owned mostly by the Davis family. The north part of the Village belonged to the Church. This latter tract of land, known as the Davisville Glebe, remained undeveloped until 1911 when it was sold to the Dovercourt Land and Building Company, the same company that oversaw the development of the Lawrence Park neighbourhood.

Ed Note. The former Davisville Post Office was run by John Davis' grandson Jack. This two-storey building is still standing on the north-east corner of Yonge Street and Davisville Avenue.

The Chaplin Estates neighbourhood began with a plan of subdivision, registered by William John Chaplin and his son James D. Chaplin, in 1913. The Chaplin family had been landowners in this area dating back to 1860, when this district was known simply as 'Eglinton'.

Chaplin Estates was marketed as a high class residential district. The developers included a long list of building restrictions and zoning bylaws, in the sale of each property. There were no semi-detached houses allowed, and stucco exteriors were not to cover more than half the house.

The marketing of the subdivision was handled by the Chaplin Realty Company. Prices ranged from $500 to $9,000 a lot. Most of the lots were sold between 1921 and 1925.

The Summerhill neighbourhood is named after 'Summer Hill' house, a magnificent Regency cottage built in 1842, by transportation baron Charles Thompson. Summer Hill stood on the crest of the hill where the houses on Summerhill Gardens are located today.

Thompson's two hundred acre Summer Hill estate stretched from the present day Yonge Street to Mt. Pleasant Road. On this site Thompson established the 'Summer Hill Spring Park and Pleasure Grounds'. This amusement park featured rides, games, swimming and a popular dance pavilion that was located inside the Summer Hill house. Thompson's heirs subdivided Summer Hill in the 1860's.

From the 1880's onward Summerhill's development revolved around the railway. The first residents of this neighbourhood worked at the North Toronto Railway station which was established on Yonge Street near Summerhill in the 1880's. This station - rebuilt in 1916 - is distinguished by its grand clock tower and now serves as the neighbourhood liquor store.

In the 1920's the Canadian Pacific Railway made Summerhill their main Toronto station. When Summerhill station closed this neighbourhood went into a period of decline that lasted until the Summerhill subway station opened in 1965. Summerhill has enjoyed a position of prominence among Toronto neighbourhoods ever since.

Ed. Note: The former Summer Hill Coach House, circa 1865, is still standing today, at the rear of 36 Summerhill Gardens. This house with its distinctive slate roof can be seen from the south end of the Rosehill Reservoir.

Hillcrest was first settled in the 1840's by Robert John Turner, a reformer from England. The Turner house, named "Bracondale", stood where Hillcrest Park is today.

By 1884, a small village grew up on the edge of the Turner estate, at the intersection of Christie and Davenport. This settlement became known as Bracondale Village. The Village consisted mostly of farmers and a few stores. Its first postmaster was Frank Turner, the son of Robert Turner.

In 1909, Bracondale Village was annexed by the City of Toronto. Shortly thereafter, Frank Turner's heirs subdivided the Bracondale estate and turned it into an exclusive subdivision named " Bracondale Hill Park".

The Turner family retained ownership of the Bracondale house until 1937, when it was sold to the City and demolished in order to make room for Hillcrest Park.

Wychwood Park was founded by Marmaduke Matthews, a landscape painter who purchased land here in the 1870's with the hope of establishing an artist colony at Wychwood Park. Matthews named Wychwood Park after Wychwood Forest, located near his childhood home in Oxfordshire, England.

In 1874, Matthews built the first house in the community, at number six Wychwood Park. The second Wychwood Park house, at number twenty two Wychwood Park, was built in 1877, by Matthews' friend Alexander Jardine.

Matthews and Jardine jointly bought the land that abutted their estates and in 1891, registered a plan of subdivision for what is now the Wychwood Park neighbourhood.

Wychwood Park is historically significant for the architecture of its homes, and for being one of Toronto's earliest planned communities. The Wychwood Park neighbourhood was designated as an Ontario Heritage Conservation district in 1985.

The sightlines and majestic beauty of the Avenue Road Hill have, over the years, inspired many of Toronto's wealthiest citizens to build their homes here.

The one home that stands out above all the others is Casa Loma, a real life medieval castle. Casa Loma was built in 1911, by Sir William Henry Mill Pellatt, a prominent financier, industrialist, and military man.

It took three hundred men nearly three years to build Casa Loma, at a cost of $3,500,000, which at that time was an unprecedented amount of money to pay for a home. Sir Henry enjoyed his dream home for less than ten years before mounting debts forced him to turn Casa Loma over to the City of Toronto.

In the 1920's, shortly after Sir Henry's departure from Casa Loma, the extensive grounds and greenhouses to the north of the castle were subdivided, and the current neighbourhood began.

Forest Hill was incorporated as a village in 1923. It was named after the summer residence of John Wickson, built in 1860, at the junction of Eglinton Avenue and Old Forest Hill Road. The hill is still there, but the forest is long since gone, having been replaced by apartment buildings.

Prior to its incorporation, Forest Hill had been known as "Spadina Heights". Spadina is a derivative of the First Nations word "Ishapadenah", which means a hill or sudden rise in land. The boundaries of the present day neighbourhood are shaped from the old Spadina Heights school district.

"Lower Forest Hill", south of Eglinton, was completely developed by the 1930's. "Upper Forest Hill" was slower to develop due to the fact it had previously been occupied by the old Belt Line railway, and then by industry.

In 1967, Forest Hill Village joined Swansea Village as one of the last two independent villages to be annexed by the City of Toronto.

The South Hill neighbourhood is defined by the Avenue Road Hill. This historic land formation was the former shoreline of ancient Lake Iroquois whose chilly waters receded into present day Lake Ontario some 12,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age.

The escarpment that Lake Iroquois left behind was covered by a dense forest interrupted only by the ponds, creeks, and waterfalls that graced the Avenue Road Hill up until the 1900's.

South Hill's natural beauty made it an instant favourite with wealthy Toronto landowners. In the mid to late 1800's, South Hill was dotted with mansions that were unsurpassed in variety and scope anywhere else in Toronto. "Oaklands", the gingerbread mansion overlooking Avenue Road, "Spadina House" at 285 Spadina Road and "Casa Loma", the 98 room dream home of Sir Henry William Pellatt, still endure from this bygone era.

Deer Park used to be referred to by the First Nations people as "Mushquoteh", which means a meadow or opening in the wood where deer come to feed. In 1837, the Heath family purchased forty acres of land in "Mushquoteh". Appropriately, they named their estate Deer Park.

By the 1850's, the Deer Park area had grown to include a handful of country villas, a general store, a school, a cemetery, a race track, and a hotel that was located at the intersection of Yonge and St. Clair. Patrons at the Deer Park Hotel used to delight in feeding the deer that roamed on the hotel grounds.

The deer were long gone by the time Deer Park was annexed to the City of Toronto in 1908. Deer Park filled in very quickly after annexation. By the 1930's the Deer Park neighbourhood was established as one of Toronto's finest residential districts.