TREthewey MOdel Farms

Tremof (pronounced tree-moff) was a tiny point on the CPR MacTier Subdivison at Mile 3.0 near Dennison Avenue which is a westward extension of Trethewey Drive (pronounced trah-thew-ee). It got this name from the Trethewey Model Farms a once extensive property located between Jane Street and Black Creek, the GTR and CPR mainlines and Eagle Street (Lawrence Avenue) in Weston. It was a 600 acre site in Mount Dennis assembled from three farms by William G. Trethewey (1865-1926) a mining engineer who discovered silver in the Cobalt area in 1904. The model farm was meant to demonstrate the best farming methods and included a canning factory.

It was here that history was made when on July 13, 1910 an air show was held here on the newly-created Trethewey Air Field (later, de Lesseps Field) when for the first time aircraft flew around Toronto. The Wright Company's biplane was flown but, the star was French air ace Count Jacques de Lesseps who flew a Bleriot plane at 70 mph! He was the son of Ferdinand de Lesseps the French engineer who built the Suez Canal. He became the second person to fly across the English Channel. During his Toronto visit he met and later married Grace Mackenzie, daughter of Sir William Mackenzie, owner of the Toronto Street Railway and partner of Mackenzie and Mann of Canadian Northern fame. Decorated by France during the Great War he returned to Toronto to live wiht his family in Rosedale. He was killed in 1927 doing aerial photography for the Dominion of Canada in the Gaspe region.

Following the death of William Trethewey, his son Fred sold the property in 1928 to de Havilland Aircraft Company of England where de Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited built the Moth aircraft; and to Skyways Ltd. airline. Shortly afterwards de Havilland moved to Downsview.

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