The Todmorden Village neighbourhood is a mature, established community with quiet tree-lined streets and solid brick family homes. The rustic beauty of this neighbourhood is shaped by its location perched atop the ancient slopes of the Don Valley ravine. The vast amount of urban forest that shapes the western and northern boundaries of this neighbourhood make Todmorden Village one of the more peaceful and tranquil settings in Toronto.
History of Todmorden Village
Todmorden Village grew up around a complex of mills and a brewery that operated near the banks of the Don River beginning in 1795. Many of Todmorden’s original families, including the Helliwells and Eastwoods came from Todmorden Village in Yorkshire England. It is this English Village that Todmorden is named after. The Todmorden Mills Heritage Museum situated at the foot of Pottery Road and a small number of workers houses east of Broadview Avenue are vivid reminders of this pioneer community. The history of the Todmorden area north of O’Connor is dominated by the Taylor family who came to the Don Valley in 1834. The Taylors owned all of the land north of O’Connor between Broadview and Woodbine Avenues. The Taylors’ business empire in the Don Valley included paper mills, saw mills, grist mills, and the Don Valley Pressed Brick Works which supplied the bricks for many of Toronto’s houses and commercial buildings.
The Taylor estates were subdivided in the 1920’s, 1930’s and 1940’s, which led to the residential development of the north end of Todmorden Village.
