Thistletown is a culturally diverse neighbourhood in

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. It consists of the area surrounding the intersection of Albion Road and

Islington Avenue Islington Avenue is a north–south route travelling through the City of Toronto and York Region. It runs from Lake Shore Boulevard West at 7th Street in the former Town of New Toronto to Highway 27 at the former town of Kleinburg, in the Cit ...

. The borders of Thistletown are generally delineated by the Humber River: the West Branch to the south, slightly beyond the river to the east, and to the William Osler Health Centre - Etobicoke General Hospital just above the river in the north. The western border is Kipling Avenue, though the part of the neighbourhood west of Islington is sometimes considered a separate area named Beaumonde Heights. Established as a postal village in 1847, it served the surrounding farms of Etobicoke Township. The area remained largely agricultural until after World War II, joining

Metropolitan Toronto The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was an upper-tier level of municipal government in Ontario, Canada, from 1953 to 1998. It was made up of the old city of Toronto and numerous townships, towns and villages that surrounded Toronto, whic ...

in 1953. By the 1970s, residential subdivisions replaced the farm lands of Thistletown. Today the area is fully urban. This area has seen many changes and many ethnic groups arrive and flourish. Presently the corners of Albion and Islington in Thistletown has a large presence of East Indian stores and services. They are joined by a variety of

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

n, and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

i stores. 43% of those living in this area, more specifically the CT-0250.05 are of Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Nepali origin, with those of black origin making up 22%. One landmark is the Franklin Carmichael Art Group at 34 Riverdale Drive, is named for

Group of Seven The Group of Seven (G7) is an Intergovernmentalism, intergovernmental political and economic forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States; additionally, the European Union (EU) is a "non- ...

member Franklin Carmichael by an art foundation founded by his widow and Dr. Ann Curtin.

History

The village of Thistletown (originally called St Andrew's) was planned for John Grubb (1783-1850) in 1847 around the intersection of Albion Road and Islington Avenue. Grubb migrated from

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

to Etobicoke in 1833. The property was part of John Grubb's farmlands. Grubb was a promoter of the Albion and the Weston plank toll road companies, an elected member of the Home District Council and a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

. Although originally known as St. Andrew's (likely to honour his Scottish roots after the Patron Saint of Scotland), Thistletown was renamed in honour of Dr. William Thistle, the local physician. In 1933, Thistletown became a

Police village A police village was a form of municipal government that was used in the province of Ontario, Canada in the early 19th century if the finances or the population of an area did not permit the creation of a village. Formation In the early 19th centu ...

and 2 trustees were elected. In the late 1950s development from the expanding city of Toronto reached Thistletown when a subdivision, Albion Gardens, was developed on local potato farm to the north and east of Albion Road.

Institutions

Thistletown Regional Centre of Children and Adolescents Thistletown is a culturally diverse neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It consists of the area surrounding the intersection of Albion Road (Toronto), Albion Road and Islington Avenue. The borders of Thistletown are generally delineate ...

- started as The Hospital for Sick Children Thistletown Branch in 1927 *Albion West Plaza ;Parks *Albion Gardens Park *Beaumonde Heights Park *Kipling Heights Park *Rowntree Mills Park - named for Joseph Rowntree, a 19th century settler who established the "Greenholme Mills" on the Humber River, including a

grist mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

built in 1848 in Etobicoke. ;Churches *Our Saviour Lutheran Church (1957) *Thistletown Baptist Church *Fellowship (2012 merger of Albion Gardens and Pine Ridge) Presbyterian Church *St Andrews Roman Catholic Church

Schools

The original school in the district was Thistletown Public School which opened in 1874. It was a one room school house built on the east side of Islington Av., just south of Albion Rd. before moving eastward to Village Green in 1901. A new building was erected in 1947 and the school was renamed to Thistletown Middle School before closing in 1985 by the Etobicoke Board of Education. Today, the school now operates as a multi-service community centre. Today, five elementary schools operate in the neighbourhood: *Braeburn Junior School *St Andrews Catholic Elementary School *St John Vianney Catholic Elementary School *Beaumonde Heights Junior Middle School *École élémentaire catholique Saint-Noël-Chabanel The Toronto District School Board is the only school board to operate a

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

in the area, Thistletown Collegiate Institute.

References

{{authority control Etobicoke Neighbourhoods in Toronto Ethnic enclaves in Ontario