Old Mill is a neighbourhood 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 Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada on the banks of the Humber River. It is located north and west of the intersection of

Bloor Street Bloor Street is an east–west arterial road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Bloor Street runs from the Prince Edward Viaduct, which spans the Don River (Ontario), Don River Valley, westward into Mississauga where it ends at Central Parkway. East ...

and Jane Street. The area takes its name from the old grist mill ruins on the west bank of the river, now converted into a hotel (also named "Old Mill"). The City of Toronto includes this neighbourhood in the official "Lambton Baby Point" neighbourhood which includes the Baby Point enclave and former Lambton village areas to the north.

Character

The neighbourhood's houses are primarily single-family detached homes, built before and after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The Old Mill Inn & Spa is located in the neighbourhood on the west side of the Humber River in

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 ...

. Most of the area is on a slope leading down from Jane and Bloor Streets, into the Humber valley. One street, Halford Avenue, is paved with brick, cobblestones or paving stones. Several of the more steep streets can become impassable in the wintertime. Along Bloor Street, two condominium developments replaced an auto dealer. Some businesses exist on the north side of Bloor Street and the west side of Jane around the intersection. There is a film theatre, the Humber Cinema multiplex at the intersection of Bloor and Jane. The Humber Cinema closed on May 30, 2019.

History

Historically, it was a hunting and fishing area for

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

. A native village existed just to the north at Baby Point before European colonisation. By 1720, the French had established a small fortified settlement called Magasin Royal, near the present site of the Old Mill, for trading with native bands. By 1800, the first English settlement in the area was around the ''Kings Mill'', used to cut lumber for the first homes in

York, Upper Canada York was a town and the second capital of the colony of Upper Canada. It is the predecessor to the Old Toronto, old city of Toronto (1834–1998). It was established in 1793 by Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe as a "temporary" location fo ...

, now known as Toronto. A series of mills were constructed, until the last one was abandoned in 1881. After 1900, the area was laid out for residential uses. The Old Mill Tea Room was used as a community centre as the area was developed. The neighbourhood was part of York Township. The extreme south edge of the land was part of Swansea, and lands along Jane Street were a part of Toronto. York became the Borough of York, then the City of York and was finally merged into the amalgamated City of Toronto in 1998.

Transportation

Old Mill Drive connects to Bloor Street West at its southern end. Across the Humber River to the west is the neighbourhood's namesake subway station, with a unique partially elevated design above the Humber River. The 66 Prince Edward bus route runs from this station south to Humber Bay Park and Humber Loop, where connections are available to the 501 Queen streetcar route. Several of the neighbourhood streets connect to Jane Street, which has regular bus service operated by the TTC. Jane subway station is located at its southern end where it intersects Bloor Street. Both Jane and Old Mill stations are located on Line 2 of the subway network and have frequent service towards

Downtown Toronto Downtown Toronto is the main city centre of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located entirely within the district of Old Toronto, it is approximately 16.6 square kilometres in area, bounded by Bloor Street to the northeast and Dupont Street to the nor ...

External links

* {{authority control Neighbourhoods in Toronto