The History of UTSC Project
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The Spaces & Places guided walking tour explores the history of locations on and around the UTSC campus by sharing the personal recollections of members of our campus community — reflecting a variety of perspectives, positions, and points in time.
UTSC is perhaps best known for its natural setting on the edge of the Highland Creek Valley. This lush landscape is characterized by rolling hills, dense woodlands, and the gentle flow of the winding Highland Creek, from which various birds, deer, and other animals can often be seen drinking. It is used year-round by students for both recreational and academic activities, with many using the space as an outdoor laboratory in the broadest sense of the term. More generally, the tranquil stillness of the space is a stark contrast to the constant movement of the UTSC campus, but never feels out of place in the larger body of the community; indeed, this environment is but another facet of our collective experience, important as any other to our identity.
The campus’ natural setting also makes it an especially productive spot for garden cultivation. The UTSC Garden Club was established in 1973, originally hosted in the vegetable gardens that used to supply the Scarborough College Principal’s residence (now the Miller Lash House). UTSC English Professor Andrew Patenall tried to attract students to join the club with a poem published in the Scarborough College Bulletin, and it wasn’t long before the club took off!
Credits: Andrew Patenall, “To the Scarborough College Gardening Club”, Scarborough College Bulletin, November 9, 1973. Accessed via Memory Collection, UTSC Library Digital Collections.
Diane Hill, an Indigenous UTSC alum who is from the Oneida Nation of the Thames in southwestern Ontario, explains why the valley is the place where she feels most at home on campus.
In all honesty, probably no space on campus makes me feel 100% comfortable. I probably feel the most comfortable in the valley or by myself in the valley because I feel connected to the land. I feel like I'm with The Mother. I'm with Mother Earth. I feel like I'm almost... I feel like I'm almost at peace when I'm there because it reminds me of home a lot.
Bruce Kidd, a Toronto local who served as UTSC’s principal from 2014-2018, looks back on his early experiences in the Highland Creek Valley, where he often played with day camp-mates as a child.
Credits: Conceived and produced by Amena Ahmed. All photos courtesy of the University of Toronto, Ontario Heritage Trust, University of Toronto Magazine, Memories of UTSC Collection, and @UTSC X account.
Did you know that UTSC used to house the Scarborough College Horse Riding School? Students and community members could rent a horse for $2.75 an hour and receive riding lessons for $1.00 an hour, riding throughout the Highland Creek Valley. The school even held Ride-A-Thons! Unfortunately, the stables were shut down in 1984, but we have many photographs that provide a glimpse into what must have been an exciting facility on campus.
Credits: David Harford and Greg Fitz via Memory Collection, UTSC Library Digital Collections.
Jennifer Curry, who works as the Director of the Office of the Vice President and Principal at UTSC, recalls early perceptions of the Highland Creek Valley when she first began working on campus.
Now, the valley, the trail, it's an amazing space. But then [in the late 2000s], it was almost this like, fairytale-esque, dark woods where nobody should go into. So I feel now that's all opened up. For years, that was a part of the campus that was cut off, like, most of us really didn't get to experience that amazing piece of the campus, right? That is such a jewel for us now.
If you’ve ever gone trekking through the valley, you might’ve come across a triangle-shaped monument dedicated to a Miss Lucy Swanton Doyle. Curiously enough, the monument represents the triangle-shaped connection Doyle has to the land on which UTSC sits. To learn more about this connection, read our blog!
Photo Description: Lucy Swanton Doyle Memorial in the Highland Creek Valley, the plaque of which reads: “Noted Canadian newspaper woman with the Toronto Telegram from the 1890’s to 1930 and descendant of the Swanton Loyalist family. She owned the Schoolhouse built here in 1870. Her cherished wish was that her ‘valley’ become part of Scarborough College grounds.” The plaque was developed by J. L. Ball of Scarborough College in consultation with Dora Mavor Moore, a friend of Doyle’s. Photo courtesy of Find a Grave, 2017. “Lucy Swanton Doyle.” Memorial ID 176205062.
