Ashbridge's Bay

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18th Century map of Old York (Toronto).gif

Ashbridge's Bay was a marsh at the mouth of the Don River, covering 5 square kilometres.[1] It was the shallow, eastern half of Toronto Bay.

It was an important resting spot for annual bird migration, providing a place for birds to rest, and feed, prior to, or just after their long flight over Lake Ontario.

York, founded to serve as Upper Canada's first permanent capital, was set just west of the Don River, and the Marsh.[2]

The bay is named after the Ashbridge family, Quakers, who were granted 600 acres in the region north of the Bay in 1794.

By the late 1800s the Bay was seriously polluted, and the [[Toronto Harbour Commission made plans to drain it, and fill it with landfill.[1]

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