Joseph Sheard Parkette
This is the site of the homestead of Joseph and Sarah Sheard which they cleared from the forest, and where they raised their seven children. Joseph Sheard (1813-83) arrived in York (Toronto) in 1833, a penniless immigrant from Yorkshire and rose from carpenter to prominent politician and architect. As Foreman of Public Works, he refused at great personal risk, to build the gallows to hang Lount and Matthews, two of the leaders of the 1837 rebellion. Sheard, leading proponent of the August Civic Holiday (now Simcoe Day) served as an alderman for many terms and was Mayor of Toronto 1871-72. He helped design the first Parliament Buildings of Canada and erected many notable Toronto buildings including the former Cawthra Mansion, Bay and King Streets, considered to have been Toronto's finest house.
Plaque via Alan L. Brown's site Toronto Plaques. Full page here.