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Memories of Lavender Creek
Formerly known as Rowntree’s Creek |
Excerpts taken from Stories of York, edited by Bill Bailey (1980)
Based on the York Historical Society’s interviews with long-time residents of the community
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| Interview with Wilf Royle pp. 19, 20, and 33 |
 “The main creek in the Silverthorn area was known as Rowntree’s Creek. We kids didn’t use that name, to us it was just the creek. It was a creek of some size, just a little smaller than Black Creek. It started on the west side of Caledonia beyond Prospect Cemetery and flowed under the tracks in a little culvert just north of Dunraven, then paralleled the north side of Dunraven, crossed Silverthorn where there was a fair-sized culvert at that time – then flowed south westerly south of Dunraven and across Kane and went under Old Weston Road – again through a large culvert on through what is now the lands south of the Dominion store on Rogers finally finding its way into Black Creek. In the spring the creek became quite a sizeable torrent. I have seen the whole area of the Rowntree Estate from Chambers to Scott would be one mass of water and, at times, a raging torrent.”
“Rowntree’s Creek was a lot of fun. There were lots of places where we made swimming holes with a little work. It wasn’t very deep but we made dams out of sods and logs and other materials we found. We raised the level of the water until it was up to our shoulders, or perhaps a little deeper. Our pools were deep and broad enough for us to have a whale of a time. There were many swimming holes in that creek that I remember but three of them stand out. One was on Dunraven, about half way between the tracks and Silverthorn. There were high banks there and a dam could produce a sizeable swimming hole. Another one that was a favourite was located at what is now the corner of Keele and Kersdale. It was fairly broad there and we had a great old tree, we called it the climbing tree. We took great pains to keep our dam in repair and keep that swimming hole in good condition and it was fun for all. There was another swimming hole in that creek after it passed Weston Road, around Hillary, but we didn’t get to that one as often because it was further away. In the winter time the creek would freeze over and with a little work, and certainly a lot of snow shoveling, we would have a pretty good rink.”
“We used to fish in Rowntree's Creek. The fish weren't large, but they were fun to catch by hook or by net and the kids always had some kind of jar or bottle to put their fish in.”
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| Harry McQueen interviews Frank Fisher
pp. 62, 63 |
 "A creek from the big swamp, where Fairbank Park is now situated, ran along Preston Rd. and turned down Holmesdale and continued away to the west where it flowed into Black Creek. In the spring, quite often, the valley would be covered with water when the ice blocked the creek. In the earlier days the water ran under the corner of Holmesdale through a tunnel. Later a cement culvert was built. There was also another culvert at Ennerdale and Holmesdale. Muskrats were occasionally caught in the creeks as well as some fish. As more and more people came into the area, the water became polluted and wild life disappeared.” |
| Harry McQueen interviews Mr. and Mrs. Alf Aslop on Atlas Avenue p. 68 |
 "Just north of us was an area called Six Acres. It is now Fairbank Park. Parts of it were quite marshy. In the spring it was covered by marsh marigolds and frogs were everywhere. It was a fine place to gather bulrushes. In the spring it was flooded by water that came running down from the surrounding hills. It emptied through a tunnel under Dufferin along Preston Rd., Ditchland Rd. (now Holmesdale Crescent) and Holmesdale Rd., and eventually flowed away to the west to Black Creek. In the winter one could sleigh ride from the Vaughan School away down into the frozen swamp. In the summer only a trickle of water ran out of the swamp, but in the spring I've seen the whole area in the valley along Preston Rd. and Holmesdale Rd. flooded. The children used to paddle around on home-made rafts. The swamp disappeared with the coming of the sewage system. I recall too the large pine trees that stood on the hills around the valley.
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| Interview with W.A. Kimber p. 81 |
| "There was a large creek running east and west on the north side of Dunraven. The water came through the bank at the railway tracks through a very large pipe. We could catch fish four and five inches long there and lots of frogs.” |
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| Harry McQueen interviews Mr. and Mrs. R. A. Blackmore p. 85 |
 “I remember the sewers going in. There was a creek that ran through the bottom of where Fairbank Park is today. It was all a big swamp with a creek running out. It used to run past our house on Preston Road and we would block it up in the summer. It was a quite dirty but, sometimes we would block it up and go swimming. Sometimes in the spring-- I do not know if it was ice-blocked—- the whole valley was filled with water and we used to make rafts and float around down there. As far as services, I can remember the dirty water from our sink ran down this creek. I guess that there were some sort of pipes and the soapy water ran under the road.” |
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