[memph]

SE Oakville is a neighbourhood in the Toronto suburb of Oakville.

During the neighbourhood's early European settlement history in the 19th century, it was primarily farm land, with several orchards, remnants of which can still be found n the few remaining pockets of agriculture along Winston Churchill Boulevard, and several of the old farmhouses were preserved during the period of suburbanization. During the early 20th century, most of the waterfront land was bought up for multi-acre estates.

Large scale suburbanization mainly began in the early 50s, and most of the neighbourhood was developed by the late 60s. The most common style of home built during this period was probably suburban ranch homes, although you also had some Cape Cod style homes, Colonial style homes, split levels, a bit of late Tudor Revival and other styles typical of the 50s-60s, as well as a small number of homes with unique modern designs. The last hold-outs of farmland were developed in the 1970s in the style typical of that decade.

Over the next few decades, little change occurred but this did allow mature trees to grow on the large lots.

Approximately 20 years ago however, as the Toronto real estate boom began to heat up, it began to be a highly desirable location for the construction of custom homes, thanks to its large lots that were (by Toronto standards) rather "underbuilt", proximity to Lake Ontario, high quality commuter rail service, mature tree canopy, charming historic downtown and good public schools.

As a result, approximately half (if not more) of the original housing stock has been torn down and rebuilt into custom homes for affluent suburbanites. Over the course of those 20 years, the architecture of the homes built spanned several architectural trends, so there's a decent bit of variety, between the remaining original homes and the new ones.