438 CANADIAN LOCAL HISTORY 



XXVI.— ON TO THE FORD AND THE MILLS. 



"We now resTime our ramble up the vaUey of the Don, Northward of the gorge, where Castle' 

 T'rank Brook entered, and where so many other deep-cut ravines converge upon the present 

 channel of the stream, the scenery 'becomes really good. We pass along through natural 

 meadows, bordered on both sides by fine hills, which recede by a succession of slight plateaus, 

 the uppermost of them clothed with lofty pines and oaks ; on the slope nearest to "the flats" 

 on the east, grew, along with the choke-cherry and may-flower, numbers of the wild apple or 

 crab, beautiful objects when in full bloom. Hereabout also was to be found the prickly ash, 

 ■a rather uncommon and graceful shrub. Immediately beyond the Castle Frank woods, where 

 now is the property known as Drumsnab, came the estate of Capt. John Playter, the elder ; 

 and directly across on the opposite side of the river, that of his son Capt. John Plajrter, the' 

 .younger, both immigants from PehnsylTania. Wlien the to-\vTi of Fork was in the occupancy of 

 the Americans, in 1812, many of the archives of the young province of Upper Canada were con- 

 veyed for safe keeping to the houses of these gentlemen. But boats, with men and officers 

 from the invading force, found their way up the vrindings of the river Don ; and such papers 

 and documents as could be found were carried away. 



Just below Drumsnab, on the west side of the stream, and set down, as it were, in the midst 

 of the valley, was, and is, a singular isolated mound of the shape of a glass shade over a French 

 clock, know in the neighborhood as the "Sugar loaf" It was completely clothed over with 

 moderate sized trees. When the whole valley of tlie Don was filled with a brimming river 

 reaching to the summit of its now secondary banks, the top of the "Sugar loaf," whftsh is 

 nearly on a level with the summit of the adjacent hills, must have appeared above the face of 

 the water as an island speck. 



This picturesque and curious mound is noticed by Sir James Alexander, in the account which 

 'he gives of the neighbourhood of Toronto in his " L'Acadie, or Seven Years' Explorations in 

 British America" :— "The most picturesque spot near Toronto," says Sir James, "and within 

 four mUes of it, is Drumsnab, the residence of Mr. Cayley. The mansion is roomy and of one 

 storey, with a broad verandah. It is seated among fields and woods, on the edge of a slope ; at 

 the bottom winds a river ; opposite is a most singular conical hUl, like an immense Indian 

 itumulus for the dead ; in the distance, through a vista cut judiciously through the forest, are 

 seen the dark blue waters of Lake Ontario. The waUs of the principal room are covered with 

 scenes from Faust, drawn in fresco, with a bold and masterly hand, by the proprietor."— (Vol. 1. 

 p. 230.) 



In the shadow thrown eastward by the "Sugar-loaf," there was a "Ford" in the Don, a favourite 

 'bathing-place for boys, with a clean gravelly bottom, and a current somewhat swift. That Ford 

 was just in the line of an allowance for a concession road ; which from the precipitous character 

 of the hUls on both sides, has been of late years closed by Act of Parliament, on the ground of 

 its supposed impracticability for ever— a proceeding to be regretted ; as the highway that would 

 traverse the Don valley at the Ford would be a contLuuation of Bloor street in a right line ; and 

 would form a convenient means of communication between Chester and Yorkville. In the 

 meadow on the left, just above the Ford, a little meandering brook, abounding in trout, entered 

 the Don. Hereabouts also was, for a long whUe, a rustic bridge over the main river, formed by 

 trees felled across the stream. Proceeding on our way wc now in a short time approached the 

 great colony of the HeUiwells, which has already been described. The miUs and manufactories 

 inaugurated here by that enterprising family constituted quite a conspicuous village. — A visit 

 to this cluster of buildings, in 1827, is described by Mr. W. L. Mackenzie, in his " Sketches of 

 Canada," published in London, by EflBngham WUson, in 1833. At page 270 of that work, the 

 writer says : "About three miles out of town, in the bottom of a deep ravine, watered by the 

 river Don, and bounded also by beautiful and verdant flats, are situated the York Paper MUls, 

 distillery and grist-miil of Messrs. Eastwood & Co. ; also Mr. Shepard's axe-grinding machinery ; 

 and Messrs. Helliwell's large and extensive Brewery. I went out to view these improvements 

 a few days ago, and returned much gratified with witnessing the paper-manufacture in active 

 operation— as also the bold and pleasant scenery on the banks of the Don. The river might be 

 made navigable with small expense up tothe brewery ; and if the surrounding lands were laid 

 ^ut in five-acre lots all the way to town, they would sell to great advantage." 



