Freeman Real Estate is happy to once again host one of its most popular community events, an Historic Walk of Seaton Village led by local historian and retired school teacher Marilyn Spearin.

The walk begins at 1 p.m. on September 28. Participants are asked to meet outside of Freeman Real Estate at 988 Bathurst St. just before that time. It runs about 1 ½ to two hours and explores the area between Bloor Street West to Dupont and Christie Street to Bathurst.

The tour will focus on the neighbourhood’s settlement period, which took place between the 1860s and 1920, and Marilyn will point out important buildings and homes and give the history of street names and other visual clues that tell the tale of the area’s past.

New to this year’s tour will be historical accounts of the names of various lanes. The naming of Seaton Village lanes is a fairly recent occurrence that was set in motion thanks to the Seaton Village Residents’ Association, which also worked at selecting those people and institutions worthy of merit.

Participants can expect to learn about Deborah Brown for whom a lane to the east of Markham Street has been named. Also known as Mammy Brown, Deborah was likely the first black resident of Seaton Village as a runaway slave from Maryland. In the 1860s the population of blacks in the neighbourhood was relatively large with about 50 people, many of whom had been born in the U.S. and escaped slavery by seeking refuge in Canada.

Another lane, the Mission House Lane is named after the Anglican Sisters of St. John the Divine. They ran a mission that provided basic food, clothing and medical aid for the indigent from 1890 to 1912.

On a personal note, we, Dan and Elden Freeman, are proud of the lane named in honour of our grandfather, Max Hartstone, who with our grandmother Sarah Hartstone, opened Steven’s Milk in 1958 on the corner of Bathurst and Olive. Max and his oldest son Marvin ran the store until Max’s death in 1982. The store was closed in 1998 when Marvin suffered a major heart attack. Today, the store is owned and operated by Helen and Steve Moon as Steven’s Groceries. But our family enjoyed a good run there for 40 years.

Marilyn is a member of the Community History Project, a non-profit citizens’ group of people interested in local history. The group runs the Tollkeeper’s Cottage, a museum at Davenport and Bathurst. Marilyn also edited a 40-plus-page booklet detailing the area’s history that is sold at the museum for $15.

In case of rain, the walk will take place at the same time on the following Sunday, October 5.