Thornton took a job as a waiter at Bencher’s Dining Room, in Osgoode Hall, home to the Law Society of Upper Canada. And while working among society’s most affluent, he saw opportunity. The well-to-do had private carriages, and that was quite an asset. There’s a reason this town was called “Muddy” York. Making matters worse, townsfolk routinely dumped their sewage into the filthy, unpaved streets. 

Remembering the horsedrawn carriages-for-hire back in Louisville – and noting the lack of a cab service here in Toronto – Thornton saved up his earnings. Just two years after his arrival, had commissioned a firm to design a cab that could carry passengers over the disgusting roadways.

His service was called “The City” – a red and yellow, four-seater with a taxi stand outside St. James Church. It was so successful that not only did he add more vehicles to the fleet, but other cab companies – commonly owned and operated by other Black residents – started to appear.

#BlackLivesMatter

THEME MUSIC

• Full Bloom, by Emily Klassen - http://cfccreates.com/alumni/2180

OTHER MUSIC

• A Celtic Tale, by Emily Klassen - http://cfccreates.com/alumni/2180
• Inca Spa, by Carlos Carty - www.nativerelax.com

LINKS

• I’ve Got a Home in Glory Land (Toronto Public Library): https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?Entt=RDM178251&R=178251
• Toronto Dreams Project: https://twitter.com/TODreamsProject/status/1274070044805390348
• Torontoist: https://torontoist.com/2016/02/now-and-then-thornton-and-lucie-blackburn/
• Global Television: https://globalnews.ca/news/6601355/thornton-lucie-blackburn-toronto/
• The Toronto Star: https://www.thestar.com/news/2007/02/11/escaped_slaves_helped_build_to.html
• CBC: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/taxi-history-1.3526912
• The Ward Museum: http://www.wardmuseum.ca/pathways/thorntonblackburn/