The former City of York was a western Toronto municipality that became a borough on January 1, 1967, a city on June 10, 1983, and part of the amalgamated City of Toronto on January 1, 1998, according to the City of Toronto Archives. It grew from York Township, incorporated on January 1, 1850, and from the town of Weston, which the Archives lists as a separate municipality until 1966. The name York here means the township, not the 1793 town of York that became Toronto.
Township of York
York Township was surveyed in 1791, and a City of Toronto heritage report places the first settlers’ land grants in 1796, with some squatters arriving as early as 1794. The township was bounded by Lake Ontario, the Humber River, Steeles Avenue, and Victoria Park Avenue. The Canadian Encyclopedia notes that Governor John Simcoe renamed the original Dublin Township to honor the Duke of York several years after the survey. Sources give two dates for municipal organization. The City of Toronto Archives lists incorporation on January 1, 1850, while the heritage report says the township was formally organized in 1849 under the Baldwin Act.
The township kept shrinking. Between 1853 and 1926 several communities, including Weston, split off as separate municipalities, according to the Archives. North York left in 1922, according to the heritage report, and East York was cut off in 1924. The East York story is told in a separate article.
The Humber River
The Humber formed York’s western edge and was part of the Carrying Place Trail, a route to Lake Simcoe. A City of Toronto planning report says a Seneca village called Teiaiagon stood at the Baby Point site, and that a French trading post may have stood nearby, though the report calls that speculative. The same report notes that the King’s Mill was the first mill established on the river after the 1793 settlement of the town of York, and that Dundas Street first began at the Humber near Old Mill Road. The river’s lower valley also features in the story of lost rivers and ravines.
Weston
The Ontario Heritage Trust plaque “The Founding of Weston” says settlers arrived in the 1790s, drawn by timber and water power, and that a sawmill stood on the west bank by 1792 with a hamlet called The Humber around it. About 1815, mill owner James Farr named the place Weston after his ancestral home in England. A flood in 1850 destroyed the west-bank settlement, and the Grand Trunk Railway’s arrival in 1856 shifted growth to the east side. Weston was incorporated as a village in 1881 and joined the Borough of York in 1967, according to the plaque. One encyclopedia article gives 1882 for the village; the plaque’s date is used here.
Mount Dennis and Kodak Heights
Mount Dennis, at Weston Road and Eglinton Avenue West, was shaped by the Canadian Kodak Company. Metrolinx dates the camera plant’s opening to 1912 and its closure to 2006, while the City of Toronto’s Mount Dennis economic development study gives 2005 for the end of operations. Another City document gives 1913 for the opening. The study says the campus reached 16 buildings on a 48-acre (19-hectare) site with about 3,000 workers at its peak. Only one building survives. Kodak Building 9, a roughly 3,000-tonne structure, was moved about 200 feet (60 meters) in 2016 and returned to its original location about a year later as part of the Mount Dennis Crosstown station, Metrolinx reported in 2019. The station’s current status is on the Metrolinx and TTC sites.
From township to Toronto: how the status changed
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| January 1, 1850 | Township of York incorporated (a heritage report says 1849) |
| 1853 to 1926 | Weston and other communities separate from York Township |
| April 15, 1953 | York and Weston become two of 13 Metropolitan Toronto municipalities |
| January 1, 1967 | York and Weston merge as the Borough of York |
| June 10, 1983 | York incorporated as a city |
| January 1, 1998 | City of York ends and joins the City of Toronto |
All dates in the table come from the City of Toronto Archives except the 1849 note. The Archives holds York council proceedings from 1860 to 1997 and assessment rolls from 1882 to 1992, as well as Weston records to 1966. Researchers can request them through the Archives. For other former municipalities, see Etobicoke and North York.
Frequently asked questions
When did the City of York become part of Toronto?
On January 1, 1998, when the City of York ended as a separate municipality and joined the amalgamated City of Toronto, according to the City of Toronto Archives.
Was Weston part of York?
Weston was a separate municipality until January 1, 1967, when it merged with York to form the Borough of York.
When did York become a city?
York was incorporated as a city on June 10, 1983, after 16 years as a borough.
Where are the York municipal records?
The City of Toronto Archives holds the City of York records, including council proceedings from 1860 to 1997.
Last verified: October 2026
Sources
- City of Toronto Archives, “Resources on former municipalities”
- Ontario Heritage Trust, provincial plaque “The Founding of Weston”
- City of Toronto, Teiaiagon-Baby Point History and Evolution report, December 2024
- The Canadian Encyclopedia, “East York”
- Metrolinx, Mount Dennis Station articles; City of Toronto, Mount Dennis Economic Development Study
Related reading
- East York, which split from York Township in 1924
- Etobicoke and the western Humber
- North York, the township that left in 1922
- Toronto’s lost rivers and ravines
- Toronto neighborhoods and how the districts grew
Cite this page
APA: History of Toronto. (2026, October 23). York: History of the Former City of York, Toronto. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/york-former-municipality-history
MLA: “York: History of the Former City of York, Toronto.” History of Toronto, 23 Oct. 2026, https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/york-former-municipality-history. Accessed .
Chicago: History of Toronto. “York: History of the Former City of York, Toronto.” Last modified October 23, 2026. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/york-former-municipality-history.
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