The Ghost of Christie Mansion
Plus a spooky history of U of T, a new name for Parkdale-High Park, and more.
Mr. Christie first came to Toronto in 1848. He was still a teenager back then, but he had already spent a few years as an apprentice to a baker back home in Scotland. When he arrived in Canada, he got a job working at a bakery on Yonge Street near Davisville. He’d spend his nights baking bread and in the mornings he would push a handcart down into the nearby village of Yorkville — still its own municipality back then — to sell his goods.
Things went well. Within a few years, he owned his own company. He partnered with his old boss and started winning awards for his cookies. In 1860, when he just was 30 years old, Mr. Christie already employed a staff of five people baking by hand. From there, the business expanded quickly. By 1874, the steam-powered Christie, Brown and Company factory took up an entire city block. (The building is still there between King and Adelaide a block east of Jarvis; now it’s part of George Brown College.) The business kept right on growing. By the time the 1800s drew to a close, Mr. Christie employed two out of every three people in the entire Canadian biscuit manufacturing industry.
When he died of cancer in June of 1900, William Mellis Christie was one of the most famous business tycoons in Canada. He’d built a fortune, travelled around the world, and became a public figure in our city: a trustee of the University of Toronto and a member of the Board of Trade. Christie Street was named in his honour. His mansion stood in one of the highest profile spots in Toronto: across the street from Queen’s Park at the corner of Wellesley. That’s where he passed away. As he was laid to rest in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, his son Robert inherited everything: the money, the business, and the Christie Mansion.
That, if you believe the rumours, is when things got weird. The grisly story has been told many times — most notably in the book Haunted Toronto by John Robert Colombo.
Robert Christie, you see, had a mistress. And while he was living in the Christie Mansion with his family, he decided she should live there too. He kept her hidden in a secret chamber behind the wood paneling in the library. They call it Room 29. It was fully furnished, with a bed and a bathroom and a butler to bring her all her meals so she would never have to leave. She would just hang out in there, waiting for him to visit so they could sleep together and carry on whatever twisted semblance of a romantic life you can have when one of you is being held in the secret room of a Victorian mansion by your lunatic cookie baron lover, slowly going mad as he loses interest and you’re left alone more and more often, hour after hour after hour, until you finally can’t take it any more and you hang yourself from the rafters with a bedsheet.
They say Robert had her body secretly removed under the cover of darkness and buried somewhere on the grounds of Queen’s Park. Some claim the guilt drove him to distraction: the business suffered, he was forced to sell the mansion to the university, and he soon followed his father to the grave. Nabisco bought out the company, gave it the famous slogan “Mr. Christie, you make good cookies” and made it home to Oreos, Chips Ahoy! and Fudgee-Os.
That, as you might imagine, is why they say the ghost of his mistress still haunts the Christie Mansion. The building became home to the local chapter of the Sisters of St. Joseph’s for a while; now it’s the Jesuits’ Regis College. Some people say that if you enter Room 29 all by yourself at night, the door will swing shut behind you. You will find it locked; nothing you can do will open it. And if there’s no one on the other side of the door to hear your screams, you’ll be trapped all night, just like Robert Christie’s mistress all those years ago.
A SPOOKY HISTORY OF U OF T
A spooky new tour! The night before Halloween! Led by me!
There are few places in our city said to be more haunted than the campus of the University of Toronto. Stories of spirits wandering its grounds have been told since the 1800s, and they include some of Toronto's most chilling tales. At dusk on the night before Halloween, we'll explore those stories in a walking tour — tales of ghosts, murder, spectres and séances — and see what they can teach us about the history of the school and the city that surrounds it.
Sunday, October 30 — 5pm
Meet outside the entrance to Massey College (4 Devonshire Place)
The tour will last about an hour and a half and finish outside the ROM
Pay what you can
A NEW NAME FOR PARKDALE-HIGH PARK
Our federal election ridings are currently being reviewed and redistributed. And as part of that process, a new name is being proposed for what’s now called “Parkdale-High Park.”
The name “Taiaiako’n-High Park” would recognize the First Nations history of the area, referencing the Haudenosaunee village of Taiaiako’n (often spelled Teiaiagon). It stood on a bluff overlooking the Humber in the late 1600s — just to the north of where Bloor Street now crosses the river. It had a commanding position at the bottom of the Toronto Carrying Place trail, the ancient Indigenous portage route that attracted the French explorers, fur traders and missionaries who became the first Europeans to visit the place where our city now stands. Those European visitors relied on the help of the people of Taiaiako’n; one French crew was saved by them when their ship got trapped in the ice at the mouth of the Humber, and they and others were assisted by the people Taiaiako’n on their travels along the portage trail that connected the upper and lower Great Lakes.
