To finance the early roads the Government and private firms collected tolls. The little building seen in this picture (from a painting by Arthur Cox 1875) at the south-east corner of Davenport and Bathurst was one of the cottages built to house tollkeepers. Davenport Road is one of the oldest, if not the oldest road in the vicinity of Toronto with a history dating back to the time when the great ice sheets were melting. It was a trail used by Native people and early settlers, and is shown on a map from 1796.
The Tollhouse in 1875
This particular tollhouse, which had been moved to several locations in the area, was discovered and was stored at the TTC’s Wychwood Yards until it was moved, in July 2002, to the small park at the north-west corner of Davenport and Bathurst across from its original location. The cottage was given by the owners of the property where it last stood to the Community History Project which, assisted by the Toronto Historical Board, has raised funds and enlisted volunteers to save the cottage, have it moved and restored. Now that it is in a permanent location close to where it started out, restoration has begun. The plan is to restore to it original condition; fit it out with displays about 19th century transportation, and have space available for community use.
The Tollhouse on new site
The cottage may date from as early as 1827 or 1830. It is of plank construction and an exceedingly rare example of this type of building. The only other known building of plank construction is the Joseph Schneider House in Kitchener. The planks in this cottage are, on average, 2 inches thick and up to 30 inches wide, vertically aligned. They have been covered outside and inside. Two bits of the original interior walls remains. It has mortise and tenon construction with hand split lathing for plaster. It was probably built by the government of Upper Canada to collect money to help with the maintenance of existing roads and the construction of new roads. The government system failed and was replaced by one where privately owned companies bid for contracts to build specific sections of road and recoup their investment through the collection of tolls. This system too was abolished in 1895. Except for one sign at Black Creek Pioneer Village, this little cottage is the only remnant left in Ontario from the days of toll and plank roads. Time and further research may reveal other relics of that era, but, for now, this cottage the only early tollhouse left.
The Tollhouse today
After Toronto City Council gave permission for the Cottage to be placed as close as possible to its original site, the Cottage was moved to its current and permanent location in The Tollkeeper's Park (formerly Davenport Square Park) on the NW corner of Davenport Road and Bathurst Street. The Tollkeeper's Cottage is open for visitors on Saturdays from 10am - 5pm.