Category Archives: Heritage buildings

Laing Street was not an obvious site to capture fame or attention. The street was named after William Laing. Leslieville’s “water” rats lived on Laing and nearby Lake Street (now Knox Avenue). These fishermen, icemen and others depended on Ashbridge’s Bay for a tenuous living. Their way of life came to an end when the THC filled in the bay and marsh. Some, like the Southams, were displaced from Fisherman’s Island by the Harbour Commission’s improvements. Though the Southam family claimed to be the descendants of the Boultons of the Family Compact, they were not affluent. Leslieville was a bastion of the Orange Orde. There was a living candidate available as a monument to Leslieville’s only famous man — and only famous Orangeman. The myth of Maple Cottage and its tree began to appear in the press. In 1937, in a public ceremony a plaque was placed on the tree at twilight. Mrs. Robbins, wife of Mayor William D. Robbins, a strong Orangeman, unveiled the plaque. Mayor Robbins led the July 12th Orangeman’s Parade that year. Mrs. Robbins had been a pupil of Alexander Muir at Gladstone Avenue School.