Playter Estates

The Playter Estates is an area in the east end of Toronto, Canada bounded by Jackman Avenue in the east, Broadview Avenue in the west, Danforth Avenue in the south, and Fulton Avenue in the north. The neighbourhood is built on land once owned by the Playter family for whom two streets in the area are named. The old farmhouse of the Playter household at 28 Playter Crescent is now the Playter Mansion, which is often used for various films, television shows, and commercials.

The neighbourhood is historically Greek, but is increasingly popular among artists and business professionals. The advent of Taste of the Danforth, a weekend long celebration of Danforth Avenue cuisine and culture, has made the area far more popular in recent years.

Although the increasing home prices in the community cater to the upper-middle class, the neighbourhood still tends to lean to the left of the political spectrum, mainly supporting New Democratic Party candidates in provincial and federal elections.

Playter Family

George Henry Playter was born around 1736 in Surrey and died around 1820-1822 in what is now Toronto.He emigrated from England to Pennsylvania, where he married Elizabeth Welding. During the American Revolution,he seized military documents for the British and was granted a commission as a Loyalist captain. He moved with his family first to Nova Scotia, then Kingston in 1783, then finally to Toronto in 1793, where Lieutenant Governor Simcoe, to whom he may have been related by marriage, granted him 2000 acres (8 km²) of land in York Township. He built a house, Drumsnab, on what is now Drumsnab Road near Castle Frank.

According to his son Ely's diary, George was captured at Drumsnab in 1813 by American troops looking for munitions, provincial archives and militia officers, but was quickly released. George had at least three daughters (Elizabeth, Sarah, Mary) and five sons (John, James, Ely, Watson and George), and is remembered today mainly as the progenitor of the family that gave its name to the Playter Estates neighbourhood.

Ely was an MPP. His son John married Sarah Ellerbeck, for whom Ellerbeck Street is named. John's grandson John Lea Playter built the farmhouse at 28 Playter Crescent, the lands surrounding which were subdivided by 1912 to form the Playter Estates. Jackman Avenue is named for John Lea Playter's wife Mary Jackman. George Playter Jr. ran the first stage coach line between Newmarket and York along Yonge Street.