The little cottage that collected Toronto’s tolls.
Built in the 1830s for the families who kept the Davenport toll gate — saved by its neighbours, restored to its 1861 appearance, and run entirely by volunteers ever since. Step inside a Toronto without electricity or plumbing.
List of Tolls
To be collected at this gate · Davenport Road at Bathurst
- Admission, drop-inBy donation
- TodayOpen today, 1 – 4 pm (on the long weekend this year — the 13th is Rosh Hashanah)
- Booked group visits$6 per person$7.50 with tea and cookies — arranged in advance
- Guided walksBy donationroute leaflet $5
- Saturdays12 noon – 4 pmyear-round
- Next Sunday openingSeptember 6: 1 – 4 pmon the long weekend this year — the 13th is Rosh Hashanah
- Winter closingMid-December to early Februarywe close after Cookie Day and reopen the first Saturday of February
Tax receipts are issued for donations of $20 or more, including donations given on our walks. Booked group visit fees are not eligible for a receipt. The Cottage is operated by the Community History Project, a registered non-profit.
Plan your visitStyled after the toll boards once posted at plank-road gates across Upper Canada — see a surviving example on our Visit page.
Come on your own — or bring everyone.
Docents in period dress welcome walk-in visitors every open day, and we arrange private visits for classes, daycares, seniors’ residences and community groups.
Visit the Cottage
Spend half an hour to an hour with an interpreter and see how a Toronto family lived without electricity or plumbing. Children love it — so do their grandparents.
Hours, admission & directionsSchool & daycare visits
Hands-on 19th-century daily life, paced to your students’ age and built around your curriculum. A recent daycare group churned cream into butter and ate it on fresh baguette.
Plan a class visit $6 per child, or $7.50 with a snack.Seniors’ & community groups
Private guided visits for seniors’ residences, clubs, Guide and Scout groups, faith groups and community organizations — unhurried, seated where needed, with time for questions and tea.
Ask about a group visit $6 per person, or $7.50 with tea and cookies.Guided neighbourhood walks
Two-hour docent-led walks through eight historic areas — the West and East Annex, Wychwood Park, Seaton Village, Christie Pits, Casa Loma, Tarragon Village and the Garrison Creek ravine. History, geology, architecture — and a little gossip.
Join the walks list By donation, which counts toward a tax receipt. Route leaflet $5. A walk goes ahead once four or more sign up.
A road, a gate,
and the families who kept it.
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1830s
A tollhouse on a plank road
Davenport Road was a toll road, and this modest board-and-batten cottage housed the tollkeepers who collected from every cart and carriage that passed.
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1861
The Bulman family’s home
Restored to the year tollkeeper John Bulman and his family lived here, the Cottage is furnished with period artifacts — some from the Bulman family itself.
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Today
Saved and run by neighbours
One of Toronto’s oldest surviving buildings, rescued by its community and operated entirely by volunteers — with very little government funding.
Coming up at the Cottage
This tour travels the original boundaries of the Annex. Along the way learn about some of the personalities who lived here and others whose influence is still evident. Among other stops, we view the house that started the Annex look and and the home of a woman who spearheaded the founding of a children’s hospital.
We may find we have to cancel if the weather turns against us!
When I hear from 4 people who want a given walk, I will send details of the starting point. So press the Request a Place button (to email us) for which ever walk you are interested in.
There is no leaflet describing the East Annex walk, but there is one for the Garrison available for $5. And donations to the Tollkeeper’s Cottage are very welcome ✉ Request a place
OUR SECOND HISTORY OF TORONTO TRIVIA QUIZ Thursday September 24 from 7-9 pm $10. cash at the door or e-transfer tollkeeperscottage@gmail.com PETITE PRIZES FOR THE WINNERS! What do you know about Toronto from its beginnings to now? There will be some history and some general information to get your brain cells working! And it’s all for a fun evening of friends and laughter, pretzels and near-beer in a pub-like setting. Please pre-register to let us know that you’re coming, as the space is limited. ✉ Request a placeTRUTH AND RECONCILIATION Saturday September 26 from 2-4 pm Join us for a gathering where we honour survivors of the residential school system, and remember the multi-generational trauma as well as the many beneficial teachings about land and resource use that we gain from Indigenous people. We’ll have a chance to talk about our thoughts and enjoy refreshments. |
Our calendar shifts with our volunteers’ interests, but here’s the shape of a typical year — anything dated above is confirmed; everything below is what to look forward to.
- JanuaryClosed — docents plan the year’s programming
- FebruaryMending days, knitting & crochet lessons
- Late winterSpeaker series on local history & conservation
- AprilEgg dyeing with natural dyes; spring crafts
- MayVictoria Day Tea; the pollinator garden wakes up
- JuneBook sale on the lawn
- July – AugustOutdoor crafts, wool dyeing, garden readings
- October – NovemberThe Davenportage — canoes, pea soup & biscuits
- DecemberVictorian Ghostly Tales by lamplight
- DecemberCookie Day — our beloved fundraiser
Events are announced to newsletter readers first — dates, times and how to take part.
Get the newsletterHelp keep the gate open.
We receive very little government funding. Every membership and every dollar donated goes to maintaining this rare historic building.
Become a member
$20 a year · $35 for a family
- Our newsletter, with first word on events
- A voice and a vote at the annual meeting
- A tax receipt for your membership
Make a donation
Give securely by credit card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. Tax receipts are issued for gifts of $20 or more.
Prefer e-Transfer or cheque?
Interac e-Transfer: send to tollkeeperscottage@gmail.com and include your name and mailing address in the message so we can issue your tax receipt.
By mail: Community History Project, 207–580 Christie St., Toronto ON M6G 3E3.
More ways to help: volunteer with us · donate a pre-1860 artifact · lend a professional skill