High Park is a large public park in western Toronto, created when the architect and surveyor John George Howard deeded 120 acres (about 49 hectares) of his country estate to the city in 1873. Howard received a yearly pension of $1,200 in return, and the remaining 45 acres, including his home Colborne Lodge, passed to the city when he died in 1890. The city later bought more land, and the park now holds Colborne Lodge, a large pond, one of Toronto’s rare oak savannas, and what the City calls the oldest animal attraction in Canada.
John Howard and the estate
The Dictionary of Canadian Biography records that Howard was born on July 27, 1803, in Bengeo, Hertfordshire, England, and married Jemima Frances Meikle in London on May 7, 1827. He bought the land in 1836 for a sheep farm. The City of Toronto says that he and Jemima built Colborne Lodge in 1837, a Regency picturesque cottage, and that both of them painted; Howard also worked as an architect and engineer. The couple had no children.
Howard’s career as a surveyor and draftsman in the city is told in his biography. For the park, the point is what he decided to do with the property. In 1873 he offered it to Toronto, to be called High Park. A secondary summary on Wikipedia attributes the name to Jemima and lists conditions in the deed, including a ban on alcohol in the park, but that account rests on newspaper and local history sources rather than the deed itself, so it is treated here as unconfirmed.
The 1873 gift and later purchases
The sources describe the gift and the purchases in slightly different terms.
| Item | Dictionary of Canadian Biography | City of Toronto | Wikipedia summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land given in 1873 | 120 acres, for a $1,200 yearly pension | The 165-acre country property deeded in 1873 | 120 acres agreed in 1873 |
| Remainder | 45 acres and Colborne Lodge at his death | Not stated | About 40 acres, including the lodge |
| First purchase by the city | 170 acres in 1875 | Not stated | 176 acres from Percival Ridout, park opened in 1876 |
| Later purchase | 71 acres in 1930 | Not stated | 71.8 acres including Grenadier Pond, bought for $150,000 in 1930 |
The two readings of the gift fit together. The city received 120 acres at once and the other 45 acres later, which adds up to the 165 acres the City mentions. The disagreement about the purchase is real: 170 acres in 1875, or 176 acres with the park opening in 1876. The City pages reached for this article do not settle it, so both versions are shown. The biography adds that Howard was appointed the city’s forest ranger in 1878, with responsibility for improving the park, and that he died at Colborne Lodge on February 3, 1890.
Grenadier Pond
Grenadier Pond lies on the western side of the park. A Wikipedia article puts its area at about 14.2 hectares (35 acres) and says the name comes from the garrison of the Town of York, whose soldiers fished there in the 1800s. The same article calls a popular story, that British Grenadiers drowned there during the War of 1812, unsupported, because the regiment was not stationed at Fort York at the time. The garrison and the 1813 battle are covered in the article on Fort York.
The pond also had a commercial life. According to the same summary, the Chapman family’s Grenadier Ice Company cut ice there from the 1880s until about 1920. The City reports that in 2022 the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry designated Grenadier Pond a Provincially Significant Wetland Complex, based on an evaluation by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority.
The black oak savanna
About two-thirds of High Park remains in a natural state, according to the City. Its black oak savanna covers roughly 23 hectares and is described as the largest area of tallgrass savanna, prairie, and woodland in Toronto. The City adds that less than 3 percent of this type of ecosystem remains after European settlement.
The City explains that local First Nations tended open woodlands and savannas, which it calls Kitigaans, using fire and other methods, and that after colonization this burning was suppressed. A City evaluation in 1995 found that the park’s oaks were nearing the end of their lifespan and that no young oaks were regenerating, with fire suppression named as one cause. The City has reintroduced burns for more than two decades and now calls them traditional and prescribed burns, carried out with the Indigenous Land Stewardship Circle. It reports that natural black oak regeneration has since been observed. The burn page does not give the year of the first burn.
Creeks and ravines around the park, including the buried waterways of the west end, are covered in the article on lost rivers and ravines. The sandy ground that suits oak savanna comes from the glacial lakes described in the article on Toronto’s elevation and topography.
Colborne Lodge, the animal display, and public art
Colborne Lodge is one of 10 historic sites operated by the City of Toronto. The John Howard Memorial Tomb stands across the road from the lodge’s heritage gardens.
The City says the animal display in High Park began in 1893 with deer and calls it Canada’s oldest animal attraction. Many of the park’s public artworks date from the International Sculpture Symposium of 1967. Opening hours, admission, and closures of the animal paddocks change, so the City’s High Park and Colborne Lodge pages are the places to check.
Frequently asked questions
Who gave High Park to Toronto?
John George Howard and his wife Jemima deeded their estate to the city in 1873. The first transfer was 120 acres, in exchange for a $1,200 yearly pension.
How big is High Park?
The City’s High Park page, as read for this article, gives no total area. It gives the savanna area (about 23 hectares) and says two-thirds of the park is natural. Some secondary sources quote about 399 acres (161 hectares), which is shown here as an unofficial figure.
Why is Grenadier Pond called that?
The name is linked to the garrison at York, whose soldiers fished there. The story about grenadiers drowning in the pond in 1812 is not supported by the records summarized on Wikipedia.
Why does the City burn parts of High Park?
To restore and protect black oak woodlands and savannas, reduce invasive plants, and help young oaks grow. The City presents the burns as a return of Indigenous fire stewardship.
Last verified: October 2026
Sources
- Dictionary of Canadian Biography, “Howard, John George”
- City of Toronto, High Park, Colborne Lodge, and prescribed burn pages
- Wikipedia, “High Park”, used for Grenadier Pond and expansion details, which it attributes to Filey (2003) and a City restoration report (2002)
Related reading
- Fort York and the garrison behind Grenadier Pond
- Buried creeks and ravines of the west end
- Elevation and glacial lake shorelines
- Parkdale, the neighbourhood southeast of the park
- Toronto facts: location, geography, and weather
Cite this page
APA: History of Toronto. (2026, October 23). High Park: History of Toronto’s Largest Public Park. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/high-park-history
MLA: “High Park: History of Toronto’s Largest Public Park.” History of Toronto, 23 Oct. 2026, https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/high-park-history. Accessed .
Chicago: History of Toronto. “High Park: History of Toronto’s Largest Public Park.” Last modified October 23, 2026. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/high-park-history.
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.