Scarborough Historical Society

Welcome to our local history page!

We've included some brief outlines of Scarborough's history.

excerpted from Scarborough Then and Now, ed. Schofield, Schofield & Whynot (1996)

Scarborough's Early Days

In 1793 Elizabeth Simcoe noted the resemblance of the bold highlands east of Toronto to the chalk cliffs of Scarborough in Yorkshire, England. Accordingly, her husband Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe, renamed the newly surveyed township north of the bluffs, changing it from Glasgow to Scarborough. In 1796, the first land patents were issued, and the township was opened to new settlement. Some time later, settlers from the British Isles and the United States began to hew out homes here in the forests.

Scarborough Bluffs

By 1850 they had established a thriving farming community with 3,800 inhabitants and the township was incorporated with a local municipal Council. Old trails became new roads. Villages with saw and grist mills, inns, blacksmith shops and stores flourished at major crossroads. By 1867 there were post offices at: Scarborough Village, Woburn, Highland Creek, Ellesmere, Malvern, Agincourt and Wexford. St. Andrew's Church, founded in 1818 had been joined by many others: four Anglican, ten Methodist, three Presbyterian and one Roman Catholic. Eleven school sections were set up to provide elementary education.

Click here for brief outlines of Scarborough's historic communities.

Random Facts about Scarborough, Ontario

Scarborough was incorporated as a township in 1850, became a borough in 1967, was incorporated as a city in 1983 and local government was amalgamated as part of the City of Toronto by provincial decree in 1997.
Scarborough was first opened to settlement in 1796 and had huge centennial, sesquicentennial and bicentennial celebrations commemorating this fact although our first permanent settlers didn’t arrive for almost three years. Many received grants but remained absentee landlords until the arrival of our first permanent settlers, the Thomson family c.1799.
The community of Scarborough covers a huge geographical area. As a result, rather than having a single main street, Scarborough developed many crossroads communities within its borders with distinct names and personalities. Many of these community names have survived into the present.
Scarborough was the site of several native settlements prior to the middle of the 15th century. An ossuary was discovered in 1956 at Bellamy Road and Lawrence Avenue East during the start of new house construction. An archaeological investigation conducted by the University of Toronto confirmed the findings. Native groups reconsecrated the ossuary and a plaque was erected to commemorate the importance of the site.