Harbor View Health Care Center

First Nations Fishing Camps Were Established Around The Waterways Of Toronto As Early As 1,000 BCE By 500 CE Up To 500 People Lived Along Each Of The Three Major Rivers Of Toronto (Don Humber And Rouge River). Early On First Nations Communities Had Developed Trails And Water Routes In The Toronto Area These Led From Northern And Western Canada To The Gulf Of Mexico One Trail Known As The "Toronto Passage" Followed The Humber River Northward As An Important Overland Shortcut Between Lake Ontario And The Upper Great Lakes A Map Of The Region With Ganatsekwyagon And Other Areas Highlighted Along The Rouge Trail C 1673 Teiaiagon Is Shown West Ganatsekwyagon New Crops Including Corn Sunflowers And Tobacco Were Introduced Into The Area From The South Around 600 CE The Introduction Of These Crops Saw Large Societal Shifts In The Area; Including A Change In Diet And The Formation Of Semi-permanent Villages In Order To Farm These Crops. Inhabitants Of These Semi-permanent Villages Moved Out During Parts Of The Year To Hunt Fish And Gather Other Goods To Supplement Their Farming The Earliest Iroquoian Settlement In Toronto Occurred Around 900 CE. Iroquoian Villages During This Period Were Located On High Fortified Grounds With Access To Wetlands And Waterways To Facilitate Hunting Fishing Trade And Military Operations. Iroquoian Villages Typically Lasted A Period Of 10 To 20 Years Before Its Inhabitants Relocated To A New Site Several Huron Villages Dating Back To The 1200s Have Been Excavated In Toronto Including A Huron Ossuary In Scarborough From The 1300s To The 1500s The Iroquoian Inhabitants Of The Area Migrated North Of Toronto Joining The Developing Huron Confederacy. During This Period The Huron Confederacy Used Toronto As A Hinterland For Hunting With The Toronto Passage Continuing To See Use As A North-south Route Although Europeans Did Not Visit Southern Ontario In The 16th Century European Goods Had Begun To Make Its Way Into The Region As Early As The Late-1500s. During The 17th Century Nearly Half Of Southern Ontario's First Nations Population Was Wiped Out From As A Result Of The Transmission Of Communicable Diseases Between Europeans And First Nations Groups The Population Loss Along With The Desire To Secure Furs For Trade Saw The Iroquois Confederacy To The South Defeat The Huron Inhabitants Of The Area. Although Some Huron Refugees Fled The Area The Majority Were Absorbed And Eventually Integrated Into The Iroquois. After The Iroquois Secured The Toronto Area Several Iroquois Settlement Of The North Shore Of Lake Ontario Were Established The Seneca (one Of The Five Iroquois Nations) Established Two Settlements In Present Day Toronto Teiaiagon Near The Humber River And Ganatsekwyagon Near The Rouge River The Two Communities Provided The Iroquois Control Of The North-south Passage In Toronto. Roman Catholic Missionaries Visited The Two Settlements In The 1660s And 1670s. However By 1687 The Two Settlements Were Abandoned By The Seneca In The 17th Century The Area Was A Crucial Point For Travel With The Humber And Rouge River Providing A Shortcut To The Upper Great Lakes These Routes Were Known As The Toronto Passage The Mississaugas Arrived In The Late 17th Century Driving Out The Occupying Iroquois And Settling Along The Lake Ontario Shore Including The Port Credit Area Early European Settlement