European Settlement

Rural life

Among the Loyalists to settle in Scarborough were the Huffs. John Huff and his brother, originally from Germany, fought under Thayendanegea (also known as Joseph Brant) during the American Revolution. He moved to Upper Canada and with his sons, William and Joseph Huff, he bought 200 acres of land on lot 30, Concession Road B – along what would eventually come to be known as Eglinton Avenue.

Joseph Huff established a sawmill in 1816 along the small stream running through the property. He married Elizabeth Devenish and by the 1830s, the couple and their nine children had developed a small hamlet around the sawmill, which grew to include a school, blacksmith, and carriage-making shop.

Sometime after starting these businesses, the family changed their name from Huff to Hough, and the intersection of Birchmount and Eglinton Ave. East became known as Hough’s Corners. Most of the buildings from this era have been demolished,  but the Scarborough Museum has built a replica of the Hough Carriage Works, housing many original tools donated by the Hough family. 

The journals of Thomas Edward Hough, who grew up in the area, describe local farm life in the early 1800s. He refers to bobcat attacks when using the outhouse, growing crops throughout the year, and barn raisings. The latter events provided an opportunity for the community to gather, support each other, and share food, music, and conversation. The journals also describe waking up at 3:00 am for the four-hour horse and buggy trip to the St. Lawrence Market where the family would sell their goods.