Streetsville, Mississauga
Streetsville is a neighbourhood located in the northwestern corner of the city of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, on the Credit River. Although Streetsville occupies the west and east banks of the river, the historic village area is located on its west bank.
A town prior to the 1974 amalgamations that formed the City of Mississauga, it seeks to keep a "small town" charm by retaining a variety of historical buildings and streetscapes. As part of this attempt to maintain a separate identity from the larger city, the names of two main Mississauga streets, as they pass through Streetsville, retain the names they had when Streetsville was an independent village: Mississauga Road and Bristol Road, which remain as Queen Street and Main Street respectively. Other main thoroughfares that pass through or near Streetsville include Britannia Road, Creditview Road, Eglinton Avenue, and Erin Mills Parkway.
History
Before 1800
The area surrounding the Credit River was populated by the Iroquois people up until the early 18th century, when it was taken by the Ojibwa. European settlers came to know them specifically as the Mississaugas, which eventually became the name of the area itself. By 1805, the Natives had either ceded or sold most of this land over to British governance.Settlement
The beginnings of Streetsville are interwoven with the history of its founder, Timothy Street. Street was born in 1778 in the American colonies to a British Loyalist family. At the age of 23, he moved with his family from New York to St. David's, a settlement on the Niagara River in Upper Canada.In 1818, the British made a second purchase of of land from the indigenous Mississauga peoples. Before it could be opened for settlement, the land had to be surveyed, and as was usual for the time, surveyors would receive a grant of land from the parcel that they surveyed as compensation for their work. Timothy Street, along with Richard Bristol, a qualified surveyor, applied for a contract to survey parts of the newly available land. As they did their work, Street quickly began to appreciate the immense potential for settlement along the Credit River, and made plans to erect both a saw and grist mill once his work was finished.
In April 1819, the surveyed land was opened for settlement, and the first settler in the area, James Glendinning, settled on a parcel of land along Mullet Creek. Timothy Street did build his saw and grist mills, using stones from Glendinning's land.
A large quarry of red clay lay on the west side of the village, encouraging the use of brick for construction.
In 1821, Streetsville's first general store, now known as Montreal House, was built, and still stands. Another landmark, Timothy Street's house, was built in 1825 and is one of the oldest brick houses in Peel Region.
In 1855, William Graydon and Peter Douglass built a large brick building, and sold it in 1859 to Bennet Franklin, a partner in Barber Brothers Toronto Woollen Mills. It became known as Franklin House. In 1910, under new ownership, the name was changed to the Queen's Hotel. Although it ceased to operate as a hotel when its public room was closed with the enforcement of the Canada Temperance Act, it continued to be used for commercial purposes. At present, it has been designated under the terms of the Ontario Heritage Act and protected by a heritage easement, and now houses a restaurant and a variety of small businesses and offices.
In 1858, Streetsville was incorporated as a village, with a population of 1500 people. The primary work was found in grist mills, sawmills and tanneries. Timothy Street's son, John, was the first reeve. For the next century, Streetsville largely existed as a long narrow village with all of its shops, three churches, the cenotaph and the library located on Queen Street, which ran between the Credit River and the railway track.
A century later, in 1951, the population of Streetsville had declined to 1,139 people. Then in 1953, two of the first suburbs in Canada, Vista Heights and Riverview, were built to the southwest and northeast respectively. Vista Heights was notable because the town council made the unprecedented decision to require the developer to build a K-6 elementary school. These suburbs and Vista Heights Public School opened in 1955, presaging the future rapid growth of middle-class suburbs in the area. Another suburban area that grew as a de facto expansion of Streetsville is River Grove, which is centred along Bristol Road east of the Credit River and extends to Creditview Road; although this area was developed in the late 1980's, well after Streetsville's amalgamation into Mississauga.
1962 incorporation and 1974 municipal reorganization
As families moved into the new suburbs, the town's population grew rapidly. By January 1962, Streetsville's population reached 5,000, and it was incorporated as a town. The first mayor was Frank Dowling.In 1968, the Town of Mississauga was created from Toronto Township absorbing the police village of Malton. Although Streetsville and Port Credit were excluded from this amalgamation, they were amalgamated in 1974 when Mississauga became a city.