Scarborough Museum is set along the walking trails of beautiful Thomson Memorial Park, once the farm fields of Scarborough’s first settlers and now a popular heritage community. The museum shows the history and development of Scarborough from its founding and early settlement to its growth and emergence as a major suburb in the 20th century. The site and its gardens are situated on the property first granted to David and Mary Thomson, who settled in Scarborough in the late 1790s.
Scarborough Museum consists of four buildings moved to the site between 1962 to 1974. These include Cornell House, a clapboard, Scarborough vernacular-style farmhouse; the McCowan Log House, restored to its 1850s appearance; Kennedy Gallery, a small former farm outbuilding; and the Hough Carriage Works, which houses a collection of artisans’ tools donated by the Hough family who operated the original shop at Hough’s Corners.
Nestled in the heart of Thomson Memorial Park are the four heritage buildings that makeup Scarborough Museum. This is where one vibrant community celebrates its diverse past, present, and future. History and daily life come together in an engaging community space that has become the park’s heart. Hear stories, new and old, that have shaped the ever-changing community of Scarborough, Ontario. Whether visiting for weekend festivals, summer evening activities, day camps, or youth programs, there’s something for everyone’s tastes. Feel the warmth of the fire in an old hearth, taste freshly-baked goods, be immersed in the Indigenous Garden and murals, or join one of the many culinary events. Learn how Scarborough developed from land farmed by Indigenous peoples and settlers to a significant suburb of North America’s fourth-largest city. Discover more about the city and help build another chapter in the story of this vibrant community.
19th-Century Town Life in Scarborough
As rural townships gave way to modern suburbs following the Second World War, homes and businesses that stood in the form of progress were often demolished. Such appeared to be the fate of Cornell House on Markham Road north of Eglinton Avenue in the Township of Scarborough. Charles Cornell built it as a farmhouse about 1858; it housed piano works when Scarborough threatened to tear it down in 1961 to make way for a railway overpass. A1 Bed Bug Exterminator Scarborough
As people began to realize the value of preserving heritage structures for future generations, volunteers and the local Lions Club raised funds to move Cornell House to Brimley Road, where it became the foundation of the Scarborough Museum. Situated within Thomson Memorial Park, the museum sits on land that once belonged to Scottish stonemason David Thomson and his wife Mary, the first Europeans to settle in Scarborough sometime around 1799. Surrounding Cornell houses are kitchen and herb gardens, which offer a portrait of the plant life common to early Scarborough, and floral gardens that follow Victorian-era design principles with a variety of annuals and perennials.
Address: Thomson Memorial Park, 1007 Brimley Rd, Scarborough, ON
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