Toronto of Old

Streets, houses and harbour vessels give Henry Scadding a way to recover Toronto's early settlement and social life. His collection of local history grew from a periodical article into an account built from personal memories, conversations with older residents, and early printed and manuscript records. He follows the city's principal streets, pausing where a building or site calls up a person or incident. His account of Yonge Street reaches beyond Toronto to Holland Landing and Penetanguishene.

The historical range extends to disputes connected with the Red River settlement and proceedings in York's old court house. Scadding combines these public affairs with the smaller details that people remembered about their surroundings. Readers interested in Toronto's past can use the book to see how places gathered meaning through everyday recollections, local traditions and documentary evidence. Its arrangement makes the city's geography part of the telling.