百年遗迹：多伦多米尔尼庄园沉睡

落寞的百年遗迹：多伦多米尔尼庄园等待命运

Tucked away in a secluded ravine just off Lawrence Avenue East in Toronto lies a 160-year-old decaying farmhouse, a relic of the city's industrial past. Known as Milne House, this abandoned building has stood vacant since 1992. Its boarded-up windows and rundown wooden frame are slowly deteriorating due to time and weather, leaving its future uncertain.

Located within the Charles Sauriol Conservation Area (part of the East Don Trail), Milne House is the last surviving remnant of Milneford Mills, a once-thriving 19th-century industrial village established by Scottish immigrant Alexander Milne. Built between 1860 and 1865 for Alexander's son, William, the home is an early example of Gothic Revival architecture in Ontario, featuring steep gabled roofs, symmetrical design, and once full-length porches on both sides.

At its peak, Milneford Mills comprised up to 16 buildings, including woolen mills, sawmills, workshops, barns, and homes. The village was the heart of the Milne family's operations, which began after Alexander Milne purchased the land from James Fitzgerald in 1830. Milne immigrated to Canada in 1817, originally settling in what is now Edward Gardens. When cultivating crops proved difficult there, he shifted his focus to the Don River Valley and eventually founded Milneford Mills around 1846. The mills continued to prosper for decades, even surviving a devastating flood in 1878 that wiped out much of the valley floor. Remarkably, Milne House survived the disaster.

Eventually, the surviving mills were dismantled between the 1940s and early 1950s to make way for a proposed development, leaving Milne House the sole survivor of the entire complex. Occupied until 1992, the home was subsequently acquired by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) to complete the surrounding conservation lands.

In 2006, the building was added to the City of Toronto's Heritage Register, although little has been done since to preserve or restore it. Despite being heavily weathered, the home still holds onto many of its original elements, although water damage, vandalism, and general exposure have faded much of what once made the structure charming.

If you're curious, you can still catch a glimpse of the home along the East Don Trail, although access to it has been blocked off by fencing. Nearby in Edward Gardens, a small Milne family graveyard still remains, and only Milne descendants are allowed to visit the site. The more visible Milne House, which once stood at the top of Edward Gardens, was a grander estate house also owned by the family. It was destroyed by fire in the 1960s.

The building served as the home to the offices of the Civic Garden Centre (now Toronto Botanical Garden) and the Ontario Federation of Naturalists. The destroyed structure was replaced by a teahouse erected on the old foundation, which serves as the meeting place of the Milne House Garden Club, a not-for-profit organization with members who share a love of floral design, horticulture, and environmental issues. Nearby, the older Milne House still stands, and whether it will ever be restored or reused remains a subject of ongoing debate.

阅读本文之前，你最好先了解...

在深入探讨多伦多米尔尼庄园的未来前，让我们先了解一些有关历史遗产保护和城市发展问题的背景知识：

• 历史遗迹价值: 古老建筑物不仅仅是砖石和木材的堆砌，它们蕴藏着城市的记忆、文化传承和社会变迁的信息。保护这些遗迹有助于我们理解自身的历史根源，并为后世留下宝贵的文化遗产。
• 发展与保育的平衡: 城市发展离不开土地利用和建筑改建，然而，过度开发可能会损害历史遗迹和环境景观。如何实现城市发展与历史文化遗产保护之间的平衡是一个持续存在的问题。
• 社区参与的重要性: 历史遗迹的命运往往与当地社区息息相关。社区成员的意见、建议和参与是制定保护计划的关键环节。

多伦多米尔尼庄园面临的选择:

• 修复与再利用: 经过翻新，这座百年老宅可以重新焕发活力，作为博物馆、文化中心或休闲场所使用，吸引游客并增加城市文化底蕴。
• 保留现状: 将建筑物维护现状，将其作为一个历史遗迹展示，让人们了解多伦多工业历史和早期建筑风格。
• 拆除重建: 如果修复成本过高，或者重建更符合当代城市规划需求，也可以考虑拆除重建，但应尽可能保留部分原有元素或进行其他方式的纪念。

最终的选择取决于多伦多市政府、TRCA以及社区成员之间的协商和决策，需要综合考虑经济效益、文化价值和环境影响等因素。

如果你有其它意见，请评论留言。