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The Munshaw Homestead is of cultural heritage value or interest for its historical background and association with an early German-American pioneering family. and the agricultural development of the Langstaff community. Balsar and Katharine Munshaw were German-American immigrants from Pennsylvania who joined the Berczy group in the United States as they journeyed to Upper Canada. Balsar Munshaw received the Crown patent for Lot 35, Concession 1, Markham Township in 1802, after living on the land for eight years. The Munshaws arrived in the area in 1794, first living at Yonge Street and Elgin Mills Road. They are credited with being the first European settlers on Yonge Street in that area. Their stay at the first location was brief. By the fall of 1794, the Munshaws relocated to the place that would become known as Langstaff’s Corners, to be close to the family of Nicholas Miller, another Pennsylvania German. After initially living in a primitive round log dwelling, c.1809 they constructed a hewn log house. In the mid-1850s, William M. Munshaw, the grandson of Balsar and Katharine Munshaw, replaced the old house with a new dwelling of timber frame construction that still stands at 10 Ruggles Avenue. Balsar and Katharine Munshaw’s descendents farmed the homestead throughout the 19th century. Charles Munshaw, a great-grandson, sold the farm for a suburban subdivision called “Langstaff Gardens” in 1923. |