page_title: Crothers Woods
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Crothers Woods / History
caption_attribution_description: Name plate for a Crothers Caterpillar vehicle, found in Crothers' Woods, May 2008
context_page_description: Crothers Woods is an area of the Don River valley in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is 52 hectares in size and consists of woodland, meadows, wetlands, and an assortment of past and present municipal uses. The wooded area has been designated as an Environmentally Significant Area by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority. An ESA designation is useful in highlighting valuable natural areas but this does not affect planning uses. The area is currently zoned as undeveloped parkland. Crothers Woods was named after George W. Crothers who owned and operated an equipment dealership called Crothers Caterpillar which sold and serviced new and used heavy machinery for the construction and mining industries. The company stayed until 1979 when they relocated to Vaughan, Ontario. Murhal Developments bought the property and eventually sold it to Loblaws which built the store that currently occupies the site just off Millwood Road.
  While there are no clear boundaries, Crothers Woods is generally thought to include both sides of the valley that extends from Pottery Road and the Bayview Avenue extension in the south and west to the Millwood Road bridge in the east.
context_section_description: Prior to European colonisation, this area of the valley was heavily wooded. The area remained relatively untouched until 1787 when this area was bought from the Mississauga natives as part of the Toronto Purchase. After the establishment of York in 1793, land grants were made for much of the land north of the city including the Don Valley. In the 1800s, the Don River was exploited for its capacity to support water driven mills. At least two mills were constructed in this part of the valley. They were eventually purchased by the Taylor family who owned the Don Valley Brick Works.
  Due to urban expansion, the city constructed the North Toronto Sewage Treatment Plant in 1929. This handles effluent from local areas, including Leaside and North Toronto.
  Domtar operated a plant that produced and recycled paper products. It was acquired in 1961 from Howard Smith Paper Mills and began as Tayor's Upper Mill in 1846 and later as York Paper Mills and Don Valley Paper Mill Company. Immediately to the north of it was Bate Chemical and Polyresins Inc., manufacturer of oil- and water-based paint resins and adhesives. (It was also subcontracted from Lever Bros to make Ajax Liquid cleaners.) They operated until the late 1980s when they closed. Subsequently, the TRCA purchased the land and demolished all of the buildings except for Bate Chemical's research and development lab building. It was converted into the Toronto Police dog training facility. The rest of the area was cleaned up and the contaminated soil removed.
  On the north side of the valley, the land where a former brick making operation called Sun Valley Ltd. was used as an industrial landfill. This was used mostly for brick and ash waste from nearby industry. It was shut down in the 1980s. The dump was capped with clean fill and now is marked by a large meadow covered with invasive grasses and plants. It is currently undergoing natural restoration efforts. In particular it has become the Don Valley site for Trees Across Toronto, a citywide tree planting program.
caption: Name plate from a Crothers Caterpillar vehicle, excavated from the woods, May 2008
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