Rosedale is a residential district northeast of Yonge Street and Bloor Street in Toronto, named for the country estate of Sheriff William Botsford Jarvis, who bought the property in 1824. Its first plan of subdivision, called Rose Park, was registered in 1854, and the neighbourhood grew in two stages: South Rosedale from the 1850s, and North Rosedale mostly after 1908. Ravines shaped both, and two City of Toronto heritage conservation districts now protect them.
The Jarvis estate and the name
The Dictionary of Canadian Biography records that William Botsford Jarvis (born May 4, 1799, died July 26, 1864) bought the home he called Rosedale in 1824 from James Edward Small, and that he was appointed sheriff of the Home District in 1827. The City of Toronto’s North Rosedale heritage plan says the farm was built in 1821 and bought by Jarvis three years later. The City’s South Rosedale study puts the purchase at 110 acres (about 45 hectares), including a farmhouse, and says the house stood until 1905 at what is now 30 Rosedale Road.
The name is usually traced to Mary Jarvis, born Mary Boyles Powell and a granddaughter of Chief Justice William Dummer Powell, whom Jarvis married in 1827 according to the Dictionary of Canadian Biography. The South Rosedale study says it is rumored that she named the property for the abundance of wild roses growing there, and no primary document confirming the story was found. The Dictionary of Canadian Biography gives Jarvis’s death as July 26, 1864, in Toronto.
Ravines, roads, and the first bridges
Rosedale sits on a plateau cut by wooded ravines, and the City’s heritage plan for North Rosedale describes the ravines as both a protection and a barrier. The first road into the Jarvis property started on the east side of Yonge Street, north of Davenport Road, and wound down into the ravine before climbing to the house. Around 1835 Jarvis built a more direct route along Roxborough Street and today’s Cluny Drive.
North Rosedale stayed a ravine further away. Its first real access came in 1881, when Edgar Jarvis, a nephew of the sheriff, built the original iron bridge on Glen Road over the Park Drive ravine. The City later bought the bridge from him at a fraction of the cost, according to the heritage plan. A railway through Rosedale Valley was laid in 1889 and electrified in 1894. The Toronto Belt Line Railway, a commuter line through the Moore Park ravine, ran from July 1892 and failed in 1894 after 28 months. Its route now carries recreational trails.
South Rosedale: Rose Park and its successors
South Rosedale lay inside the Village of Yorkville, incorporated in 1853. The first plan of subdivision, Rose Park, was registered in 1854 and carries the signature of Edgar John Jarvis. Between 1854 and 1910, 29 subdivision plans were registered, mostly by parties building on speculation, and the small plans account for the area’s street pattern. Elm Avenue and Maple Avenue take their names from about 300 trees that Edgar Jarvis planted along them.
The City’s study describes slow early growth because of rough terrain and ravines. A street railway reached Bloor Street along Yonge Street in 1861, and building quickened in the 1880s and 1890s. Most of the housing stock dates from 1901 to 1920, when whole streets were filled in. After 1920 many large houses became too costly to run and were demolished. In the 1950s apartment buildings appeared at scale, including 21 Dale Avenue, built in 1957 on the site of an early estate house called The Dale. The study also notes that the Rosedale and Castle Frank subway stations are recognized for their heritage value as examples of mid-century modernization.
North Rosedale: a Scottish land company and curving streets
North Rosedale was not developed on any scale until the twentieth century. Around 1880 the Scottish Ontario and Manitoba Land Company, formed in Glasgow, took up land there, and its 1884 plan, “Rosedale Park,” offered very large lots. Access and transit were poor, and the plan did not develop as drawn. Lots near the Glen Road bridge on Beaumont Road sold first, and their value rose from $1,200 in 1884 to $2,650 in 1887, according to the heritage plan, which cites Barbara Crawford’s book “Rosedale.”
In 1908 the real estate agent Harton Walker, associated with the land company, released a new plan renamed North Rosedale Park, with nearly twice as many lots. Its curving streets follow ideas from the City Beautiful movement and Frederick Law Olmsted’s suburbs. Several street names honor company shareholders or advisers: Highland Avenue for the Scottish Highland investors, MacLennan and Edgar avenues for advisers, and Whitney Avenue for Premier James Whitney. St. Andrew’s College occupied part of North Rosedale from 1905 to 1927, and Government House stood there from 1911 to 1961.
Rosedale Field and the first Grey Cup
The Toronto Lacrosse Grounds, originally part of the St. Andrew’s College site, escaped subdivision and became Rosedale Park. In 1909 they hosted the first Grey Cup game, in which the University of Toronto’s Varsity team beat Toronto Parkdale 26 to 6 before about 3,800 spectators, according to the University of Toronto Varsity Blues Hall of Fame page, which gives the date as December 4, 1909. The North Rosedale plan gives December 9, 1909.
