Silverthorn, often misspelled as Silverthorne, is a neighbourhood and former postal village in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The approximate boundaries are the GO TransitBarrie line railway tracks to the east, Black Creek Drive and the CP railway line to the west and the former boundaries of the City of York to the north and south. The neighbourhood west of Keele Street is known as Keelesdale. For demographic purposes, the city breaks the area down into two neighbourhoods Keelesdale-Eglinton West, south of Eglinton, and Beechborough-Greenbrook north of Eglinton. It was originally a postal village to serve the then-agricultural York Township.
History
The area's name is from the Silverthorn family led by John and Esther Silverthorn whom settled in the area north of Dundas Street and east of Etobicoke Creek in 1786 that later became a village called Silverthorn's and later Summerville.[1]
Character
The neighbourhood south of Eglinton Avenue is made up of single-detached homes.
North of Eglinton, nearly two-thirds of the Silverthorn's population resides in rental units, many of them in low-rise apartment buildings. South of Eglinton the area retains its working class character, though the majority of residents are owners (almost 60%). Although the houses are modest they are also single detached and owned. There is an above-average contingency of Romance language speakers including Portuguese, Italian and Spanish. This area contains the western end of Eglinton West.
The hilly terrain of the Silverthorn is comparable to nearby areas but distinguishable compared with the city, which in general slopes south to the lake. One resident described the topography of the neighbourhood as "Toronto's hidden San Francisco," comparing Silverthorn with the famously hilly terrain of San Francisco.[2] The winding and one-way streets make through traffic a non-factor for ball playing.
Castlefield Design District
The area along Castlefield Road from Kincort Street to just west of Dufferin is home to the interior design district,[3] home to furniture retailers, home decor centres, as well as Roots Canada and Art Shoppe.
The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) is an English secular public school board that presently serves the City of Toronto, including Silverthorn. Presently, the school board operates three elementary schools including:
Charles E. Webster Junior Public School — A public elementary school at 1900 Keele Street.
Kane Senior Public School — A middle school at 300 Kane Ave.; mid-1990s renamed Kane Middle School; September, 2011 renamed Silverthorn Community School
Keelesdale Junior Public School
In addition, TDSB operates two secondary schools in the area, including:
Italics indicate neighbourhoods now defunct. For information on the evolution of each neighbourhood in general, see History of neighbourhoods in Toronto.
Canada
Ontario
