History of the Humber River The Humber River, located in southern Ontario between Georgian Bay and Lake Ontario, flows through the Greater Toronto Area, the most urbanized centre in Canada. From its sources in the Town of Caledon and the Townships of Adjala-Tosorontio and Mono, to its mouth at Lake Ontario in the Cities of Toronto and Etobicoke, the main branch of the Humber travels 100 km through a variety of natural habitats in both rural and urban landscapes. The Humber watershed has provided a home for many in the past 12,000 years, first for Aboriginal peoples and later for European explorers and settlers. Today, approximately 500,000 people of many different cultures live in the Humber watershed and many more travel to the watershed for work and recreational purposes. Due to its outstanding human heritage and recreational values and the contribution it has made to the development of Canada, the Humber River was officially designated a Canadian Heritage River at a plaque unveiling ceremony in Toronto on September 24, 1999. |
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As part of its watershed planning responsibilities, the TRCA formed the Humber Watershed Task Force in 1994. This Task Force developed Legacy: A Strategy For A Healthy Humber to guide the management of the Humber River. In 1997, the Humber Watershed Alliance was established with a mandate to implement, at a community level, the recommendations contained in Legacy. The Alliance facilitates large watershed projects that will protect, regenerate and celebrate the Humber watershed, educate watershed residents, obtain financial resources, and prioritize spending. The Alliance is a multi-stakeholder organization whose members include representatives from watershed residents, interest groups, business associations, agency staff, and elected representatives.
Geography
Encompassing 908 square kilometres in total, the Humber watershed is the largest in the Toronto region. The watershed flows through a number of significant physiographic areas, namely the ancient rock of the Niagara Escarpment, the rolling hills and kettle lakes of the Oak Ridges Moraine, the high-quality agricultural lands of the South Slope and Peel Plain, and the ancient Lake Iroquois shoreline. Throughout its journey, the Humber River drops over 350 metres in elevation to enter Lake Ontario at Humber Bay.
The Humber River system spans four regional municipalities or counties and ten local municipalities and is bounded to the west by the Etobicoke Creek, Mimico Creek and Credit River watersheds, and to the east by the Don River and Rouge River watersheds. Each of these watersheds drain into Lake Ontario. To the north, the Humber watershed is bounded by the Nottawasaga River watershed, which drains into Georgian Bay (Lake Huron), and the Holland River watershed, which drains into Lake Simcoe.
The land uses in the Humber watershed vary dramatically, from century farms located on the Peel Plain, to low density residential areas on the Oak Ridges Moraine in the Town of Caledon, to the dense residential and industrial development found in Brampton, Mississauga, Toronto and Vaughan. Today, approximately 45% of the watershed is urban or urbanizing (especially in the municipalities of Aurora, Brampton, Richmond Hill, and Vaughan) and 55% of the watershed is rural. A significant amount (approximately 46%) of the land base remains in agricultural use for livestock and cash crops on the Oak Ridges Moraine, South Slope, and Peel Plain in the Towns of Caledon and Vaughan and in King Township.
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Natural Heritage
Being located in a transition zone between the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Forest Region in the north and the Carolinian or Deciduous Forest Region in the south, the Humber contains a variety of species common to both regions. Geological processes such as glaciation, erosion, flooding, and deposition have also contributed to the natural heritage value of the Humber River watershed. Some of the most notable natural heritage features found within the Humber River watershed include:
Oak Ridges Moraine (ORM) – the ORM complex, one of Ontario’s most outstanding physiographic features, was formed about 13,000 years ago when two converging lobes of ice receded, depositing sand and gravel on the bedrock between them. The ORM, which spans the Humber via The Town of Caledon, King Township and the Town of Richmond Hill, comprises over a quarter of the area of the watershed and forms the headwaters of the Humber River.
Niagara Escarpment – the main branch of the Humber flows from the Niagara Escarpment which has been designated a World Biosphere Reserve by United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
The Humber Marshes – located at the mouth of the Humber in Toronto, this provincially significant wetland remains an important nesting area for birds such as the Great Blue Heron and American Coot, and contains rare plant species such as White Sassafras and White Dog’s Tooth Violet.
High Park – located in the City of Toronto, High Park contains remnant prairie habitat, including over 50 hectares of one of the last Black Oak Savannah habitats in southern Ontario.
Bird Banding – in High Park in 1905, James Henry Fleming banded a robin, the first wild bird in Canada to be marked with a numbered and recorded band.
Brook Trout – The high quality aquatic habitat in the Humber supports more than 50 species of fish. The presence of Brook Trout in the headwaters of the Humber is indicative of high quality cold water habitat.
