The lady behind the Bennington name

Evelyn Maude Bennington
Barbara, Peter and Evelyn Bennington

In the good old days in Bennington Heights

Bennington Heights was named after Evelyn Maude Bennington, a Queen’s University honours graduate in English, a teacher and finally president of the Home and School Association of Canada.

But that’s not why the idyllic settlement on the outskirts of old Toronto was named after her.

It was because she married Thomas M. Weatherhead.

In notes that Weatherhead wrote about the early days of Bennington Heights he told what happened:

“My law firm has been solicitors for the school board…

“It was therefore quite natural when in December, 1925, when I saw notices posted on telephone poles that a school meeting would be held at 434 Heath Street East which was then a small three room cottage, and that new trustees would be elected for our school section Number 10, East York, that I would arrange to attend.

“In those days our school district was governed by three trustees. My wife and I attended the meeting. As I recall it, there were five people present, and I was asked to be the new trustee. I accepted.

“Our school district took in Governor’s Manor and the land lying south of Moore Avenue from the Belt-line to the C.P.R. There were about 8 houses north of the C.P.R. and about 30 houses in Governor’s Manor.

“As there was a Rosemount in the city, I had the council change
the name of our street to Bennington Heights Drive in honour of my wife.”