Bracondale Hill

Location: Hillcrest Drive and Bracondale Hill Road

Date photo taken: 8 October 2015

Bracondale Hill is a residential neighbourhood located north of Davenport, between Bathurst and Oakwood. It takes its name from the stately home built by Robert John Turner about 1847, located at Davenport and Christie. When Turner's son inherited the estate, he helped establish Bracondale Village, selling hundreds of building lots around the home and building the village's first post office. In 1909 Bracondale was annexed by the City of Toronto. The date on the sign refers to the subsequent development of another subdivision by the Turner heirs on lands to the north and west of their family home. The character of the neighbourhood was set by the inclusion of a minimum construction cost per house. This varied between $4,000 and $7,500 depending on the location, quite significant sums for the period. The house that started it all was expropriated by the City in 1930 and demolished in 1937 to make way for Hillcrest Park.