Five Star Ranch

Years ago, I used to come to this ranch & go horseback riding on their trails alongside & within their western boundary neighbour, The Bronte Provincial Park. I knew it as the Five Star Ranch for as long as I could remember, but sometime in the last 5 years or so it had changed to the Oakville Equestrian Centre.

The property has been sold for a while & was in the process' of getting all the approvals of a 74 town-house development. It looks as though that's been all cleared as the Equestrian Centre moved out as of this past Sept 1st. Looks like the developers are not wasting anytime as they are already starting to demolish the L shaped barn.

Here is a little info on the historical ownership of this property. Isaac Smith, who was born in New Jersey was one of the many United Empire Loyalists that moved north into Canada & into the Grimsby area in 1787 following the American Revolution. Isaac Smith received the land titles to various lots in Trafalgar Township, Halton County, and in 1831 he transferred the title of one of these properties, Lot 34, Concession 1 South of Dundas Street, Trafalgar to his son John Dorland Smith.

John Dorland Smith married Margaret Walker in 1831, and they raised their family there. One of the sons was John Walker Smith, born in 1854, he married Keturah Victoria Inglehart (niece of William Cyrus Inglehart Location 5004) in 1881. John Walker Smith took over his parents farm in 1897. John & Keturah's son Arthur Albert Smith was born in 1882. He took over the family farm in 1918 & lived until 1970. I don't know who he had transferred the land to or when, but his death was in the same time frame as The Five Star Ranch.