LOVELY homes and nice people make up Markland Woods. Courtesy photos.
BY DAVE KOSONIC
The community of Markland Woods has a lot to be thankful for.
Developer Marc Cavotti had a vision in 1958 to create a unique residential area in Etobicoke that was to be carved out of 400 acres of land that was owned by the Silverthorn family since 1809.
THE AREA is known for its world-class golf course.
Now more than 60 years later this community named Markland Woods, or sometimes just Markland, continues to thrive and hundreds of the original Silverthorn forest trees are preserved and protected.
Cavotti overcame one development hurdle in a positive and productive manner in 1965. His land near Etobicoke Creek by the present- day Bloor Street was deemed a floodplain not safe for homes so he created the Markland Wood Golf Club as an alternative.
Markland is not a typical subdivision with many identical homes, instead most residences are unique in style because so many different builders were involved in home construction there.
And how prices have soared. My late father Edward purchased our Markland family home in 1962 on Toledo Road for $28,000 from two independent builders.
We maintained ownership on the home until about eight years ago when my father’s estate was settled.
Markland has a very strong sense of community spirit with residents working together for the better of all. Much of this can be attributed to the Markland
Homeowners Association formed in 1962. One of the association’s biggest battles involved the low-flying airliners travelling over Markland while approaching Pearson Airport by using the south-north runway.
They won that battle in two ways. A parallel south-north runway was built with an aircraft approach to the west of Markland. Secondly these two runways are only used when absolutely necessary for example due to wind conditions.
Markland is formed around the four- kilometer Markland Drive and divided down the middle by Mill Road.
Numerous well-known people lived in Markland Wood including the late Ron Lawless who resided on Thicket Road. He was the President and CEO of Canadian National Railways for many years.
The late Thomas Bolton who was at one time the President of the Dominion Stores grocery chain lived on Markland Drive.
And keeping the forest tradition alive many Markland roadways relate to trees, for instance, The Green Pines, Mountain Ash Court and Maple Gates Crescent.
By the way here is how the name Markland came to be. It refers to Mark Cavotti’s land or Markland.