Toronto Gore (also the Gore of Toronto) is a former incorporated and now geographic
township
A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries.
Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...
in
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. It is today split between
Mississauga
Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...
and
Brampton
Brampton ( or ) is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#Lower-tier municipalities, lower-tier municipalit ...
.
History
Toronto Gore came into existence as a township in when it was separated from
Chinguacousy Township
Chinguacousy Township is a former municipality and present-day geographic township in the Regional Municipality of Peel, Ontario, Canada. In 1973, when Peel County became the Regional Municipality of Peel, the township was split in half, with t ...
. In 1867 it became part of
Peel County when that county was split from York County. A small wedge-shaped tract of land, Toronto Gore was located in the east of the county, on the border with
York County (and later,
Region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
).
[''A History of Peel County'', Brampton: The Corporation of the County of Peel, 1967.] It was south of
Albion Township, east of Chinguacousy Township (the boundaries being located along
Castlemore and
Airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...
Roads respectively in present-day Brampton), and northeast of Toronto Township (now Mississauga). In 1952, the southern portion of the township (south of the present
Steeles Avenue
Steeles Avenue is an east–west street that forms the northern city limit of Toronto and the southern limit of Regional Municipality of York, York Region in Ontario, Canada. It stretches across the western and central Greater Toronto Area from ...
) was annexed to
Toronto Township, and in 1974 the remainder was amalgamated into the City of Brampton.
Several historical villages were once located within Toronto Gore, including Claireville, Ebenezer, Castlemore, Wildfield and Coleraine. However, only small remnants like churches and cemeteries of these former villages exist. Wildfield remains the only community to maintain its unique identity while the rest have been completely overtaken by suburban developments.
The name lives on in the name of the provincial and federal
electoral district
An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...
of
Bramalea—Gore—Malton
Bramalea—Gore—Malton (formerly known as Brampton—Malton and Bramalea—Gore—Malton—Springdale) was a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada. In 2015, it was dissolved into ...
as well as two local roads "
Goreway Drive" and "
The Gore Road", and the Brampton neighbourhood of Gore Meadows.
Toronto-Gore, along with Goreway Drive, might have been named for Sir
Francis Gore
Francis Gore, (1769 – 3 November 1852) was an English military officer and British colonial administrator in Bermuda and Upper Canada.
Gore was born in Blackheath, London, England in 1769 the son of Francis Gore and Caroline Beresford. ...
,
Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada
The following is a list of lieutenant governors of Ontario and the lieutenant governors of the former colony of Upper Canada. The office of Lieutenant Governor of Ontario was created in 1867, when the Province of Ontario was created upon Confed ...
. A more likely derivation is from the shape of the tract or its origin: in surveying, a
gore
Gore may refer to:
Places Australia
* Gore, Queensland
* Gore Creek (New South Wales)
* Gore Island (Queensland)
Canada
* Gore, Nova Scotia, a rural community
* Gore, Quebec, a township municipality
* Gore Bay, Ontario, a township on Manitouli ...
is a triangular piece of land in British usage and a small strip or tract of land lying between larger divisions in US usage.
See also
*
List of townships in Ontario
This is a list of townships in the Canadian province of Ontario. Townships are listed by census division.
Northern Ontario Northeastern Ontario Algoma District
Historical/Geographic Townships
*Abbott
*Aberdeen Additional
*Abigo
*Abotossaway
* ...
References
{{Brampton, Ontario
History of Brampton
Geography of the Regional Municipality of Peel
Geographic townships in Ontario