Mississauga Real Estate 

Mississauga History  

Formed in 1974, Mississauga is now recognized as Canada's 6th largest and fastest growing major city.  It is also recognized as being the safest city in Canada.  Mississauga is rich in the arts, cultural facilities, parks, entertainment, nightlife and excellent sport facilities. 

Archaeological evidence suggests that Native peoples had been attracted to the Credit River Valley over thousands of years. At the time of European contact in 1615, both Iroquoian and Algonquian- speaking peoples inhabited this area. By 1700, an Ojibwa (Anishnabe) group known as the Mississaugas had driven the Iroquois from the north shore of Lake Ontario. The name "Mississauga" is believed to mean "river of the north of many mouths," referring to a river in Northern Ontario which drained into Lake Huron. It was from this part of Ontario that the Mississaugas had traveled in the late 17th century.

Dixie:  One of the first settlers in Toronto Township was Philip Cody, who arrived in 1807. He built and operated an inn and tavern on the southeast corner of Dundas Street and Cawthra Road. Joseph and Jane Silverthorne, the first visitors to the inn, completed Cherry Hill, their second home in 1822. This house is now a restaurant and stands at its new location on Silvercreek Boulevard. The village that developed at Cawthra and Dundas was named after Dr. Beaumont Dixie, in 1865, in part, because he had donated money to the Union Chapel. The Union Chapel was built in 1816 on the northeast corner of Dundas Street and Cawthra Road. Settlers of all Protestant denominations - including Methodist, Anglican and Presbyterian - worshipped in this Chapel according to their own faith. The original building was made of logs but a stone church was built 1837 to replace it. Today, this stone church can be seen in its original location.

Clarkson: Clarkson was named after Warren Clarkson, who like other settlers such as Thomas Merigold and Lewis Bradley, arrived from New Brunswick shortly after the Silverthornes arrived in Dixie. They settled a portion of the Old Survey which became known as "Merigold's Point". Today, the Bradleys' home is part of the Bradley Museum. The Clarkson family operated the general store and post office for many years. The road to Warren Clarkson's house became known as Clarkson Road and the area was renamed Clarkson's Corners.

Cooksville: Cooksville was once known as "Harrisville" after Daniel Harris, who was one of the earliest settlers to the intersection of Hurontario and Dundas Street. The village was renamed in 1836 in honour of its leading entrepreneur, Jacob Cook.  Cook was a mail carrier for Toronto Township. By 1820, Cook was running stagecoaches as far as Kingston and Goderich for both mail and passengers. When the Great Western Railway began to build in Toronto Township, the people of Cooksville no longer needed to ride the stagecoaches to get to Toronto and Cooksville's economy suffered. In 1852, a fire destroyed most of the settlement's shops and houses but some were rebuilt. For over a century Cooksville was the centre for civic, industrial, commercial and educational interests. Mississauga's first municipal offices were located on Dundas St., just west of Hurontario Street, as was the Central Library, the offices for the public and separate school boards and various Federal and Provincial ministries.

Port Credit:  The Port Credit settlement grew slowly at first. The town plot was laid out in 1834; however, it was not until the government gave the Port Credit Harbour Company $11,500 to rebuild the harbour facilities and the settlement really began to expand. With these improvements, Port Credit was able to export lumber and grain. Within 15 years the town grew to a population of 250.  The first permanent structure to have been built in the village was the Government Inn. Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe had ordered construction of the Inn to serve as a way station for travellers. In 1855, a branch of the Great Western Railway opened through Port Credit. Because the railway increased the exportation business, the village continued to expand.  Later in the 19th century, Port Credit became known for its stone hooking trade. This trade, started around 1815, covered the area from Port Whitby to Port Nelson but approximately half of all the stone hooking schooners were owned by the Port Credit. These ships set on Lake Ontario to collect stone, mainly Dundas shale. Workers dragged large rakes along the bottom of the lake to gather stone and then lifted it into the ship. This stone was used to construct many buildings in Toronto, as well as in Port Credit and its surrounding communities.  Other industries such as the St. Lawrence Starch Works (1889-1989) and the Port Credit Brick Yard (1891-1927) provided employment for many local residents. Port Credit was incorporated as a village in 1914. By 1961, it had a population of 6'500 and was incorporated as a town.

Streetsville: Although there were many settlers in the area now known as Streetsville before Timothy Street and his family settled there in 1825, the village's growth was stimulated by the Street Family. As payment for completing the New Survey, the government gave Street 4,451.7 Hectares (11,000 acres) of land - the equivalent of 28,187 hockey rinks.

On this land, Street built his family home, a sawmill, a gristmill and a tannery. These businesses helped the settlement. By 1824, Streetsville already has two taverns, two stores, two shoemakers, a cabinet maker, a church and school house, as well as the original gristmill and sawmill. By 1851, a newspaper ,The Streetsville Review, and the Township's first highschool had been added. The Street Family house is believed to have the first brick building in the area. This house still stands today at 41 Mill Street.  In January 1962, Streetsville was incorporated as a town.

