Leslieville is an east-end Toronto neighbourhood along Queen Street East, named for the nurseryman George Leslie (1804 to 1893), whose Toronto Nurseries stood in the area. According to the Leslieville Historical Society, the name came into use after his son George Leslie Jr. became postmaster in 1862, and the City of Toronto annexed the area in 1884. Before it became a district of cafes and film studios, it was a place of nurseries, market gardens, brickyards, and factories.
George Leslie and the Toronto Nurseries
The Leslieville Historical Society’s timeline records that in 1842 George Leslie leased 20 acres (about eight hectares) from Charles Coxwell Small for 21 years, east of the city, and that in 1844 he opened a seed store just south of King Street on the east side of Yonge Street. A commemorative plaque in the neighbourhood instead dates the founding of the Toronto Nurseries in the area to 1845, and these dates are not easy to reconcile. The plaque says that by the 1870s the nurseries advertised themselves as the largest business of their kind in Canada, and that Leslie’s trees were transplanted to shade Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Allan Gardens, and some Toronto streets. According to the society’s article “Apple Time in the East End,” he built his downtown store near the wharves and his nursery on Ashbridges Bay so that he could ship trees by boat whenever possible, specialized in mail order after 1856, and delivered trees by rail, and George Leslie and Son exhibited 35 varieties of apples at Philadelphia in 1876. The timeline records that he died on June 14, 1893. Other details of his early life, such as his birthplace and the year he reached Upper Canada, are told differently in popular accounts, and no source consulted for this article confirmed them.
How the name arrived
The Leslieville Historical Society’s timeline traces the name through the mail. The Crown established the Ashport Post Office in 1860, with William Lambert as postmaster. In 1862 George Leslie Jr. became postmaster, the office became the Leslie Post Office, and the surrounding area became Leslieville. The timeline gives 1866 as the first known reference to “Leslieville” in the Globe, and 1882 as the year the Leslies gave up the general store and post office.
Bricks, gardens, and a village of workers
According to the Leslieville Historical Society, the population in 1860 was 400, with nine brickmakers and many more labourers. The timeline says brickmaking was the biggest employer by 1900, and that by 1903 Leslieville and nearby parts of Riverdale had 60 master brickmakers. In 1913 Joseph Russell sold his 55-acre brickyard on Gerrard Street East to Monarch Realty for $150,000. The Toronto Brick Company closed in 1956. A Consumers’ Gas operation built on the south side of Eastern Avenue went up between 1908 and 1912, the timeline says.
Annexation in 1884
The Leslieville Historical Society’s timeline says that after a referendum Toronto annexed the area north of Queen Street and south of Danforth Avenue, from the Don River east to Greenwood Avenue, in 1884, forming St. Matthew’s Ward. Later additions followed: a strip along the north side of Queen Street East to the Beach in 1887, and the area south of Danforth in 1909. The Danforth, which marked the northern limit, has its own article.
Railways, streetcars, and schools
The timeline cites a Grand Trunk Railway advertisement that the line was open throughout to Toronto on Monday, October 27, 1856. The Kingston Road Tramway began passenger service through Leslieville in 1875, and a Toronto Street Railway line ran up Broadview Avenue from Queen to Danforth in 1887. The Toronto Transportation Commission, later the Toronto Transit Commission, was founded on September 21, 1921.
The historical society says the County of York built a public school at Leslie Street and Sproatt Avenue in 1863, with Alexander Muir as its first principal. The Canadian Encyclopedia says Muir (1830 to 1906) was principal of the Leslieville school from 1860 to 1870, and that he wrote the words and music of “The Maple Leaf For Ever” in 1867. The two sources agree on the song’s year but differ on when he started at the school.