The spot where Taiaiako’n stood is currently home to the neighbourhood of Baby Point, a name that’s come under its own increased scrutiny recently. It’s named after James Baby, the settler who lived there in the early 1800s. He was a judge and politician who enslaved at least seventeen Black and Indigenous people, as well as helping to block legislation that would have immediately abolished slavery in Upper Canada in the late 1700s, forcing it to be gradually phased out instead. Thanks to Baby and his political allies, it would be decades before slavery was finally abolished here.
You can weigh in on the proposed riding name change here. They’re accepting written feedback until Saturday.
Before we continue, just a very quick reminder that The Toronto History Weekly will only survive if enough of you are willing to switch to a paid subscription. Only about 5% of readers have made the switch so far, which basically means that by offering a few dollars a month you’ll be giving the gift of Toronto history to 20 other people. You can make the switch by clicking here:
QUICK LINKS
The best of everything else that’s new in Toronto’s past…
BANNED FROM THE U.S. NEWS — Rae Luckock was one of the first two women elected to our provincial legislature, a member of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, the political party that was the forerunner of the NDP. She was also a champion for peace during the Cold War, which led to her attending a World Peace Council conference in China and inviting women from the Soviet Union to visit Canada. That was enough to get her banned from entering the United States for a while, before she managed to convince them to change their minds. Her grandson recently donated 170 photos to the Archives of Ontario, which they’re currently in the process of processing:
FORT BOOK NEWS — Steve Paikin shares the story behind the name of Toronto’s most beloved/despise university library: the tragedy-stricken 1960s Ontario premier John Robarts. “It’s the ugliest goddamned building in the city,” he told one of his cabinet ministers, “and it’s got my name on it!” He would die by suicide in 1982. Read more.
RIDING THE WAVES NEWS — Alonso Melgar has created a map highlighting locations that have played an important role in Toronto’s Latin American heritage. Read more.
BIG MONEY ARCHITECTURE NEWS — Jamie Bradburn takes us on a tour of the Financial District in the pages of The Toronto Star, revealing “a secret history of Toronto architecture.” Read more.
ANTI-SEMITISM NEWS — For decades, the medical school at the University of Toronto put a limit on the number of Jewish students who were allowed to attend. Michael Levitt writes about the Faculty of Medicine’s recent apology. Read more.
BEFORE IT WAS SQUARED NEWS — Victor Caratun shares what Yonge & Dundas Square looked liked before it was a square, with some footage from a spring day 30 years ago:
I CAN NOW PICK UP MY HOLDS MUCH MORE EASILY NEWS — My library branch is open again! Wychwood Library is one of Toronto’s oldest, built all the way back in 1916. It’s one of about 2,500 “Carnegie libraries” built around the world in the late 1800s and early 1900s thanks to money from the American steel baron Andrew Carnegie. It’s been closed for the few years for an expansion, but is now back in service — making my life a little bit easier. Read more.
LOUSIA PIPKIN’S MANOR NEWS — I’ve mention the Dis/Mantle exhibit at Spadina House a few times in the newsletter. Artist Gordon Shadrach “aims to reimagine Spadina House through an Afrofuturism lens, where Mrs. Pipkin is the homeowner, and the house is a safe haven for abolitionists and Black freedom seekers on the Underground Railroad.” There’s still time to check it out yourself; it runs to the end of the year. And Global News recently interviewed the artist. Read more.
VILLAGE DEVELOPMENT NEWS — A new development is being proposed for 33 Maitland Street — halfway between Buddies In Bad Times and Crews & Tangos. It would add a big tower to an heritage-designation office building from the 1850s. Read more.
TORONTO HISTORY EVENTS
TRACING IRISH IMMIGRANTS PART TWO: TRANSPORTING IRISH FAMINE EMIGRANTS IN THE CANADAS IN THE SUMMER OF 1847
October 27 — 7:30pm
“Laura Smith and Charmaine Lindsay will give an overview of the Canadian government’s management of destitute emigrants from Ireland during the mid-1840s and particularly in the peak Famine year of 1847. They’ll discuss the findings and progress of the ongoing Tracing Famine Migrants in Ontario project, which is combining a little known group of records known as the Emigration Service Fund, with genealogical and historical research to trace the journeys and ultimate fates of approximately 5000 Irish emigrants who were provided with government transportation into rural townships from Toronto and Cobourg in the summer of 1847. Finally, they’ll discuss ways in which members of Toronto Branch might assist in the next phase of the project which is tracing emigrants treated at Toronto’s Emigrant hospital in the summer of 1847.”
