Our Stories

large boulder with a plaque

Resting Place of the Pioneers: Toronto’s Forgotten Souls

Mount Pleasant Cemetery Plot K Hidden within the grounds of Mount Pleasant Cemetery lies Plot K, home to a memorial known as the “Resting Place of the
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Black‑and‑white vintage portrait of a person wearing a formal suit with a tie and pocket square, seated against a dark studio backdrop.

J.E.H. MacDonald: Visionary of Canadian Art

A vintage sepia-toned portrait of Alice Freeman-Brown seated in an elegant pose. She wears a long, fitted dress with puffed sleeves and decorative details along the bodice. One arm rests on a fur-draped chair, while the other holds a folded piece of fabric or a cloth across her lap. The background is plain, highlighting the formal style of the period clothing.

Alice Freeman-Brown: A Pen Name and a Pioneering Spirit

A large, mature oak tree spreading wide branches over a grassy park area, with a wooden bench beneath it. A modern high‑rise building rises in the background, partially framed by the tree’s foliage, and a small white pavilion structure stands to the right under a bright blue sky.

Happy Birthday to Mount Pleasant’s 200‑Year Old Oaks

Rolled architectural or technical drawings resting on a table, showing printed measurement markings and curved line diagrams on aged, slightly torn paper.

Handwritten Records at the Toronto Necropolis: Preserving the Past

Image 1 (Aerial view): An aerial view of the Meadowvale Cemetery Garden of Remembrance featuring a large oval pond with a small fountain, and winding pathways. The image features an impressive arborteum of mature trees, surrounded by green lawns and buildings in the distance.

Meadowvale Arboretum: A Vision Rooted in Nature

monument with man on horse

Steve Stavro: A Monument to Vision and Legacy

Historic 19th‑century business document for Sanderson Pearcy & Co., featuring ornate lettering, an engraved illustration of a multi‑storey commercial building, decorative headings advertising paints, oils, and glass, and handwritten ledger entries dated Toronto, 1899.

Sanderson Pearcy: Entrepreneur and Community Builder

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Tamara Jaworska: From Arkhangelsk to Toronto, A Life Woven in Art

old newspaper clipping

James Brown: The Last Public Hanging in Toronto

a plaque on a gate

The Resting Place of Toronto’s Pioneers

Snow‑covered cemetery landscape with a low, curved stone grave marker partially buried in snow beneath spreading tree branches. Additional headstones and leafless trees are visible in the background, creating a quiet winter scene.

Roscoe Reid Graham: A Pioneer of Canadian Surgery

Historic black‑and‑white photograph showing a massive explosion cloud rising into the sky above buildings and rooftops. The cloud billows outward in dense layers, dominating the horizon while silhouetted structures and figures appear along the lower edge of the image.

Hugh Hendry: A Brave Sailor Lost but Not Forgotten

big brick house by train tracks

Allan Royce: From English Roots to Toronto Legacy

Black‑and‑white portrait of Eric Clavering wearing a wide‑brimmed hat and dark coat, shown from the shoulders up against a softly out‑of‑focus background.

Eric Clavering: From London’s Stages to Canada’s Screens

Black‑and‑white photograph of a city street intersection in 1957, showing brick commercial buildings, overhead streetcar wires, parked cars, and storefront signage. An “Imperial Esso Dealer” sign stands on the sidewalk, with utility poles, a fire hydrant, and early automobiles visible along Parliament Street in Toronto.

Hugh Garner: Toronto’s Chronicler of Cabbagetown

short graves surrounded by trees

City of Toronto Soldiers’ Lot: A Tribute to Service and Sacrifice

very old bus

John Hollinger: East York’s Transit Pioneer

Alexander Muir

Alexander Muir: The Man Behind “The Maple Leaf Forever”

man in suit with glasses

Dr. Frederick F. Tisdall: Innovator and Controversial Figure in Child Nutrition

man standing behind a wall with framed photos of buildings

Uno Prii: The Architect Who Gave Toronto Its Space-Age Skyline