Erindale is an historical neighbourhood located within the central part of the city of
Mississauga, west of
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
, Canada. Erindale is named in honour of the birthplace of the first rector of the village,
Reverend James Magrath from
Erin
Erin is a Hiberno-English word for Ireland originating from the Irish word ''"Éirinn"''. "Éirinn" is the dative case of the Irish word for Ireland, "Éire", genitive "Éireann", the dative being used in prepositional phrases such as ''"go h ...
(
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
).
It runs along Dundas Street West. The centre of the old village is just to the east of the
Credit River
The Credit River is a river in southern Ontario, which flows from headwaters above the Niagara Escarpment near Orangeville and Caledon East to empty into Lake Ontario at Port Credit, Mississauga. It drains an area of approximately . The total le ...
valley. A large campus of the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...
, known as
University of Toronto Mississauga
The University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM), also known as U of T Mississauga, is one of the three campuses that make up the tri-campus system of the University of Toronto. Located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, the campus opened in 1967 as Eri ...
, is located on the west bank of the river.
Rivière du Credit
During the 17th and 18th centuries, French trappers named the river on which Erindale sits as "Rivière du Credit". Aboriginal peoples called it the "trusting river" because the guns, knives and kettles they obtained in exchange for their furs and woven baskets were often bought on credit.
As settlement progressed, the
Mississauga Indians
The Mississauga are a subtribe of the Anishinaabe-speaking First Nations peoples located in southern Ontario, Canada. They are closely related to the Ojibwe. The name "Mississauga" comes from the Anishinaabe word ''Misi-zaagiing'', meaning " hos ...
sold their land. In the treaty of 1805 signed by
Chief Quenippenon the tribe ceded . A second sale of 648,000 acres (2,620 km
2) followed in 1818.
Settlers
The "Indian Trail" became a military road and was named
Dundas Street after the
British Secretary-at-War,
Henry Dundas
Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, PC, FRSE (28 April 1742 – 28 May 1811), styled as Lord Melville from 1802, was the trusted lieutenant of British Prime Minister William Pitt and the most powerful politician in Scotland in the late 18t ...
. The Credit Village developed along Dundas Street, settled mainly by people from the bustling
Town of York
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
(now
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
). By 1809 there were 185 settlers in the area. Sawmills and grist mills were built, powered by water diverted from the river. Most of these settlers were
United Empire Loyalists
United Empire Loyalists (or simply Loyalists) is an honorific title which was first given by the 1st Lord Dorchester, the Governor of Quebec, and Governor General of The Canadas, to American Loyalists who resettled in British North America dur ...
from the former
Thirteen Colonies
The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Founded in the 17th and 18th cent ...
to the south or from settlements in Atlantic Canada, especially
New Brunswick
New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
.
By 1830 the Crown was selling the land in 100- to 200-acre (0.40–0.81 km
2) lots and streets were named after prominent people who settled there. Old Country immigrants began arriving, mingling with the United Empire Loyalists and New Brunswickers. There was also a large group of
Irish immigrants
The Irish diaspora ( ga, Diaspóra na nGael) refers to ethnic Irish people and their descendants who live outside the island of Ireland.
The phenomenon of migration from Ireland is recorded since the Early Middle Ages,Flechner and Meeder, The ...
who arrived from
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
.
Name
The Credit Village became Springbrook, then Springfield and finally Erindale. Plank roads were laid over the mud of spring and fall and Erindale became a main stopping place for stagecoaches travelling between Toronto and Hamilton.
Points of interest
Erindale Park
The ruins of an old hydro electric dam are situated just north of Dundas and a park is located by the river. Constructed from 1902 to 1910, Erindale Light and Power Company power dam flooded the area located near the entrance of Erindale Park at Dundas Street creating a man made 125 acres Lake Erindale. The power station operated from 1916 to 1923, but suffered for a setback after concrete cracked. Streetsville Public Utility Commission replaced the power company. The dam was made redundant by the opening of the
power station
A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid.
Many ...
in
Niagara Falls, Ontario
Niagara Falls is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is on the western bank of the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario, with a population of 88,071 at the 2016 census. It is part of the St. Catharines - Niagara Census M ...
in 1922 but continued to supply power to the local area. The power station dam was drained in 1941, with the dam was blown up and area used as landfill dump from 1961 to 1965. The last reminder of the power station, power house, was demolished in 1977 as the current park was being developed.
Sheridan Centre
Built in 1969, the 70 stores Sheridan Centre on Erin Mills Parkway, was the area's major mall for two decades until
Erin Mills Town Centre
Erin Mills Town Centre is a shopping mall located in Erin Mills, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, at the corner of Erin Mills Parkway and Eglinton Avenue West. It is the second largest mall in Mississauga, after Square One. The mall can be access ...
opened further north in neighbouring
Erin Mills
Erin Mills is a large suburban district in the city of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, approximately west of Downtown Toronto. Starting in the 1970s, Erin Mills was developed as a "new town" by the Cadillac Fairview Corporation on over of farmla ...
. It is now being redeveloped as mixed residential and retail area called Sherwood Village but will retain the mall as is.
See also
*
Erindale GO Station
Erindale GO Station is a GO Transit railway station on the Milton line in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 1320 Rathburn Road West, just east of the Credit River in the Creditview neighbourhood of Mississauga, west of ...
References
{{Coord, 43, 32, 40, N, 79, 39, 05, W, display=title, type:city_region:CA_source:GNS-enwiki
Neighbourhoods in Mississauga
1805 establishments in Upper Canada
Populated places on the Credit River