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8. THE KETCHUM FAMILY HOME |
| Built circa 1813, the Ketchum home was designed in the style of American Architecture(1). It was a large building, painted white, with a flat, square turret that sprouted from the roof(2). In the tradition of the early merchants of York, Ketchum chose to live near his business. His home was located directly across the street from the tannery [site 7], on the northwest corner of Yonge and Newgate (now Adelaide) Streets(3). One of the most prominent citizens in York, and a leading benefactor, Jesse Ketchum undertook no project which did not better the community in some way. For example, at the Ketchum home he laid out sheets of clean tanned bark along the roadside(4). This resulted in Ketchum creating the first public sidewalks to ease his fellow pedestrian’s struggle along the muddy streets. Ketchum’s house was demolished in 1839, and the land was divided into smaller lots(5). However his legacy was carried on through his many other contributions to the town of York, and later Toronto. For instance, the concentration of churches and schools on what was his land, bordered by Lot (now Queen), Newgate, Yonge and Bay Streets, was not mere coincidence but enduring evidence of his on-going generosity(6). Not without his own hardships, Jesse Ketchum was the son of an alcoholic father(7). He founded Temperance Street in 1837, stipulating that no liquor could be sold in any building which fronted onto the street(8). When Jesse Ketchum left Toronto in 1845 to return to Buffalo, he was esteemed as a humanitarian, a pew holder, a successful businessman, a reformer and a friend to all children(9). |
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| © Town of York Historical Society, 2006- All rights reserved. |