Toronto's old money neighbourhood, since the 1860s

Rosedale

A sheriff's wife named her family's estate for the wild roses growing on it. When the land was subdivided in 1864, her habitual riding routes reportedly became some of the first curving suburban streets in Canada.

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Rosedale's origin traces to 1824, when Sheriff William Botsford Jarvis and his wife Mary established a roughly 110-acre private estate. Mary Jarvis is credited with naming the property "Rosedale" for the wild roses on the grounds, and local histories credit her habitual riding and walking routes through the property with the origin of the neighbourhood's distinctive curving streets. The Jarvis family sold the estate in 1864, opening it to residential subdivision.

Heritage status and reputation

South Rosedale developed first, beginning in the 1860s; North Rosedale followed starting around 1909, the two halves separated by the Park Drive Ravine. South Rosedale was designated a Heritage Conservation District in 2003, and North Rosedale received the same designation in 2005. Rosedale has held a reputation as Toronto's wealthiest neighbourhood for over a century, commonly described as home to the city's "old money."

Sources

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