Crothers Woods

Crothers Woods is an area of the Don River valley in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is 52 hectares (128 acres) in size and consists of woodland, meadows, wetlands, and an assortment of past and present municipal uses. The wooded area has been designated as an Environmentally Significant Area (ESA) by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority. An ESA designation is useful in highlighting valuable natural areas but this does not affect planning uses. The area is currently zoned as undeveloped parkland. Crothers Woods was named after George W. Crothers who owned and operated an equipment dealership called Crothers Caterpillar which sold and serviced new and used heavy machinery for the construction and mining industries. The company stayed until 1979 when they relocated to Vaughan, Ontario (now as Toromont CAT). Murhal Developments bought the property and eventually sold it to Loblaws which built the store that currently occupies the site just off Millwood Road. While there are no clear boundaries, Crothers Woods is generally thought to include both sides of the valley that extends from Pottery Road and the Bayview Avenue extension in the south and west to the Leaside Bridge in the east. Further east, good quality forest exists on the north side of the valley for another 1.2 km to the western edge of E.T. Seton Park.