Gibson House is a historical museum in Toronto , Ontario , Canada. It is located on Yonge Street, in the North York Centre neighbourhood of the former city of North York .
18-565: The property was first acquired by David Gibson , a Scottish immigrant, land surveyor, prior to the Rebellion of 1837 . For his activities in the Rebellion, his house was destroyed and he was banished from Upper Canada . Gibson fled to nearby western New York , settling with his family in Lockport . Although he was threatened with losing his land, he continued to own the property in what
36-528: A "Passport Place" by the National Trust for Canada , a featured historic site on their website. Tours are available, and a museum attached to the old house offers insight into the lives of a family which continued to reside here into the 20th Century. Children's programs welcome school groups and birthday parties, and certain days (e.g., First of July ) offer guests a chance to play period games, sample kitchen treats, and help make ice cream. The Museum
54-541: A deputy surveyor of roads and, in 1828, surveyor of highways in the Home District . In 1831, he became associated with William Lyon Mackenzie as a Reformer. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada representing 1st York in 1834 and 1836. He reluctantly joined the rebellion of 1837 and protected the loyalist prisoners at Montgomery's Tavern from abuse. However, despite this,
72-739: A revolt. He further claimed that he encouraged the outbreak by sending all the troops from the province, laying a trap for Mackenzie, despite there being no troops, and the York Militia had been preparing for an attack. Head sent the colonial militia to put down the rebellion, which they did within four days. In response to the rebellion, Britain replaced Head as Lieutenant-Governor with Sir George Arthur and then Lord Durham . Head returned to England and settled down to write books and essays. In later life Head lived at Duppas Hall, overlooking Duppas Hill in Croydon , where he organised protests against
90-575: Is affiliated with: CMA , CHIN , and Virtual Museum of Canada . David Gibson (Canadian politician) David Gibson , (March 9, 1804 – January 25, 1864), was a surveyor, farmer and political figure in Upper Canada . He was born in Forfarshire , Scotland in 1804. He apprenticed with a land surveyor in Scotland and came to Upper Canada seeking employment. In 1825, he was named
108-463: Is highlighted by the doorway with its semi-elliptical fan transom and two side lights. David Gibson was an early farmer and surveyor and as a politician was an ardent supporter of William Lyon Mackenzie . For his part in the successful rebellion Gibson's house was burned and it was not until he returned from the United States in 1849 that the present house was begun." The property is listed as
126-482: Is protected under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act , designated by the former City of North York on December 15, 1980. The bylaw notes "David Gibson House, 1851 designed by David Gibson. The building is recommended for designation on architectural grounds because it is a finely restored example of a Georgian dwelling. The well balanced, symmetrical front facade consisting of nine equally spaced windows
144-551: The Executive Council , but that appointment was opposed by the more radical Mackenzie. In any case, he ignored Baldwin's advice, and Baldwin resigned; the Legislative Assembly of the 12th Parliament of Upper Canada then refused to pass any money bills and so Head dissolved the government. In the subsequent election campaign, he appealed to the United Empire Loyalists of the colony, proclaiming that
162-473: The City of Toronto. Gibson established an apple orchard on the property in 1832, of which one tree remains at the corner of Yonge Street and Park Home Ave. The orchard (and the remaining tree) produce Tolman Sweet apples. In 2016, the tree was selected as a winner in a local survey of Toronto trees as a "Survivor". Grafts from it have been used to propagate the species. The red brick Georgian Revival farmhouse
180-529: The governor Sir Francis Bond Head ordered his farm burned. Gibson fled to Lockport, New York , where he was employed as an engineer for the Erie Canal . In 1848, having been pardoned in 1843, he returned to his farm and was hired as a provincial land surveyor. In 1853, he was given the post of inspector of crown lands agencies and superintendent of colonization roads in Canada West . He also supervised
198-569: The independent labourer. The rooms, for example, were to hold eight residents in a 15' x 10' space, and the diet was to be strictly for subsistence, resulting in the kind of gruel portrayed in the workhouse scenes of Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. Head was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada in 1835 in an attempt by the British government to appease the reformers in the colony, such as William Lyon Mackenzie , who wanted responsible government . He appointed reformer Robert Baldwin to
SECTION 10
#1732765925948216-468: The military usefulness of the lasso. In 1834, Head was appointed as an assistant Poor Law Commissioner in Kent . While serving in this capacity, he drew up a document called Plan of a Rural Workhouse for 500 Persons , which established separate areas for males and females but mingled sick and well, young and old, sane and insane. He argued that provisions for the poor should not be superior to those earned by
234-490: The motif. Gibson House is set back from Yonge Street , one of the colony's pioneer roads and today often called the world's longest street. It is shielded from traffic, however, by construction hoarding for the Gibson Square Condominium development. Gibson House once welcomed carriages to its front door, now shielded from Yonge Street by construction. The house is one of the several museums operated by
252-481: The reformers were advocating American republicanism. The Conservative party , led by the wealthy landowners known as the " Family Compact ", won the election to the 13th Parliament of Upper Canada . In December 1837, Mackenzie led a brief and bungled rebellion in Toronto . Sir Francis Bond Head later boasted that despite the evidence that poured in from every district in the province, he allowed Mackenzie to prepare
270-1485: The surveying of roads in the Algoma District from 1861 to 1862. For a time, he also operated a large sawmill in the Parry Sound region, which was later taken over by William Beatty . He died at Quebec in 1864. An Ontario Historical Plaque was erected in front of the Gibson House Museum in North York Centre , Toronto, Ontario by the province to commemorate David Gibson's role in Ontario's heritage. William Lyon Mackenzie James Lesslie John Rolph William John O'Grady Henry John Boulton David Willson Samuel Hughes John McIntosh Marshall Spring Bidwell Robert Baldwin William Warren Baldwin Francis Hincks Charles Duncombe Samuel Lount Peter Matthews Jesse Lloyd Anthony Van Egmond Thomas D. Morrison David Gibson James Hervey Price Joseph Shepard Francis Bond Head Sir Francis Bond Head, 1st Baronet KCH PC (1 January 1793 – 20 July 1875)
288-634: Was Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada during the rebellion of 1837 . Head was an officer in the corps of Royal Engineers of the British Army from 1811 to 1825; as such he earned a Waterloo Medal . Afterwards, he attempted to set up a mining company in Argentina . Head rode between Buenos Aires and the Andes twice, from which he was given the nickname "Galloping Head". Head was born to parents, James Roper Mendes Head and Frances Anne Burgess. He
306-604: Was descended from the Spanish Jew Fernando Mendes, who accompanied as her personal physician Catherine of Braganza in 1662 when she came to England to marry Charles II . His grandfather Moses Mendes married Anna Gabriella Head and took on the Head name following the death of his wife's father, Sir Francis Head, 4th Bt. He married Julia Valenza Somerville in 1816, and they eventually had four children. King William IV knighted him in 1831 after he demonstrated
324-436: Was then York County , near Toronto. His wife was not banished, and she was able to travel between Lockport and Toronto to collect rents and profits on the farmstead. In 1843, Gibson was pardoned, along with many who took part in the Rebellion. He returned with his family to York County in 1848 and built this house in 1851. Its style reflects a prosperous man, and some of its furniture and engravings reflect his U.S. residence in
#947052