Red-Shouldered Hawk – the presence of the nationally vulnerable Red-Shouldered Hawk in the Humber watershed is indicative of the Humber’s high quality forest and wetland habitats.
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Human Heritage
The Humber River has a long history of human settlement along its banks. As revealed by extensive archaeological evidence, native settlement in the Humber watershed came in three waves. The earliest settlers were the Palaeo-Indians who lived in the area from 10,000 to 7,000 BC and survived mainly by hunting large game. The second wave of native settlers, the people of the Archaic period, resided in the Humber region between 7,000 and 1,000 BC and began to adopt seasonal migration patterns to take advantage of available plants, fish and game. The third wave of native settlement was the Woodland period. The Woodland period saw the introduction of the bow and arrow and the growing of crops which allowed for larger, more permanent villages. The Woodland period was also characterized by movement of native groups into and out of the watershed mainly via the historic overland route (now known as the Toronto Carrying-Place Trail) which linked Lake Ontario to the upper Great Lakes and the north.
Étienne Brûlé was the first European to encounter the Humber River and to travel the ancient Toronto Carrying-Place Trail. Brûlé passed through the watershed in 1615, on a mission from Samuel de Champlain to build alliances with native peoples. The Toronto Carrying-Place Trail became a convenient shortcut to the upper Great Lakes for traders, explorers, and missionaries. Due to its historical importance, the Toronto Carrying-Place Trail has been designated as nationally significant by the Federal Historic Sites and Monuments Board.
The French occupied the Humber region until 1793, with prominent French trader and native language interpreter Jean-Baptiste Rousseau being the first European to take up permanent residence on the Humber. Rousseau piloted Lieutenant Governor Simcoe’s ship into Toronto Bay to officially begin the British era of settlement in 1793. Settlement of the Toronto region remained scattered until after the war of 1812 when immigration from Scotland, Ireland, and elsewhere in Europe increased. By 1830, villages were starting to be established near mills and major roads and more widespread development began.
Some other notable residents, explorers, missionaries and military individuals whose careers and works are strongly associated with the Humber River include, Fathers Jean de Brebeuf and Joseph Chaumonot (1641), Father Louis Hennepin (1678), Rene-Robert Cavelier de La Salle (1680), the Eaton Family, and Janet and Pierre Berton.
Today, many communities throughout the Humber watershed still reflect evidence of the early history of the Humber. For example, the Seed-Barker archaeological site near Woodbridge reveals the history of Aboriginal settlement in the mid sixteenth century and is investigated by high school students from around the world each year as part of the outdoor educational program at Boyd Field Centre; the King Railway Station, built in 1853 by the Northern Railway, is the oldest surviving railway station in Canada; Eaton Hall, built by the Eaton family who founded the Eatons department stores, now forms the heart of Seneca College in Toronto; and the former home of Robert and Signe McMichael now houses one of the largest permanent displays of works by Tom Thomson, the Group of Seven and their contemporaries at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection.
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Recreation
The Humber watershed contains an extensive greenspace system throughout the Greater Toronto Area with about 11% (approximately 9949 hectares) of the watershed being public land. Many uses such as camping, fishing, canoeing, picnicking, hiking, swimming, cross- country skiing, nature appreciation, and environmental education rely on the Humber River.
Albion Hills Conservation Area – opened in 1954, Albion Hills was the first Conservation Area in Ontario. Since then, six million visitors have enjoyed the natural, cultural, recreational and educational opportunities at Albion Hills.
Kortright Centre for Conservation – Kortright is Canada’s largest environmental conservation facility, named in honour of Dr. Francis H. Kortright who is one of Canada’s leading authorities on birds and waterfowl.
Woodbridge Fair – this traditional fair is the oldest in Ontario and celebrates the history of the town of Woodbridge.
Kleinburg Binder Twine Festival – a traditional festival that takes place on the first Saturday after Labour Day each year.
River Boating – canoeists can paddle the lower Humber River and many other locations depending on the time of year.
Fishing – the Humber is a popular location for fishing. Fourteen of the top 50 angling locations in the Greater Toronto Area are found in the watershed of the Main and East branches of the Humber River.
Trails – with 175 kilometres of trails, the Humber valley is a popular destination for hikers, equestrians and nature-lovers. Inter-regional trails found in the watershed include the Humber Valley Heritage Trail, the world renowned Bruce Trail, the Great Pine Ridge Equestrian Trail, the Caledon Trailway/Trans Canada Trail, the Oak Ridges Moraine Trail, and the Lake Ontario Waterfront Trail.