For those who have read the book, or watched the recent movie Twelve Years a Slave, the name Solomon Northup may be known to you. Solomon was free-born circa 1807 in Hebron, New York. Solomon and his wife, Anne Hampton, had three children: Elizabeth, Margaret and Alonzo. Solomon worked as a farmer and raftsman. After moving…
Stavebank Road is an old route of travel in our city. One of the earliest actually. The road is a Given Road – that is a route of transportation that does not conform to the survey. The route, in its original form, connected Port Credit to Dundas Street (Dundas was surveyed in 1796 and is…
Pattinson Crescent in the Clarkson area is named for Gordon Pattinson (1885-1973). The former Pattinson House, located at 972 Clarkson Road South, was built in 1915. Today the house serves as an office. Gordon built this house on property he had purchased from the Orr family. Gordon actively farmed his property, raising a variety of…
Have you seen the historic one-room historic schoolhouse that stands in the heart of the City of Mississauga? Have you ever wondered about its history? The late Benson (Ben) Madill (1915-2013) left behind a treasure trove of memories and recollections about life and time in historic Mississauga (particularly focused on the rural community of Britannia)…
Timothy Street, Streetsville’s namesake, was born in Spencertown, New York in 1777. In 1800 he married Abigail Smith, who was born in 1783 in Hillsdale, New York. The couple relocated to Canada in 1801. Timothy lived and worked in St. David’s, near Niagara, for over 20 years before coming to the Credit River area. They…
Staff Sergeant David Yakichuk Park is located in the Cooksville area, at 3111 Confederation Avenue, near the intersection of Confederation Avenue and Hillcrest Avenue. David Yakichuk was born in Canora, Saskatchewan in 1929, and eventually moved east in search of work. He worked on farms in the Oshawa area, for Massey Harris in Toronto working…
The is a park near John Fraser Secondary School on Erin Centre Boulevard that some simply refer to as Q Park. Its full name is Quennipenon Meadows. The parks features baseball diamonds, some sports fields, walking paths, a wooded ravine and creek, and a leash-free dog park area. But back to the name. The park…
There is a leash free dog park in Northwest Mississauga known affectionately as “Toto Park”. Totoredaca Park has a long and interesting story, and the leash free dog park is but the latest chapter of its story. Children’s day camps began in Toronto Township (Mississauga) in the 1950s, under the direction of former Recreation Director,…
Back in 1919 Henry Ardagh had a plan to develop a small residential community on the north side of Lakeshore Road and east of Dixie Road, near to the Etobicoke Creek. Ardagh had purchased 15 acres from the Duck family of Lakeview. Ardagh laid out roads and lots as part of his “Ardmore Plan”. The…
We made reference to Britannia Road in an earlier article – the road is named for the community it led to – but we did not talk about the community itself. Driving along the busy thoroughfares of Hurontario Street or Britannia Road today, people may not notice the “Welcome to Britannia” road signs. The historic…