Show My City — Mississauga — Part 1
Parks and Open Spaces
We currently live in the City of Mississauga.
A little bit of background.
Mississauga traces its roots back to before European settlement — over 200 years ago.
The Town of Mississauga was created in 1968, and the City of Mississauga was incorporated in 1974 through the amalgamation of the Town of Mississauga and the villages of Port Credit and Streetsville, and portions of the townships of Toronto Gore and Trafalgar. Mississauga has grown to be Canada’s sixth largest city.
We moved here in 2003, escaping from the annoying policies of the neighbouring City of Toronto. Policies which left their public parks in an untended and disgraceful mess; public roads full of potholes and badly maintained; road side ditches weed-filled and unkempt; Winter snow maintenance and removal practically non-existent; House taxes high and rising.
We liked what we found in Mississauga. Many beautiful, nicely tended public parks. Roads in good repair. Roadside spaces neatly maintained. Winter snow maintenance and removal excellent. House taxes reasonable for the services received.
So we found our present home in Mississauga, sold our home in Toronto and moved, and have been here ever since.
Because of our dog, one of our priorities was easy access to public parks, and we have two large ones, Garnetwood Park and Fleetwood Park— both within 2 minutes walk from our home.
Burnhamthorpe Road, a busy road across from Garnetwood and Fleetwood parks which going west leads to Mississauga City Hall and going east, leads to the City of Toronto.
Garnetwood Park has lots of walking and biking trails, baseball diamonds, soccer fields and a leash free dog park.
Both Fleetwood and Garnetwood Parks are in a designated flood zone area which precludes any sort of building from happening. These flood plane areas were created in the wake of Hurricane Hazel in 1954. You can check out the story at this link.
Other beautiful public parks are within 10 to 15 minutes drive from our home. One big fave is the Riverwood Conservancy. This large park has a river running through it and endless beautiful trails.
Another beautiful park in southern Mississauga, is a nature preserve called the Rattray Marsh. Jealously guarded against development by local conservationists, it is home of hundreds of native plant species, and birds and animals.
Also in south Mississauga, there is a unique spot called the Rhododendron Gardens. This is a small park dedicated to the culture of Azealeas and Rhododendrons. It also has some very lovely flowering trees.
Much of the maintenance done to the Azealea and Rhododendrons in the Rhododendron Gardens is done by an enthusiastic group of volunteers.
There are parks and green spaces scattered all around Misissauga. Another lovely spot is called Lakeside Park. It has biking and walking trails, lots of great vantage points from which you can see the lake.
I could probably continue on endlessly on this topic, but I will leave it for today. I hope that you enjoyed sharing our green spaces.
Further notes on Mississaugas’ background. (Courtesy Heritage Mississauga)
In the early 1600s, French traders encountered Native peoples around the North Shore of Lake Huron called the Mississaugas. The Mississaugas were an Ojibwa band, and by the early 1700s had migrated south and settled in the area around the Etobicoke Creek, Credit River and Burlington Bay. “Mississauga” translates as meaning “River of the North of Many Mouths”.
The First Purchase
On August 2nd, 1805, near the mouth of the Credit River, representatives for the British Crown and the Native Mississaugas signed a treaty — Treaty 13A — which saw the surrender of a vast tract of land to the British Crown. Referred to as the “Mississauga Purchase” or the “First Purchase”, the Crown acquired over 74,000 acres of land excluding a 1 mile strip on each side of the Credit River from the waterfront to the base line (modern Eglinton Avenue), and this became known as the Credit Indian Reserve. This tract of land was surveyed in 1806, named Toronto Township, and opened for settlement. It is known as the “Old Survey”.
The Second Purchase & Other Treaties
Additional treaties were signed between the Mississaugas and the British Crown, which allowed the Crown to acquire title to more land. On October 28th, 1818, Treaty 19 — known as the “Second Purchase” — was signed, which surrendered over 600,000 acres of land — which included most of today’s Region of Peel. This vast area was surveyed and opened for settlement in 1819. Known as the “New Survey”, this area was divided into the townships of Toronto, Chinguacousy, Caledon, Albion and Toronto Gore. Two other treaties were also reached with the Mississaugas; on February 28th, 1820, treaties 22 and 23 were signed, which saw the surrender of much of the Credit Indian Reserve lands set aside in 1805. Collectively they are referred to as the “Credit Treaties”. The Mississaugas relocated out of this area in 1847 and settled on the New Credit Reserve near Brantford.
Settlement
Gradually settlers began to take up lots in throughout the old and new surveys, and over time small settlements became established. The settlements developed into the villages of Clarkson, Cooksville, Dixie, Erindale, Malton, Meadowvale Village, Port Credit and Streetsville. Over time, other communities blossomed, such as Lakeview and Lorne Park, while others disappeared entirely — the “lost villages”. These “lost” hamlets and villages include Barberton, Britannia, Burnhamthorpe, Derry West, Elmbank, Frogmore, Hanlan, Harris’ Corners, Hawkins’ Corners, Lisgar, McCurdy’s Corners, Mount Charles, Nunan’s Corners (Catholic Swamp), Palestine, Pucky’s Huddle, Richview, Sheridan, Snider’s Corners, Summerville and Whaley’s Corners.
Faith in Our Future
The Town of Mississauga was created in 1968, and the City of Mississauga was incorporated in 1974 through the amalgamation of the Town of Mississauga and the villages of Port Credit and Streetsville, and portions of the townships of Toronto Gore and Trafalgar. Mississauga has grown to be Canada’s sixth largest city.
Dear Friends and Followers of “Show Your City”, I can not resist tagging you another beautiful city by Louise. Hope you love it like me.
William J Spirdione, Tom Jacobson, Stuart Englander, Stuart Grant, Upasana Sharma, Gabriela Marie Milton, Dennett, Anne Bonfert, Ann James, Nicole Maharaj, Kristy Lynn, Rachele Alvarado, Dr. Fatima Imam, Rabia Akram, Fathiyah Zb, Katie Michaelson, Louise Peacock
REGARDS: The Editor ( Muhammad Nasrullah Khan)
