Scadding Cabin — Attraction in Toronto

Interesting but historic cabin. The cabin was originally built on the property of John Scadding, an immigrant from Devonshire, in order to fulfill his settlement duties to the Crown. The cabin stood at the east side of the Don River south of Queen Street East on a 253-acre land grant that stretched north from Lake Ontario to present-day Danforth Avenue. Scadding lived in the cabin until he returned to England in 1796.[3]

When Scadding returned to York in 1818, he sold his property, and cabin, to a farmer named William Smith, who used the cabin as an outbuilding. The cabin remained in the Smith family until 1879 when the cabin was offered to the York Pioneers. Henry Scadding, son of John Scadding, was a founding member of the historical society.

Scadding Cabin at its new location in Exhibition Place, June 1880. In 1879 John Smith, the owner of the Scadding property, gave Scadding Cabin to the York Pioneers. In 1879, the Toronto Industrial Exhibition began (later the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) ) and the York Pioneers worked with the Exhibition's founders to move the Cabin to its current site to celebrate the Fair's inauguration. The cabin was dismantled, moved and reconstructed by the York Pioneers on the grounds of the first Industrial Exhibition (now Exhibition Place) on August 22, 1879 near the site of...

A wonderful historical gem. The sing outside the cabin gives the following info:

“This log cabin, Toronto's oldest known surviving house, was constructed for John Scadding in 1794 during the first years of British settlement. Scadding was a government clerk and close friend of Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe. The cabin stood on the east side of the Don River on a 253-acre land grant that stretched north from Lake Ontario to present-day Danforth Avenue. Scadding lived there until he went back to England with the Simcoes in 1796. When Scadding returned to York in 1818, he sold the cabin and its property to farmer William Smith, who used the cabin as an outbuilding. In 1879, the Smith family offered the cabin to the 10-year-old York Pioneers Association; Scadding's son Henry, a prominent Toronto historian, was a founding member. In the summer of 1879, in an early act of Toronto heritage preservation, the York Pioneers dismantled the cabin and reassembled it at this location for the inaugural Toronto Industrial Exhibition, now the Canadian National Exhibition.”

Apparently it is open for people to look inside the cabin when the CNE is open. Would love to come back at that time to explore the inside...

This is the history of my city. YORK.

Toronto’s oldest existing home was built in 1794 for John Scadding who accompanied Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe to Upper Canada in 1792. Scadding Cabin was moved to the grounds from the east bank of the Don River in 1879 by the York Pioneer and Historical Society, which is still responsible for its operation. The move was part of the celebrations marking the inauguration of the Toronto Industrial Exhibition (forerunner of the CNE). In 1986, the cabin was designated as historically significant under the Ontario Heritage Act. Scadding Cabin is open to the public during special events (in the...