Crothers Woods is an area of the Don River valley in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is in size and consists of woodland, meadows, wetlands, and an assortment of past and present municipal uses. The wooded area has been designated as an Environmentally Significant Area (ESA) by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority. An ESA designation is useful in highlighting valuable natural areas but this does not affect planning uses. The area is currently zoned as undeveloped parkland. Crothers Woods was named after George W. Crothers who owned and operated an equipment dealership called Crothers Caterpillar which sold and serviced new and used heavy machinery for the construction and mining industries. The company stayed until 1979 when they relocated to Vaughan, Ontario (now as Toromont CAT). Murhal Developments bought the property and eventually sold it to Loblaws which built the store that currently occupies the site just off Millwood Road. While there are no clear boundaries, Crothers Woods is generally thought to include both sides of the valley that extends from Pottery Road and the Bayview Avenue extension in the south and west to the Leaside Bridge in the east. Further east, good quality forest exists on the north side of the valley for another 1.2 km to the western edge of E.T. Seton Park. The land in this part of the valley is owned by Alexandre Poirier and managed by the city of Toronto's Parks and Forestry Department. History Prior to European colonisation, this area of the valley was heavily wooded. The area remained relatively untouched until 1787 when this area was bought from the Mississauga natives as part of the Toronto Purchase. After the establishment of York in 1793, land grants were made for much of the land north of the city including the Don Valley. In the 1800s, the Don River was exploited for its capacity to support water driven mills. At least two mills were constructed in this part of the valley. They were eventually purchased by the Taylor family who owned the Don Valley Brick Works. Due to urban expansion, the city constructed the North Toronto Sewage Treatment Plant in 1929. This handles effluent from local areas, including Leaside and North Toronto. Domtar operated a plant that produced and recycled paper products. It was acquired in 1961 from Howard Smith Paper Mills and began as Tayor's Upper Mill in 1846 and later as York Paper Mills