Highest place in King Township is for sale

Photos by Barry Wallace

A 50-acre parcel of land at the north-east corner of Dufferin Street and the 18th Sideroad, two kilometres north of the hamlet of Snowball, is up for sale and if it is sold the buyer will become the owner of the highest piece of land in King Township, at 1,175 feet or 358 metres.   There is a communication tower already occupying a spot on the 50 acres and if one were to add the height of the tower (approximately 250 ft.) to the land elevation,  the total height is almost 1,400 feet or 427 metres.   There are spots immediately to the north and south of this high spot where the elevations are 1,150 feet (351 metres).   Broadly speaking, the two spots could be described as the second highest spots in King Township.

  

However, there are two other high spots in King Township: both of them also at the height of 1,150 ft. (351 metres).   They are pictured below.   Immediately below is the King City Lodge Nursing Home, located at the end of Fog Road, a short distance west of Keele Street, between the 16th and 17 Sideroads.   The nursing home property backs onto King's Centennial Park, well-known to mountain bikers and hikers who like to indulge their interests atop this section of the 'King Ridge', a.k.a. The Oak Ridges Moraine.
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 King City Lodge Nursing Home

A few kilometres further west is another spot on the 'King Ridge' where the elevation is also 1,150 ft.   It is on King's 6th Concession  (Weston Road) as it climbs over the ridge (the Moraine), north of the 16th Sideroad.   The property on the left side of Weston Road, near the top is Dragonfly Hill (see photo below). Just north of the Dragonfly Hill property is an adjoining property which also shares land at the same 1,150 ft. height.   As it happens, this property is also for sale.   It would appear there is no shortage of spots where one can reach for the top in King.   

As a point of clarification, the heights and locations of the properties mentioned above come from two topographical maps that I received as a gift from the indomitable, former King City baker, wrestler and Olympic ice-boater, Bob McLeod.   The first map shows the northern part of the township (Holland Marsh). The original map survey was done in 1926. It was then drawn and printed by the Army Survey Est. R.C.E.1928.   It was partially revised (aerial photography) in 1948-49.   A second edition was published in 1949 by the Department of National Defence - Army Survey Establishment.   It was a later version of one of those 65-year-old maps that Bob McLeod passed on to me back in the 1960s. The other map I received from Bob shows the lower portion of King Township. This map's survey was done in 1909 and was published by the Geographical Section, General Staff, Department of National Defence in 1914. It was reprinted in 1940 and it was one these later-version maps that King City's 'barefoot baker' also gave to me. It seems that my source material is somewhat dated and I suppose I should compare my old maps with the newest maps available, but until then, "sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof".

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace