Richard Storer & the history of Rivalda Farms
BY TIM LAMBRINOSIn the 1940’s, Richard Storer and Hilda Christensen purchased the 100 acre apple farm owned by the Orr family in Emery Village. Storer’s purchase included Orr’s original pioneer farmhouse built in 1882. The farmhouse was located almost to the spot of present day 82 Windhill Crescent in Humbermede. The limits of the entire 100 acre farm make up the majority of the overall present day Daystrom community. Richard and Hilda merged their given names to memorialize their new contemporary farm and named it Rivalda Farms.
Within a few short years, the wheels of progress began turning in our rural community in the Township of North York. By 1958, developer Camillo Milani had already secured land and built new homes for the greater part of the community in Humbermede and Daystrom. The building of these homes happened after Milani completed construction for the largest industrial complex our country had ever seen – began in 1955. Daystrom Drive Public School was built and officially opened their doors in 1959. At the time, Richard Storer’s Rivalda Farms was still operating in the vicinity and was located along present day Storer Drive. For the first three years of the new school’s operation, young students from Daystrom regularly took organized field visits to Storer’s farm until he sold all his remaining property to Milani.
In 1961, Milani had finally managed to purchase the Storer farm and he quickly built new single homes along Goldpine Crescent, Storer Drive, re-named Unser Gate and extended Windhill Crescent. These new homes were built directly on the land of Richard Storer’s previous apple orchards. Builders at the time ensured that one mature apple tree remained on each property, an interesting feature not commonly practiced by builders today.
Richard Storer is also credited for operating the first modern industrial business in Emery Village and he assisted in the construction of Emery Village’s earliest transformed industrial street. Storer’s original factory was located at the corner of present day Goldpine Crescent and Windhill Crescent and was named Consolidated Advertising. The factory produced large scale dairy farm posters for milk and ice cream and had a staff of twelve persons in the 1940s and early 1950s.
One of the business’ job advertisements used for recruiting workers at the factory proclaimed, “If you like fresh air, clean farm living and cows, please contact us.”
Unfortunately the factory was razed by fire in 1954. Storer then purchased another 100 acre farm for $12,000 on the east side of Weston Road that makes up the present day subdivision containing Habitant Drive and Rivalda Road. He had planned to relocate and build a new factory there. In 1955, Storer ended up selling this land to Milani in conjunction with Sheppard Main Developments for a sum of $83,421.50. However in 1956, Richard Storer did finish building a new factory and re-opened the identical commercial business on a brand new industrial street fittingly named Rivalda Road. Consolidated Advertising was back in business and was now operating in a very modern looking building too. The new factory was situated at the very north end of a newly built industrial street (Rivalda Road) that travelled north of Sheppard. The structure of Storer’s succeeding Consolidated Advertising Building still stands today on Rivalda Road.
The building is now owned by the city but its continuing existence serves as a tribute to Richard Storer and Emery Village’s rich heritage towards business and the history of industry in our community. The land that occupies Storer’s original factory parcel on Goldpine Crescent has been the residence and cherished home to Mr. and Mrs. Brunetta since 1975.
Today, the value of Storer’s original 100 acre farm purchased during WWII for a sum of $28,000 is worth in excess of $250 million.