The Ashbridge Estate

First Ashbridge Home

There are two plaques at this home.
Both can be seen on this page.

Photos by Alan L Brown - Posted April, 2004

For over 200 years, this home was occupied by one family! Amazing! An Ontario Heritage Trust plaque in front of the home at 1444 Queen Street East has this to say:

Plaque coordinates: 43.665116 -79.322673

This property was home to one family for two centuries. Sarah Ashbridge and her family moved here from Pennsylvania and began clearing land in 1794. Two years later they were granted 243 ha between Ashbridge's Bay and present day Danforth Avenue. The Ashbridges prospered as farmers until Toronto suburbs began surrounding their land in the 1880s. They sold all but this part of their original farm by the 1920s. Donated to the Ontario Heritage Trust in 1972, it was the family estate until 1997. As they changed from pioneers to farmers to professionals over 200 years on this property, the Ashbridges personified Ontario's development from agricultural frontier to urban industrial society.

Photo by Alan L Brown - Posted September, 2006

A 1955 Don Valley Conservation Authority plaque on the property east of the house gives these details:

The Ashbridge family, who came from Pennsylvania to Canada in 1793, settled here and built their home on the shores of the bay which now bears their name.

More
Residential buildings

Here are the visitors' comments for this page.

Posted May 30, 2012
My mother (she died 3 years ago) always loved this house. As a child in the 1950's she would dream of living in it. Very lovely photos thanks for sharing.

Posted July 23, 2010
hey, I'm actually the great grand daughter of Betty Ashbridge. :) She and my great grandfather Carmen Burton adopted my papa. I love the photos of the house I was just showing my boyfriend the place and telling him different stories about the Ashbridges'. I really wish people could see the inside as well as the backyard. I haven't been back to the house since I was four. Thanks for the pics. It was nice to see the house again!

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