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West Rouge History |
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| West Rouge Old Trails History - Part 2 > for Part 1 |
by Dianalyn Kennedy Cecil White had a dream. His dream was to create the Venice of the North, Rouge Hills. And what an elaborate scheme it was! "Rouge Hills has no competitor. It stands pre-eminent and fair in the main. It is the Newport, the Miami, the Long Beach of Canada. It is the first big undertaking of its kind ever attempted in Canada." Summerland, a "magazine devoted to Toronto's new two million dollar playground - Rouge Hills", grandly describes the perfect place to live and play. Starting in 1924, the finest recreation community on the continent was destined to be home to only 1,000 lucky families for nine months of the year. This unique play home boasted woods, hills, rivers, islands, Venetian boating canals, lakes, beaches, golf, tennis, swimming tank, badminton, quoits, dancing, dining, a community inn, a club house, an athletic centre of international fame, and even a famous orchestra. White purchased approximately 700 acres of property in the early 20s and began creating his dream. Experts designed and created the Rouge Hills Golf and Country Club and charter was secured. Cummins and Robinson were engaged to dredge out the Rouge River channels, the miles of Venetian waterways and the artificial lake. Kingston Road Properties drew up the lot plans and assisted in establishing the ownership restrictions. Arrangements were made for broadcasting over Reliable and Maximite Battery Station, C.K.C.L. Toronto. The public was invited to buy into the dream in 1926. Summerland devoted literally pages to the advantages of living the dream, including the latest fashions for Rouge Hills wear and (I swear) "for when daddy comes home". The war and financial difficulties are the reasons the dream did not come to full fruition according to one source. However, Jim French recalls that White died prior to realizing his dream, leaving his wife Gladys to carry on. If present day pioneers are asked about their roots, Cecil White's name will always emerge. He laid the design and foundation for our present day community. The Rouge Bridge was constructed in 1921, the first major bridge on a provincial highway in Ontario. The two lane highway was paved and the dreaded difficulty of climbing the east side of the Rouge Valley was a thing of the past. Passenger cars became a more frequent sight, although the common mode of transportation to Toronto was to ride your horse to the West Hill Hotel and catch the Radial there. A 1937 map shows large tracts of land as farms, but summer homes and cottages were increasingly being built, particularly along Rouge Hills Drive and Ridgewood Road. Most of the "original" neighbourhood homes were constructed in the late 40s and 50s. Jim and Shirley French recall the early residents being referred to as "the pioneers", young couples with their own dream of buying land and building their own home. The attraction of raising their families away from the city in a country setting was a common draw. Some just "got off the boat" from England or Scotland; some were ex-servicemen who got their land allowance after the war; and some had just come way out from the city. What they had in common was courage, a pioneering instinct, a love of beauty and nature, and a willingness to put up with hardships and help each other out. They shared a sense of fun and humour through it all. It was not uncommon for the early West Rouge residents to build their own houses. In some cases it was a real learning experience! In those days drinking water came from your own well or was brought from the Broslaw's well pump at Port Union and Island Road. City water became available in 1956. The country dirt roads were impassable in spring when the frost left and everyone would leave their cars at the top of East Avenue and walk into the ridge and down to Rouge Hills Drive. It wasn't until 1960 that the roads were paved. At the time Highway 401 was constructed, between 1939 and 1942, there were a number of
In the days when money was scarce and not too many people had a television, local entertainment was provided by the Ratepayers Association and the West Rouge Ladies Club. Local auctions were held, as well as parties and dances. The soapbox derby races, using homemade carts, started at West Rouge Plaza and tore down Island Road. Chester Hill Variety, named after Wellington Chester, was run by Al and Ruby Hart. It was considered by all the children to be a store with heart, as the Hart's were so well loved by everyone! George Smith from Rouge Hills Drive had a bakery depot in the variety store which served the neighbourhood. The Township of Pickering built West Rouge Junior Public School in 1954, making the area even more attractive to young families. The early services of Grace Presbyterian Church were held in the school building in 1957. The church building was erected shortly after. It was in the schoolyard that the annual January bonfire took place. Residents would all bring their discarded Christmas trees and make one huge blaze. It was an amazing sight! White Real Estate launched the first organized development in 1956. The Chester and Scott farms became the site of brick bungalows on streets very familiar to us: Friendship, Flagstone, Sunnyslope, Rouge Highlands and many more. By 1962 Rougedale Acres was the second phase of development. Bungalows, two storey, and split level homes were constructed in the Ravine Park area between East Avenue and Port Union. The model homes were on Pendermere Parkway. William G. Davis Junior Public School was constructed in 1967 to meet the growing needs of the community. There was a strong feeling among many residents that the area was not being serviced well by the Township of Pickering. Water supply, sewers, and drainage were just a few of the complaints. According to archivist Rick Schofield, the 400 or so acres, cut off from the rest of Pickering by the river, may have been perceived as a financial burden. There were mixed feelings as to whether joining Scarborough was the answer. According to Schofield, with roughly sixty percent support among residents, West Rouge officially became part of Scarborough on July 1, 1973. The border was changed from Port Union to the Rouge River. Around the same time, the valley lands were expropriated, and a number of families were forced to leave their "storybook cottages". It was a very sad day when the bulldozers came, digging large holes and crushing the cottages into the ground. Tudor Glen Homes were built on Tudor Glen, Calderstone, and Beaverbrook in the early 1970s. The golf course was sold to a developer for approximately one million dollars. The first developer went bankrupt, and the land actually changed hands several times before Ridgeway-by-the-Lake was created in 1985. The townhomes along Lawrence Avenue followed in the 90s. West Rouge, as we know it today, bears little resemblance to Cecil White's dream of the Venice of the North. However, we all value this little corner of Toronto we call home for many of the same reasons. Quotations from West Rouge residents: "Terry got his land allowance as an ex-serviceman and the money would buy a bigger lot here. We had no down payment for a house, so we just built as we got the money. We built the house ourselves with the help of our neighbours, then we also helped them. It harks back to the days of small villages -- you knew your neighbours and you helped your neighbours -- that would be lost in the city." Bruce and Brenda Craig grew up in West Rouge and chose to move back here to raise their family: "It's like a small enclave -- a community within a community -- within the greater area of Toronto. The children have grown up with small town values, with all the benefits that a big city has to offer." Photo – Rouge Hill Toll Gate, Rosebank, Ontario Photo – Rouge Bridge, Valley of the Rouge, Rosebank, Ontario Photo – Mouth of the Rouge River, Rosebank, Ontario The Pickering Story Fact and Folklore Conservation Report, 1956 Ecological Survey of The Rouge Valley Park, The French Family. Sue Russell and Pam Fulford. Rick Schofield, Archivist Rouge River Valley Map #1 Historic Landscapes between 1850 - 1990
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The Rouge Hills Golf and Country Club was purchased from Cecil White by Andy Dand. It is said that Dand was quite a colourful character himself. The clubhouse was a meeting place for local parties and popular for company picnics. This was how a number of early residents discovered the area. "Dand's", as it was called, had a huge public swimming pool, where local children took swimming lessons. There was golf in the summer and tobogganing in the winter on both sides of the steep Ridgewood slopes of the golf course.