COLBORNE Lodge open Saturday 11-7

FREE TOURS : 11.30, 1.30 and 3.30

Creativity and innovation inspired the original owners of Colborne Lodge, John and Jemima Howard, to leave High Park as a legacy that all Torontonians benefit from today.

In 1873, Howard and his wife deeded their 165-acre country property to the City of Toronto. This deed included an agreement that the park remain ‘for the free use, benefit and enjoyment of the citizens of Toronto and it be called High Park’.

This Regency-era lakeside summer cottage still holds original collections of their art, architectural drawings, and inventions as well as stories of their eccentric lives. From 19th century science, technology, and medicine, to illness, adultery, and reported hauntings, Colborne Lodge truly has a story to engage all visitors. Colborne Lodge engages in the inclusion of Indigenous narratives and stories through a partnership with First Story Toronto where Indigenous guides embark on a truth-telling journey through their own lens.

Nearly 200 years later, Colborne Lodge is an active hub for community events in High Park, with cottage and garden tours, special events, workshops, and more. Locals and visitors alike are welcomed to see the place where the vision for High Park was born.

It is also home to the First Flush Toilet in Toronto……

Regretfully it is a long walk from the Bloor Street Gate, but you can drop by the Childrens Garden on the way and do take care when passing the tomb, John and Jemima are turning over in their graves and the Tomb could fall….