It was the estate of Mr. and Mrs. Fred T. James. In 1908, Fred James purchased the property from his wife's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Rumney, as well as the adjoining land from the Home Smith Company. This purchase totalled of hills, valleys, virgin forest, and bush meadow land on the west side of the Humber River in the area then part of
Etobicoke. The James family lived in a house situated on the top west corner of the estate at Edgehill Road. Preserved to this day, it is a two-story, red-gabled house built of Humber River stone. The building is now a community recreation centre operated by the City of Toronto Parks, Forestry, and Recreation Department. The horse stables were located below the house where the northwest stairs are now. Part of the original wall can still be seen. Various horseshoes, nails, and coins have been found in the flower beds. In the 1920s, the James family installed weeping tiles and water features. Various First Nations artifacts including spear points were found. These were examined in the early 2000s and dated to be 4,000 years old. The park was purchased by
Metro Toronto for in 1955 and subsequently operated by its Parks Department.
CBC Television shot scenes at James Gardens for the program "
This is the Law", with
Paul Soles. In 2013,
Rob Ford, the former mayor of Toronto, lived near the entrance of the park. He was unsuccessful in buying a segment from the
Toronto and Region Conservation Authority. An investigation by a
Toronto Star reporter led to a night-time confrontation by Ford with the reporter. It is said to have a gruesome story from the 1900s and haunted by the mother of Fred James. Many have different variations of the story but nothing definite. There is a safe in the basement of the house that the city has not been able to open, and it is said that blood has been detected with technology around the safe. ==References==