Summary
Davenport Station was built on the north side of Davenport Road by the Ontario, Simcoe and Huron Railway in 1853 while construction of the railway was progressing northward from Toronto. It was originally the OS&H railway’s first stop after leaving Toronto northbound. Although no photographs of this station are known to exist, it would have been a rectangular structure with board-and-batten exterior walls and a pitched roof that was elongated above the platform for shelter. It was located adjacent to the small community of Carleton which was established several years earlier. The first train arrived at Davenport Station on May 16th, 1853, initially only going as far as Aurora until service was extended further north in subsequent years. The railway brought prosperity and growth to Carleton Village, which got a post office by 1858 and a population of 150 by 1865. After the OS&H Railway was reorganized as the Northern Railway of Canada in 1859, the station quickly became inadequate for the local population.
The Northern Railway replaced Davenport Station in 1866 with a smaller, albeit more architecturally interesting structure. The new station took many influences from Gothic architecture styles, which had become popular in England during the Gothic Revival movement of previous decades. By 1876 a total of six passenger trains stopped at Davenport Station per day. The Northern Railway of Canada merged with the Hamilton and North-Western Railway in 1879, forming the Northern and North Western Railway. Just under a decade later, the Northern and North Western Railway fell under the control of the Grand Trunk Railway in 1888. Over the course of the following two decades, the area around Davenport Station rapidly developed with new residents and industries. A 60-acre plot of land immediately southeast of the station became occupied by Canadian General Electric’s Canada Foundry in 1903. By 1913, service to Davenport Station had increased to fourteen trains per day. The Grand Trunk encountered financial difficulties through the early 20th century, culminating in its nationalization and subsequent absorption into the newly-formed Canadian National Railway in 1923.
At about the start of the Great Depression at the end of the 1920’s, Canadian National embarked on a project to raise its railway bed between Davenport Road and Rogers Road. As part of this work, Davenport Station was closed to passengers on January 10th, 1932 and demolished shortly thereafter. A new passenger station was opened a short distance to the north at St. Clair Avenue.
A circa 1860’s illustration of the second Davenport station just a few years after its construction. Note the structure on the left, possibly a water tower. Courtesy of the Toronto Public Library. 
A 1910 fire insurance map showing the location of Davenport station, around the center of the photograph. Below that is the Canada Foundry, owned by General Electric’s Canadian subsidiary Canadian General Electric (now GE Canada). Courtesy of Goad’s Atlas. 
A watchman’s tower and manually-controlled gates at Davenport Road in 1923. Courtesy of the City of Toronto Archives. 
Another shot of Davenport Station in 1923, seen from the north. Courtesy of the City of Toronto Archives. 
A closer northward view of Davenport Station on December 16th, 1931, a short time before its demolition. Courtesy of the City of Toronto Archives.
Condensed Station Info:
| Location: | Served By: | Current State: | Date Built: | Date Demolished: |
| North Side of Davenport Road | NRC (1853 – 1879) N&NW (1879 – 1888) GTR (1888 – 1923) CNR (1923 – 1932) | Demolished (Both) | 1853 (First) 1866 (Second) | 1866 (First) 1932 (Second) |