Willowdale began amongst farms, as a small village on Yonge Street between the village of Lansing at Sheppard Avenue to the south, and the village of Newtonbrook at Finch Avenue to the north. Some of the earliest settlers in 1797 were the Johnston, Willson, McBride and Cummer (Kummer) families. Jacob Cummer owned a saw mill on the Don River, a tinsmith shop on Yonge Street, and was a farmer, craftsman, and entrepreneur. In fact, the village, closely identified with Jacob and Elizabeth’s large family of 14 children, was originally known as “Kummer’s Settlement.”
The first church in the area, a Methodist log chapel, was built in 1834 on land donated by Jacob Cummer on the northeast corner of Yonge Street and Church Avenue. In 1856 the log church was replaced with a brick structure which boasted a towering, artistic spire that could be seen for many miles until a severe storm tore it down.
Jacob Cummer and the early members of the community were buried in the pioneer cemetery adjacent to the church, which was built in memory of the early settlers who helped establish the Willowdale Methodist Church. A portion of the pioneer cemetery still exists today.
Willowdale also boasted one of the earliest schools located at present-day Yonge Street and Ellerslie Avenue. The Willowdale School, SS # 4 also known as Brown's School was originally built in 1842 with bricks made on the neighbouring farm of David Gibson. David Gibson was a land surveyor and farmer, and was appointed Deputy Land Surveyor in 1825. After taking part in the failed 1837 Rebellion as a prominent Reform leader, and fleeing to the United States, he was pardoned and returned to his farm in 1848. By 1851, he had completed a new brick home to replace the original that had been burned by order of the Lieutenant-Governor.
This home is still standing in its original location, and is now restored as the Gibson House Museum. In 1855, Gibson applied for and helped establish the "Willow Dale" post office, named after the many willow trees once found in the area. Members of the Gibson family were still living in Gibson House in the 1920s when the residential subdivision of Willowdale began to take place.
Centred at Yonge Street and Drewry Avenue, Newtonbrook forms North York's most northern Yonge Street community. By 1870 Newtonbrook was considered a thriving village with more than 200 settlers establishing homes at these crossroads. As early as 1801, Newtonbrook claimed one of the first log schools in North York.
The early 1800s also saw two mill sites along Yonge Street, the Playter Mill at Drewry and the Cummer Mills at present-day Cummer Avenue. The Cummer Mill site was operated by John Cummer and owned by his father Jacob of Willowdale.
Having apprenticed with his father, Thomas Humberstone opened a pottery in 1835 on the west side of Yonge Street, south of Steeles where earthenware pitches, vases and bricks were manufactured. Some of the most popular inns and taverns were found in Newtonbrook including Finch's Hotel built in 1847 on the north east corner of what is now Finch Avenue.
In 1857 the Newton Brook Wesleyan Methodist Church Congregation was formed and named after a local preacher, the name by which the community became known. Although a church wasn't erected until 1857, it's not the house of worship itself which is most remembered, but its parsonage, as it was the birthplace of Lester B. Pearson, elected Canada's Prime Minister in 1963. Today, little remains of early Newtonbrook. A general store and post office at the north west corner of Drewey and Yonge was originally known as the C.C. Charleton's store. The frame structure was replaced in 1907 and continues to function as a commercial business.
The community of Lansing developed around the crossroads of Yonge Street and present-day Sheppard Avenue. Joseph Shepard was one of the earliest settles to Lansing, building a log cabin in 1798 on the north west corner of these crossroads. An enterprising family, The Shepards built saw mills, taverns and in 1860 the well-known general store at Yonge and Sheppard which came to be the hub of the Lansing community. Joseph Shepard also built a clapboard house in 1835 on today's Burndale Avenue which became a regular meeting place for the reform radicals of William Lyon Mackenzie, leader of the failed Rebellion of 1837.
The Golden Lion Hotel built in 1825 by Thomas Shepard, son of Joseph, once stood directly across from the original site of the Shepard Store. It was a much-frequented place, serving for a time as a Sunday School and a place for Mackenzie's reform members to congregate. At the turn of the 20th century, it also housed North York's township offices. One of the two oak-carved "golden" lions is preserved today in the lobby of the Novotel Hotel.
Present-day Willowdale includes single-family homes built between 1910 and the 1950s, as well as large two-storey homes that have replaced some of the original houses. Willowdale also includes many high-rise condominium towers and condominium townhouses, which are located along the Yonge Street corridor.
From a small village of 150 people in 1857, Willowdale has grown to become part of the City of North York, and subsequently part of the City of Toronto following amalgamation in 1998. From 1922 to 1998, it was the site of the municipal offices for the Township, Borough and City of North York. By 2001, its population had reached 61,580 people (latest available figures). It is home to people from all parts of the world, who enjoy this multicultural community.
History courtesy of Heritage Toronto