Cabbagetown is a district in east-central Toronto where working-class immigrants from Ireland and England built cottages and row houses between 1860 and 1880, according to The Canadian Encyclopedia. The Cabbagetown Preservation Association dates the first Irish settlement to the 1840s. Its name is traditionally explained by the vegetables, mainly cabbages, grown in small front gardens. In 2002 the first part of it became a heritage conservation district, and by 2024 all its residential areas were designated.
Where the name comes from
The usual explanation is that newly arrived Irish families grew vegetables, mostly cabbages, in their front gardens, and that wealthier Torontonians called the area Cabbagetown as a mild insult. The Cabbagetown Preservation Association tells it this way and dates it to the 1840s. The Canadian Encyclopedia gives a shorter version: residents grew vegetables on small lots, especially cabbages. Neither source names who first used the word or when it first appeared in print, so the story is best treated as a local tradition rather than a documented origin. The Canadian Encyclopedia lists the old boundaries as the Don River on the east, Parliament Street on the west, Gerrard Street on the north, and Queen Street on the south.
Growth in the nineteenth century
Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe laid out the Town of York in 1793, and land east of the settlement was granted to his family, who built a log house they called Castle Frank. Cabbagetown grew up in the 1840s just outside the new City of Toronto, and the Irish potato famine drove immigration in the 1840s and 1850s. The Cabbagetown Preservation Association says most of the area’s houses were built in the 1880s and 1890s, when its prosperity peaked. This is later than the 1860 to 1880 settlement period given by The Canadian Encyclopedia, a difference that probably reflects building dates against first settlement.
Two cemeteries stand at its edge: St. James Cemetery, which opened in 1844, and the Toronto Necropolis, which opened in 1850. The Necropolis holds the graves of George Brown, Robert Baldwin, and William Lyon Mackenzie. Riverdale Zoo opened in Riverdale Park West in 1899 as Toronto’s first zoo.
Timeline
- 1840s: Irish immigrants settle east of the new City of Toronto.
- 1844: St. James Cemetery opens.
- 1850: The Toronto Necropolis opens.
- 1880s to 1890s: Most of the district’s houses are built.
- 1899: Riverdale Zoo opens.
- 1947 to 1949: Regent Park North is approved in 1947, and families begin moving in during 1949.
- 1950: Hugh Garner publishes the novel Cabbagetown.
- 1974 and 1978: The zoo closes and moves to Scarborough in 1974, and Riverdale Farm opens in 1978.
- 1987: The Cabbagetown Preservation Association is created.
- 2002: Cabbagetown-Metcalfe becomes the first heritage conservation district in the area.
- 2024: Cabbagetown Southwest, the last residential section, is designated.
Decline, Regent Park, and renewal
The Canadian Encyclopedia says the district deteriorated into a slum between the world wars, and that urban renewal and subsidized housing followed in the 1950s. Part of the old district was cleared for Regent Park, a public housing project whose first stage was approved in 1947, with families moving in from 1949, according to Wikipedia. That source gives the project’s later revitalization plan as approved in 2005. Because the Wikipedia page is a secondary source, the dates should be checked with Toronto Community Housing.
From the 1960s, young professionals renovated many of the surviving houses. The Cabbagetown Preservation Association records that in the 1950s local opposition blocked a Don Valley Parkway exit that would have demolished mansions on Carlton Street, and that in the 1960s residents fought plans for high-rise towers. A reform council under Mayor David Crombie later imposed a height by-law.
Hugh Garner and the novel Cabbagetown
Hugh Garner was born in the district. His novel Cabbagetown, published in 1950 and again in 1968, depicts working-class conditions in the district, according to The Canadian Encyclopedia. Street signs now identify the area as Old Cabbagetown.
Things to see
Riverdale Farm opened in 1978 and keeps cows, horses, pigs, and heritage chickens. The Toronto Necropolis, opened in 1850, holds the graves named above, and the Victorian streets are the core of the heritage district. Parliament Street, the main commercial street, was not protected by the designation. Opening hours and programs for the farm and the cemetery change, so their official pages should be checked for current details.
Frequently asked questions
Why is it called Cabbagetown?
According to local tradition, Irish immigrants grew cabbages in their front gardens in the 1840s. No documented first use of the name was found.
Where are the boundaries of Cabbagetown?
The Canadian Encyclopedia gives the Don River, Parliament Street, Gerrard Street, and Queen Street. One search summary reports that some accounts say the name once applied only to the area south of Gerrard Street, with the north side called Don Vale.
Is Cabbagetown a heritage district?
Yes. Cabbagetown-Metcalfe was designated in 2002, and Cabbagetown Southwest in 2024, which completed designation of the residential areas.
What happened to the original Cabbagetown?
A large part of it was cleared for Regent Park, a public housing project, starting in the late 1940s.
Last verified: October 2026
Sources
- The Canadian Encyclopedia, “Cabbagetown” by John Robert Colombo
- Cabbagetown Preservation Association, “About Cabbagetown”
- Wikipedia, “Regent Park” (secondary, for the Regent Park dates)
Related reading
- The Toronto Necropolis and historic cemeteries
- Immigration and communities in Toronto history
- Heritage designation in Toronto
- Overview of Toronto history
- How Toronto neighborhoods grew
Cite this page
APA: History of Toronto. (2026, October 23). Cabbagetown, Toronto: Victorian Streets and Irish Roots. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/cabbagetown-toronto-exploring-the-historic-and-vibrant-neighborhood
MLA: “Cabbagetown, Toronto: Victorian Streets and Irish Roots.” History of Toronto, 23 Oct. 2026, https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/cabbagetown-toronto-exploring-the-historic-and-vibrant-neighborhood. Accessed .
Chicago: History of Toronto. “Cabbagetown, Toronto: Victorian Streets and Irish Roots.” Last modified October 23, 2026. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/cabbagetown-toronto-exploring-the-historic-and-vibrant-neighborhood.
The pages have no named author, so the site is given as the author. Add the date you read the page if your style asks for it.