James Gilbert Gove 1884-1974

Photos by Alan L Brown - Posted March, 2009

Here in Little Avenue Memorial Park is a 2009 Heritage Toronto plaque. This is what it says:

Plaque coordinates: 43.700458 -79.520089

Weston is distinguished by many retaining walls constructed from Humber River stone. One man, skilled stonemason James Gilbert Gove, built a number of these walls, as well as a war memorial in this park.

Before immigrating to Canada, James Gove acquired his exemplary skills in the southwest of England. Living and working in the Weston area for the remainder of his life, he often used stone gathered from the nearby Humber River for his projects - breaking large rocks with a heavy hammer, then carefully shaping each one before arranging them in the wall according to size and colour. A veteran of WW1, he was particularly proud of the war memorial and plaza in this park, just a short walk from his home (now demolished) two blocks away on Weston Road. Designed by James Shaw, the memorial was completed by Gove in 1950.

In 2007, Weston's riverstone walls and war memorial were officially recognized as an important part of the community's unique identity and heritage.

Related web page
James Gilbert Gove

Related Toronto plaques
The Humber River
The Founding of Weston
Weston Road

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Builders
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