Key dates
| Year | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1824 | William Botsford Jarvis buys the Rosedale property | Dictionary of Canadian Biography |
| 1853 | Village of Yorkville incorporated, including South Rosedale | City of Toronto heritage studies |
| 1854 | Rose Park plan of subdivision registered | South Rosedale study |
| 1881 | Glen Road iron bridge built by Edgar Jarvis | North Rosedale plan |
| 1884 | Rosedale Park plan of the Scottish land company | North Rosedale plan |
| 1908 | Harton Walker’s North Rosedale Park plan | North Rosedale plan |
| December 1909 | First Grey Cup played at Rosedale Field (December 4 or 9) | Varsity Blues Hall of Fame; North Rosedale plan |
| February 7, 2003 | South Rosedale heritage conservation district enacted (By-law 115-2003) | City of Toronto |
| September 30, 2004 | North Rosedale heritage conservation district enacted (By-law 749-2004) | Ontario Heritage Trust register |
Heritage protection
City Council defined South Rosedale as a study area in By-law 623-2002, passed at its meeting of July 30 to August 1, 2002, and designated it as a heritage conservation district in By-law 115-2003, enacted on February 7, 2003. The South Rosedale Ratepayers’ Association took part in the study, which was prepared by ERA Architects. North Rosedale followed with a plan by ERA Architects, submitted by the North Rosedale Ratepayers Association in a letter dated May 3, 2004, and By-law 749-2004, which the Ontario Heritage Trust register dates September 30, 2004. The register lists 1,037 properties in South Rosedale and 653 in North Rosedale. Both districts grade buildings and set rules for alterations, so changes to protected houses go through City heritage staff.
Disputed and uncertain points
- Date of the Rosedale house: the North Rosedale plan says the farm was built in 1821 and bought in 1824; the Dictionary of Canadian Biography says Jarvis bought it from James Edward Small in 1824.
- Edgar Jarvis and Rose Park: the South Rosedale study says his signature is on the 1854 plan, yet also says he bought the land from Mary Jarvis in 1865. The study does not explain the sequence.
- Date of the first Grey Cup: December 9 (North Rosedale plan) or December 4, 1909 (Varsity Blues Hall of Fame).
- Annexation: lists of Toronto’s annexations give 1905 for Rosedale, but no City or archival source for that year was read for this article, so it is not relied on here.
Frequently asked questions
Why is Rosedale called Rosedale?
It takes its name from the Rosedale estate of Sheriff William Botsford Jarvis. A City of Toronto heritage study relays a story that his wife Mary named it for wild roses, and labels it a rumor.
Who built the first bridge into North Rosedale?
Edgar Jarvis, a nephew of the sheriff, built the original iron Glen Road bridge over the Park Drive ravine in 1881, according to the City’s North Rosedale heritage plan.
Is Rosedale a heritage conservation district?
Yes. The City designated South Rosedale in February 2003 and North Rosedale in September 2004, per the Ontario Heritage Trust register. Anyone planning changes to a property should consult the City’s heritage planning pages for the current rules.
Was the first Grey Cup played in Rosedale?
Yes. The 1909 game between the University of Toronto and Toronto Parkdale was played at Rosedale Field, and Varsity won 26 to 6, according to the Varsity Blues Hall of Fame.
Last verified: October 2026
Sources
- Dictionary of Canadian Biography, Jarvis, William Botsford, vol. 9
- City of Toronto, South Rosedale Heritage Conservation District Study, ERA Architects, 2002
- City of Toronto, North Rosedale Heritage Conservation District Plan, ERA Architects, 2004
- City of Toronto, By-law 115-2003, To designate the South Rosedale area as a heritage conservation district, enacted February 7, 2003
- Ontario Heritage Trust, Heritage conservation district register: South Rosedale
- Ontario Heritage Trust, Heritage conservation district register: North Rosedale (By-law 749-2004)
- University of Toronto Varsity Blues, Hall of Fame: 1909 Football Team
Related reading
- Yorkville, the village that once included South Rosedale
- The Annex and its Victorian streets
- Cabbagetown, Rosedale’s neighbour to the south
- Toronto’s buried rivers and ravines
- How Toronto’s neighbourhoods grew
Cite this page
APA: History of Toronto. (2026, October 23). Rosedale: History of a Toronto Ravine Neighbourhood. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/rosedale-history
MLA: “Rosedale: History of a Toronto Ravine Neighbourhood.” History of Toronto, 23 Oct. 2026, https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/rosedale-history. Accessed .
Chicago: History of Toronto. “Rosedale: History of a Toronto Ravine Neighbourhood.” Last modified October 23, 2026. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/rosedale-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.