Cook House , Carrville Road
1076 Rutherford Rd.Vaughan ON
| History: |
This house, which served as a post office and general store as well as a residence, was the centre of the village of Carrville, now part of Vaughan. It was brought to our attention by Dr. Daniel Sellen, who has provided the following history:
"Carrville's Last Stand I grew up in the countryside outside of Maple in a big old house at 1076 Rutherford Road. It was built in the 1840s by Thomas Cook, and served as a post office and general store -- the hub of a now-forgotten place called Carrville. The village served a wide area including Thornhill, King, Richmond Hill, and beyond. Along with the nearby church (where Cook and his neighbours are buried), the house is the last evidence that the busy village ever existed. In addition to the post office, there are remains of an 1826 sawmill about 200 meters to the north of the house. Apparently there was a gristmill somewhere nearby, but I never found it. There is (was?) a ruined log cabin to the east, between the church and the house, on the south side of Carrville Road (now Rutherford), which was surrounded by asparagus and red currants, presumably planted by the long-gone residents. There were other farmhouses too as indicated on old maps, but these would be very hard to find today. Behind the post office there is a old dump site in the ravine that drains the field. I had dug to the very bottom of it and found dishes, bottles, tools, clay pipes, and other artifacts that painted a picture of 19th century life in Carrville. The post office closed in the 1920s, and the village of Carrville disappeared, being too close to Toronto and suburban centres to survive. The road was paved, widened, and the fields, mixed forest and wildlife have disappeared. Suburbs have closed in on all sides. Dr. Daniel Sellen, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire (formerly of Carrville, Ontario)" |
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| Details: | The house has been purchased by a developer and is surrounded by suburban residential development. There are fears it may be torn down to accommodate further development. Although the City of Vaughan considers it a property of interest, it has not yet been designated. Although the house has been boarded up, squatters have managed to get in, further risking the building. | |