$20 for non-members; $15 for members. Tickets include admission to both events.
SCHOOLING THE SYSTEM: A HISTORY OF BLACK WOMEN TEACHERS
October 27 — 7pm — Online & at Toronto’s First Post Office — Town of York Historical Society
“Dr. Funké Aladejebi will speak about her most recently published book, Schooling the System: A History of Black Women Teachers and her exploration of the intersections between race, gender and access in Canadian educational institutions. ‘Using oral narratives to tell the story of black access and education in Ontario between the 1940s and the 1980s, Schooling the System provides textured insight into how issues of race, gender, class, geographic origin, and training shaped women’s distinct experiences within the profession. By valuing women’s voices and lived experiences, Dr. Funké Aladejebi illustrates that black women, as a diverse group, made vital contributions to the creation and development of anti-racist education in Canada.’”
$22.23 for non-members; $16.93 for members.
ARTIFACTS & APPARITIONS: AN EVENING TALK
October 27 — 6pm — Clark Centre for the Arts (191 Guildwood Pkwy, Scarborough)
“Join us for an informative talk about the history of our site and archival collection with Alex Avdichuk, Supervisor Collections & Conservation for the City of Toronto. You will also get to hear tales of the ghosts that are said to roam our halls.”
Free!
GHOSTLY WALK THROUGH THE TOWN OF YORK
October 28 — 7pm — The Town of York Historical Society & Toronto’s First Post Office
“Brave the darkness as we head into the city to explore the ghostly haunts of the Old Town of York, and hear tales of dread and mystery from those who walked Toronto’s streets before us. The walk will proceed rain or shine, so please dress for the weather. Tours start/end at Toronto’s First Post Office.”
$16.93 for non-members; $11.62 for members
THEY WALKED THESE STREETS
November 3 — West Toronto Junction Historical Society
“Please join Bloor West Village residents and high school teachers, Katy Whitfield and Ian DaSilva, creators of “They Walked These Streets, We Will Remember Them” present their work at our November 3, 2022 meeting. This commemoration which has been running for the past two years, now honours over sixty BWV residents who served in the First and Second World Wars and who never returned home. These individuals were truly local, living on streets bounded by Runnymede, Jane, Bloor Street West and Dundas Street West.
“During November 2020 and November 2021, this solemn and beautiful tribute complete with soldier profiles and QR codes connected to their military records were held on the lawns of 104 Colbeck and 285 Durie Streets. The project will continue again this year in 2022. Come and learn more about our courageous and brave young people who served, yet also walked these streets before us. Maybe one of the veterans lived in your street?”
TORONTO’S BEACH NEIGHBOURHOOD IN FICTION AND NON-FICTION
November 8 — 6:45pm — Toronto Public Library’s Beaches branch
“Jane Cawthorne's novel, Patterson House, is set in the Beach around 1930 and is about the life of the Patterson family. Katherine Taylor's non-fiction work, Toronto: City of Commerce 1800-1960, looks at Toronto's commercial and industrial history. Both authors will share passages of their work and will discuss the considerations they had as they captured a historical setting.”
Free with registration!
AN UNRECOGNIZED CONTRIBUTION: WOMEN AND THEIR WORK IN EARLY 19th CENTURY TORONTO
November 10 — 7pm — Toronto’s First Post Office — Town of York Historical Society
“Elizabeth Gillian Muir will speak about her newly released book, An Unrecognized Contribution: Women and their Work in early 19th century Toronto, highlighting scores of women and the work they undertook during a period of great change for the city. ‘Women in nineteenth-century Toronto were integral to the life of the growing city. They contributed to the city’s commerce and were owners of stores, factories, brickworks, market gardens, hotels, and taverns; as musicians, painters, and writers, they were a large part of the city’s cultural life; and as nurses, doctors, religious workers, and activists they strengthened the city’s safety net for those who were most in need. Their stories are told in this wide-ranging collection of biographies, the result of Muir’s search of early street directories, the first city histories, personal diaries, and other documents.’”
$22.23 for non-members; $16.93 for members.
TWO WAYS TO WRITE HISTORICAL TORONTO
November 14 — 7pm — Another Story Bookshop
“Jane Cawthorne’s debut novel, Patterson House, is set in the Beach between 1850 and 1954. Historian Katherine Taylor’s photographic history, Toronto: City of Commerce 1800-1960, nominated for the Heritage Toronto Book Award, traces the ever changing commercial landscape of Toronto and recounts the stories of vanished businesses and their owners and workers. What goes into writing the history of a place? Both Jane and Katherine will read from their work and, in conversation with MC Judy Rebick, will discuss these two very ‘Toronto’ books.”
Free!