Montgomery's Inn is a historic building in the

Etobicoke Etobicoke (, ) is an administrative district and former city within Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west end, Etobicoke is bordered on the south by Lake Ontario, on the east by the Humber River (Ontario), Humber River, on the ...

area of

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Ontario. Originally constructed as an

inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway. Before the advent of motorized transportation, they also provided accomm ...

, it now serves as a

living history museum A living museum, also known as a living history museum, is a type of museum which recreates historical settings to simulate a past time period, providing visitors with an Experiential education, experiential Heritage interpretation, interpretatio ...

and is owned by the

City of Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

History

Built during the early 1830s as a Georgian-style inn, the building was named for its innkeeper, Thomas Montgomery (1790-1877). He was an Irish immigrant to

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, 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 Province of Queb ...

who amassed 400 acres of land to the northwest of the original city of Toronto, in what is now Etobicoke. In 1856, shortly after the death of his wife, Montgomery closed the inn but continued to live in the residence. The Montgomery family would go on to rent out the estate as a private farm house until 1946. The building was later owned by a Presbyterian church, a developer, the Etobicoke Historical Society, and the Etobicoke Historical Board, until it was finally transferred to the

. Once in danger of demolition, Montgomery's Inn is now a cherished remnant of colonial times in Upper Canada. Although most of its current artifacts are not original to the building, they are still period pieces, and a few belonged to the Montgomery family and chronicle a chapter in Canadian history. The building is located at 4709

Dundas Street Dundas Street () is a major historic arterial road in Ontario, Canada. The road connects the city of Toronto with its western Greater Toronto Area, suburbs and several cities in southwestern Ontario. Three provincial highways—Ontario Highway 2 ...

West, on the southeast corner of Islington Avenue and Dundas Street. Named after

Henry Dundas Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, Privy Council (United Kingdom), PC, FRSE (28 April 1742 – 28 May 1811), styled as Lord Melville from 1802, was a British politician who served as Home Secretary from 1791 to 1794 and First Lord of the Ad ...

, the British

Secretary of State for War The secretary of state for war, commonly called the war secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, which existed from 1794 to 1801 and from 1854 to 1964. The secretary of state for war headed the War Offic ...

in the Pitt Government, Dundas Street was established as a link between the town of York and settlements to the west. It would facilitate the transport of civilian and military supplies, as well as soldiers in case of an American attack. During the 1830s, the Dundas Highway became a stagecoach route, and inns were constructed at various points along the roadway to provide food and lodgings for travelers; one of these was Montgomery's Inn.

Gallery

Image:Inn's_fuel_for_winter.jpg, Fuel for the kitchen hearth, whose treats are shared with visitors. Image:Montgomery's Inn Door.jpg, The inn once welcomed travelers under this transom, or

fanlight A fanlight is a form of lunette window (transom window), often semicircular or semi-elliptical in shape, with glazing (window), glazing bars or tracery sets radiating out like an open Hand fan, fan. It is placed over another window or a doorway, ...

. Image:Montgomery's_Inn.jpg, The foreground section was built of rubble stone around 1830. Image:The Old Flag Still Flies Over Montgomerys Inn.jpg, Another view of the exterior. Image:Historic_Inn_sign.jpg, The original inn sign was rescued from the trash. Image:Montgomery's_Inn_Bar.jpg, The bar was discovered hidden by a wall during renovations. Image:Victorian_meeting_room.jpg, Dances and meetings were held upstairs. Image:Montogomery's_Inn_Pantry.jpg, The pantry served guests and the family. Image:Beds_at_the_Inn.jpg, Strangers commonly shared a bed, sleeping in reverse positions. Image:Montgomery_sitting_room.jpg, The family room was off-limits to customers. Image:Tom_Montgomery's_Desk.jpg, Thomas Montgomery ran a prosperous business and farm from this room.

Farmers' market

A year-round

farmers' market A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or ...

is held each Wednesday at the inn.

References

External links

* {{coord, 43, 39, 06.5, N, 79, 31, 33, W, region:CA-ON_type:landmark_scale:2500, display=title Houses completed in 1832 Houses in Toronto Museums in Toronto Historic house museums in Ontario Georgian architecture in Canada Hotels in Toronto Etobicoke Defunct hotels in Canada Hotels established in 1832 Hotel buildings completed in 1832 Hotels disestablished in 1856

History

Gallery

Farmers' market

See also

References

External links