Meadowvale Village: Many different settlers moved through the area at Old Derry Road West and Second Line West. In 1819, the first settlers arrived. They were Irish settlers from New York led by John Beatty.  In 1831, Beatty sold his land to James Crawford who, like John Simpson, opened saw and carding mills in the village. Francis Silverthorn took over and expanded Crawford's mill Complex in 1844. In the same year, George Ball, a local blacksmith, built Meadowvale's first hotel. After Silverthorn fell into financial trouble, Gooderham and Worts took over his mills and prospered.  Meadowvale Village became Ontario's first Heritage Conservation District in 1980. Today, the Ball motel is used as apartments, the Silverthorn house is a private residence, Gooderham Estates mansion has been newly restored and the Mill ruins can still be seen.

Malton:  The northeast corner of Toronto Township was first settled in 1823 by Samuel Moore. During the 1840s Richard Halliday the local blacksmith and innkeeper arrived and named the settlement Malton, after his home in England. While most people are acquainted with Malton as the home of Pearson International Airport, few are aware of Malton's agricultural past and its historic role as a distribution hub for grain shipments during the 19th Century. The introduction of the Grand Trunk Railway in 1854, allowed better access to Toronto markets for local farmers. The village of Malton was subdivided in 1855 and became the county seat in 1859, if only for a year. Its economic prosperity in the late 1860s was short lived.  In 1937, Malton experienced a major shift from agricultural to an industrial economy when 13 farms were selected to become the location and airport, now known as the Pearson International Airport. The airport provided wartime prosperity during the 1940s and continued to be an integral part of the economy in the post-war years.  In 1958, Malton acquired an international reputation as a leader in aeronautical design and manufacturing. Malton became home of the famous "Avro Arrow", Canada's first supersonic aircraft, still believed to have been years ahead of its time. On February 20, 1959, Prime Minister John Deifenbaker terminated the project and the five completed Arrows were dismantled.  While Malton's product has changed, it remains a hub of commercial and industrial activity.

Erindale:   In May 1822, Thomas Racey, a land speculator, bought a block of land along the Credit River. He hoped to build mills and start a town, but did not have enough money. He sold part of his land to settlers who built a post office, saw mills and the Township's first Anglican church. The first name chosen for this settlement was Toronto. This name was never officially accepted and eventually the area became known as Springfield.  Before the Church was built, Colonel Peter Adamson opened his home twice a year, for the Bishop to perform services. But in 1825, Adamson and a group of entrepreneurs bought land to build a church. Adamson used his contacts to find Rev. James McGrath and bring him to the area as the minister of St. Peter's Anglican Church. McGrath held the first service in November 1827. The community was renamed Erindale in 1890 after McGrath's estate, which was named after his homeland, Ireland.

In 1887, a stone church was built to replace the original wooded building. St. Peter's still stands in Erindale, and has just celebrated its 170th anniversary of involvement in the community.

In the 1720s, the French established many trading posts around Lake Ontario, one of which was located near the mouth of the Credit River, so named from the custom of trading with the Mississaugas on credit. After a decline of French power in the region, the British continued to trade with the Natives. It did not take long for the introduction of European cultures, technology and diseases to prompt an end to the Mississauga's way of life.

The fertile agricultural land of the Credit River valley attracted settlers to the area which was to become Mississauga. Much as it does today, world politics and immigration created a demand for land. This prompted the European settlement of the "Home District" out of which "Toronto Township", and later Mississauga, was formed. In 1806, the British government purchased land in the "Mississauga Tract", an area extending from Burlington Bay to the Etobicoke Creek, from the Mississaugas. In this "First Purchase", the Mississaugas retained some fishing rights and one mile of land on either side of the Credit River.

In 1806, Samuel Wilmot completed the survey of the southern half of Toronto Township, and the area opened up for settlement. Many of Mississauga's earliest settlers were United Empire Loyalists, so called because they received land grants for their loyalty to the British during the American Revolution. Regardless of background, the early settlers shared the challenge of creating communities amid daunting conditions. With the "Second Purchase", on February 28, 1820, the Mississaugas ceded the remainder of their land. This area, referred to as Block D, excluded a 200-acre reserve on the northeast bank of the Credit River, about 1/4 mile north of Port Credit. The proceeds of any sale or surrender of lands in this Block were intended to go toward the provision of some buildings and some religious and educational instruction. Until this time, the Mississaugas had been a hunting and gathering people. By the 1820s, they had adopted a more settled, agricultural lifestyle. In 1826, after petitions from Rev. Peter Jones to government officials, the Mississaugas began building a village which was called the "Credit Mission." It is not clear why this village was located on the south bank of the River, rather than on the north, the location of the reserve they had retained. Numbering only about 260 by this time, the Mississaugas petitioned frequently, between 1833 and 1847, for rights to land in Block D. In 1847, the Mississaugas relocated to a reserve in the Grand River Valley near present-day Hagersville. An historic plaque outside the gates of the Mississauga Golf Club is the only visible reminder of the Mississaugas' settlement.

By 1820, the New Survey had been completed and the northern part of Toronto Township was now fully open to new immigrants fleeing a variety of circumstances such as war, famine, overpopulation, and economic depression, to seek opportunities in Upper Canada, as Ontario was then known.