Boundaries: South of Eglinton Square from Victoria Park to Pharmacy, then south of Comstock to Warden and south to Massey Creek.
Victoria Park Avenue from Finch to St Clair used to be the northern part of Old Dawes Road, which served farmers in the area on their way to getting their produce as far as St Lawrence Market. A good place to rest on the way was at the northeast corner of the intersection of Old Dawes Road and St Clair where in about 1820, the Royal Oak Inn was constructed, and run by Thomas and Alex Moffat. As a result the pioneer village in this area soon became known as Moffat’s Corners. The intersection was also the site of the Strangford Post Office from 1863-1873.
William Devenish had settled in this area on a 200 acre farm lot north east of this intersection in 1803. This London born carpenter came to Canada in 1794 and worked on government buildings in Toronto (then known as York). In 1807 he built Scarborough’s first frame barn on his farm lot. He also served as an assessor, tax collector and commissioner for the township, and as a Justice of the Peace. His home still stands at 1355 Victoria Park Avenue. Around 1820 his brother-in-law and William Purdy built a carding mill on Massey Creek, then known as the ‘Little Don’, probably on land now occupied by the Dentonia golf course. Carding mills brushed wool into rolls for spinning or into batting for quilts.
Surrounding farmland began to transform into housing communities in the 1950s. Clairlea Public School opened in 1951, from which the neighbourhood received its name.
The Providence Health Care Centre is located on the north side of St Clair, just west of Warden. The original ‘House of Providence’ was founded by the Sisters of St Joseph in 1857 and was moved to its present location in 1962 on what was formerly a farm owned by the Sisters. It currently provides specialized services in rehabilitation, and also provides long-term care and community outreach for those with geriatric conditions.
To the southwest of Providence sits the Dawes Road Cemetery – a Jewish Cemetery established in 1903 in which 13000 people have been laid to rest.
References
Toronto Neighbourhood Guide Scarborough Clairlea History of Clairlea
www.torontoneighbourhoods.net/neighbourhoods/scarborough/clairlea/history
Wikipedia Providence Healthcare (Toronto)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Providence_Healthcare_(Toronto)
Melanie Milanich Dawes Road: a Shortcut to the Market and a Natural Resource Base
http://eastyork.org/eyhs/dawesroad.pdf
