10/12/2025
Thank you everyone for attending our Lost Creeks of Mimico: Discovering D’eath Creek collaboration with Lost Rivers Toronto on September 20, 2025.
During the event, we discussed how Lost Rivers found the lost (or more correctly, the forgotten) D’eath Creek, which flows into Mimico Creek between the Bishop Allen Academy and the Le Petit Chaperon Rouge Garderie Francophone. D'eath Creek is our placeholder name, as we don't know this creek's historical name.
Who were the D’eaths?
"The Death family of Etobicoke can trace their ancestry back to 1527 with the birth of William Deathe of Dartford, England. Thomas Death, born in 1788, married Charlotte Brown and in early 1831, they sailed to Canada with their three sons: Abel age 11, Daniel age 6 and infant George. Thomas bought 50 acres of Lot 12, Concession II for $50. This property today would be on the west side of Royal York Road, south of Norseman Street.
Abel was a hard-working and successful farmer, capable of any task. By 1851, he had built a new house of board and batten south of the log cabin on his own, and also made most of its furniture. Abel also bought land north of his father’s original lot and west to Islington Avenue, as well as land in other townships. Abel’s brother Daniel lived at home until he married Ellen Thompson.”
(source: Etobicoke Historical Society, “Death Family of Etobicoke , https://www.etobicokehistorical.com/death-family-of-etobicoke.html ; the article is based on the 1979 book by Ruth A. Deeth, descendant of the family, named “Journey from Yesterday.”)
How did we notice the D’eath Creek?
Lost Rivers founder Helen Mills noticed that the creek appeared on the City of Toronto Interactive Map here: https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/data-research-maps/maps/ (see figure 1).
I then checked the 1856 map of the township of Etobicoke and there it is, running through Abel Death’s lots 12 and 13. You can even see where the Thompsons lived on lots 14 and 15, whose daughter Ellen would one day marry Abel’s brother Daniel (see figure 2).
Helen checked the location on Google Maps and saw a dry pond, a water management tool designed to hold water for a short period of time before allowing the water to discharge to a nearby stream. The dry pond is the flat, unbuilt-on grassy area between residential homes west of Royal York Road, and this is where D’eath Creek runs right under our feet (see figure 3).
What might the creek have looked like during Abel D'eath's day? We aren't sure, but maybe like the Bonar Creek, which flowed into the Mimico very close where the latter flows into Lake Ontario, and of which we have this 1889 photograph (see figure 4).
Finally, John and I visited Mimico Creek Trail in person and I pointed out where D’eath Creek has been all along, running merrily into Mimico – and the rest is history.
If you would like to learn more about the Lost Creeks of Mimico, please read Michael Harrison’s website https://lostcreeksofsouthetobicoke.blogspot.com/ , or his book, Toward the Ecological Restoration of South Etobicoke,http://www.ccfew.org/TERSE300.PDF .
