Teiaiagon and the Aboriginal Occupation of Baby Point
Up on the nearby promontory of land is one of the best-known First Nations archaeological sites in the City of Toronto. Aboriginal peoples likely used this advantageous site for thousands of years, but between circa 1670 and 1688, a Five Nations Iroquois Seneca village was located here. Its inhabitants called it "Teiaiagon". An agricultural village of perhaps 1,000 people, it would have been surrounded by fields of corn, beans, and squash.
The Five Nations Iroquois established this and other communities along the north shore of Lake Ontario following their victory over the Huron-Wendat circa 1650. The strategic location of Teiaiagon remains obvious today. It was defended by the steep banks of the point, allowing its occupants to control the southern end of the Carrying Place trail, an important trade route linking Lake Ontario to the upper Great Lakes through Lake Simcoe.
We know of this village in part from Europeans who visited it. Father Louis Hennepin and 15 companions found refuge here in 1678 when their ship sought shelter from a storm. In 1680, the French explorer René-Robert Cavelier de La Salle recorded his stay at Teiaiagon while on his way north. The village was abandoned by the Seneca when they returned to their traditional homeland in what is now New York State. Later, the Mississaugas may have occupied the site as well.
The site of Teiaiagon was first investigated by archaeologists in the 1880s. Development of the area has consistently resulted in the discovery of artifacts and grave sites.
Plaque via Alan L. Brown's site Toronto Plaques. Full page here.