Edwards Gardens

Photo by Alan L Brown - Posted January, 2010

Photo Source - Wikipedia

Here, in Edwards Gardens, to the west of the parking lot in front of a greenhouse, is a Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto plaque which says:

Plaque coordinates: 43.7336 -79.3592

European settlement began in this area shortly after the War of 1812. Alexander Milne, a Scottish weaver, arrived here with his family in 1817. Milne's farm and mill operation prospered for over a century, eventually expanding to 240 hectares in size. For many years, the watercourse passing through this park was known as Milne Creek.
In 1944, Rupert E. Edwards, proprietor of Canada Varnish Ltd., purchased the original 11-hectare Milne homestead. Over the next 12 years, Mr. Edwards introduced many landscape features into the garden including a large rockery, ponds, rustic bridges, flower beds, and a 9-hole golf course.
Mr. Edwards' vision was to see the gardens become a public park. Accordingly, in 1955, Metropolitan Toronto purchased the property and, since then, has maintained the beauty and original character of this unique landscape.

Related web pages
Edwards Gardens
War of 1812
Metropolitan Toronto

Related Toronto plaque
Rosetta McClain Gardens

More
Parks and Recreation

Here are the visitors' comments for this page.

Posted April 22, 2011
I am trying to learn of my family's connection to Edwards Gardens (EGAN)(my grandfather, Arthur Egan, built Mosquito aircraft in WWII - possibly a connection with Mr. Edwards' varnish business - it is supposed to be quite a significant connection - is anyone able to assist at all? Many thanks!

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