George Monro (1801 – January 5, 1878) was a businessman and political figure in

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...

. He was also a member of the

Orange Order in Canada The Grand Orange Lodge of British America, more commonly known as the Grand Orange Lodge of Canada or simply Orange Order in Canada, is the Canadian branch of the Orange Order, a Protestant fraternal organization that began in County Armagh in Ire ...

. He was born in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

in 1801 and came to

Niagara Niagara may refer to: Geography Niagara Falls and nearby places In both the United States and Canada *Niagara Falls, the famous waterfalls in the Niagara River *Niagara River, part of the U.S.–Canada border *Niagara Escarpment, the cliff ov ...

with his parents. In 1814, he moved to York (

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

) and entered the grocery business with his brother Jun Monro; he later struck out on his own sometime around 1824, becoming an importer and

wholesale Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...

r. His business was regarded as one of the grandest mercantile businesses in town. The business was located on King Street and the building doubled as a residence and store. In 1830 he was one of the founding directors of the Home District Savings Bank of Toronto along with notable local figures like

William Warren Baldwin William Warren Baldwin (April 25, 1775 – January 8, 1844) was a doctor, businessman, lawyer, judge, architect and reform politician in Upper Canada. He, and his son Robert Baldwin, are recognized for having introduced the concept of "respon ...

, Jesse Ketchum and A.T. Wood. He was elected to city council in 1834 and served as mayor in 1841. He served as a captain in the local militia during the

Upper Canada Rebellion The Upper Canada Rebellion was an insurrection against the oligarchic government of the British colony of Upper Canada (present-day Ontario) in December 1837. While public grievances had existed for years, it was the rebellion in Lower Canada (p ...

. Monro ran unsuccessfully for the legislative assembly in the same year. In 1844, he was defeated by

James Edward Small James Edward Small, (February 1798 – May 27, 1869) was a lawyer, judge and political figure in Upper Canada and Canada West. He was born in York, Upper Canada in 1798, the son of John Small. He attended the Home District School with Ro ...

in the 3rd riding of

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

but was declared elected when Small was disqualified. He was defeated in the next general election in 1848 and he retired from business around 1856. He died in Toronto in 1878.

Munro Park

Munro's farm, Painted Post Farm, was 25 acres property in

The Beaches The Beaches (also known as "The Beach") is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is so named because of its four beaches situated on Lake Ontario. It is located east of downtown within the "Old" City of Toronto. The approximate boundar ...

area acquired by George Monro. A 6-10 acres parcel was leased out by the Monro family following the ex-Mayor's death and turned into an amusement park that existed from 1896 to 1906. The park was run by

Toronto Railway Company The Toronto Railway Company (TRC) was the operator of the streetcar system in Toronto between 1891 and 1921. It electrified the horsecar system it inherited from the Toronto Street Railway, the previous operator of streetcar service in Toronto. ...

until the lease expired. The site has since become a residential area and areas along the lake are now part of the Beaches Park. It was one of three nearby amusement parks, nearby

Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to: Places Australia * Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales * Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse * Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...

also closed in 1906.

Personal

Monro's grandson Neville Fisher Monro married Ethel Muriel Gooderham, great-grand-daughter of

Gooderham and Worts Gooderham and Worts, also known as Gooderham & Worts Limited, was a Canadian distiller of alcoholic beverages. It was once one of the largest distillers in Canada. The company was merged in 1926 with Hiram Walker & Sons Ltd., and the merged fir ...

's William Gooderham Sr.

References

External links

*
City of Toronto biographies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monro, George 1801 births 1878 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada West Mayors of Toronto People from Niagara-on-the-Lake Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Immigrants to Upper Canada