Factories on the lakeshore side
Heavy industry settled along Eastern Avenue and Carlaw Avenue in the twentieth century. The historical society’s timeline records that Alfred R. Clarke moved his tannery to 633 Eastern Avenue in 1902, that the Wrigley Building went up at 245 Carlaw Avenue in 1907, and that Rolph-Clark-Stone built at 201 Carlaw Avenue in 1917. Canada Metals was built on landfill south of Eastern Avenue in 1925. In 1973 a citizens’ group demanded blood tests over lead levels, and Ontario ordered the company to stop emitting lead, but a court disallowed the order four days later. In 1980 a court gave the company a suspended sentence after a guilty plea to air pollution charges. The timeline also records that fire destroyed the A. R. Clarke Limited building in 2001 while it was being converted into a film sound stage.
Key dates
| Year | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1842 | George Leslie leases 20 acres from Charles Coxwell Small | Leslieville Historical Society |
| 1844 | Leslie opens a seed store near King and Yonge streets | Leslieville Historical Society |
| 1845 | Date given for founding of the Toronto Nurseries | Commemorative plaque |
| October 27, 1856 | Grand Trunk Railway opens to Toronto | Leslieville Historical Society |
| 1862 | Leslie Post Office; name Leslieville takes hold | Leslieville Historical Society |
| 1867 | Alexander Muir writes “The Maple Leaf For Ever” | Canadian Encyclopedia |
| 1884 | Annexation to Toronto | Leslieville Historical Society |
| June 14, 1893 | Death of George Leslie | Leslieville Historical Society |
| 1900 | Brickmaking the largest employer | Leslieville Historical Society |
| 1956 | Toronto Brick Company closes | Leslieville Historical Society |
Disputed and uncertain points
- Founding of the nursery: 1842 (lease, Leslieville Historical Society) or 1845 (plaque).
- Alexander Muir’s start at the Leslieville school: 1860 (Canadian Encyclopedia) or 1863 (Leslieville Historical Society, which dates the school itself to 1863).
- The annexation of Leslieville in 1884 comes from the historical society’s timeline. The City of Toronto Archives annexation map, which carries official dates, could not be read for this article.
Frequently asked questions
Who was Leslieville named after?
George Leslie, a nurseryman whose Toronto Nurseries stood east of the city. The name spread from the Leslie Post Office, run by his son from 1862.
When did Leslieville join Toronto?
The Leslieville Historical Society’s timeline records an annexation by the City of Toronto in 1884, after a referendum, with later additions in 1887 and 1909.
What industry was Leslieville known for?
Nurseries first, then brickmaking, which the historical society calls the biggest employer by 1900, and later a tannery, factories, and a metal works along Eastern Avenue and Carlaw Avenue.
What is the link to “The Maple Leaf Forever”?
Alexander Muir, who wrote the song in 1867, was principal of the Leslieville school, according to the Canadian Encyclopedia and the historical society. Sources differ on the year he started.
Last verified: October 2026
Sources
- Leslieville Historical Society, Leslieville Timeline
- Leslieville Historical Society, George Leslie and the Toronto Nurseries (excerpt from Joanne Doucette, Leslieville, 2016; used for general background only)
- The Canadian Encyclopedia, Alexander Muir
- Read the Plaque, George Leslie (1804-1893), plaque record
- Leslieville Historical Society, Apple Time in the East End (2017)
- Leslieville Historical Society, George Leslie: Let’s go to the Ex (Provincial Exhibition, 1858; background)
Related reading
- Toronto Harbour and Ashbridges Bay
- The Danforth and Greektown
- Corktown, an older east-side district
- Regent Park and the east-end housing story
- How Toronto’s neighbourhoods grew
Cite this page
APA: History of Toronto. (2026, October 23). Leslieville: History of the East-End Neighbourhood. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/leslieville-history
MLA: “Leslieville: History of the East-End Neighbourhood.” History of Toronto, 23 Oct. 2026, https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/leslieville-history. Accessed .
Chicago: History of Toronto. “Leslieville: History of the East-End Neighbourhood.” Last modified October 23, 2026. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/leslieville-history.
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