1755, Map of the Great Lakes
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This Jacques-Nicolas Bellin map of the Great Lakes appeared in the 1755 issue of the Homann Heirs Atlas Major. Bellin made use of the most advanced French cartographic intelligence available at the time, which he had access to as chief engineer of the cartographic section of the Ministére de la Marine, the depository for journals and maps from New France.
1788, Plan of Torento Harbour
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In 1788, Captain Gother Mann of the Royal Engineers, instructed by Lord Dorchester (Sir Guy Carleton, First Baron Dorchester) to conduct military surveys of the Great Lakes, prepared a survey and plan for “Torento Harbour.” The plan, dated at Quebec the 6th of December, 1788, covered a large area extending roughly from High Park to the Don Valley, and north of Eglinton Avenue. Mann’s layout for the area included a common area in the centre, residential lots around this area, and reserved government land along much of the shoreline. The ruins of Fort Rouillé can be seen on the survey.
Accompanying the plan was the report of Deputy Surveyor General John Collins, in which he advised that the shoreline was too shallow for wharves or quays to be practical, and that a prevalent west wind would make it difficult for ships to leave the harbour.
1793, Plan of York Harbour
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In 1788, Alexander Aitken (sometimes spelled Aitkin), a deputy surveyor, had prepared an initial survey of York Harbour on the instructions of the Governor-in-Chief, Lord Dorchester (Sir Guy Carleton, First Baron Dorchester). In 1793, he was asked by the Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, John Graves Simcoe, to prepare a new survey, which included the proposed location of a blockhouse to command the entrance of the harbour, as well as a battery and barracks for the Queen’s Rangers. The soundings for this survey were taken by Joseph Bouchette.
