Erindale is an historical neighbourhood located within the central part of the city of

Mississauga Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...

, west of

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada. Erindale is named in honour of the birthplace of the first rector of the village,

Reverend The Reverend (abbreviated as The Revd, The Rev'd or The Rev) is an honorific style (form of address), style given to certain (primarily Western Christian, Western) Christian clergy and Christian minister, ministers. There are sometimes differen ...

James Magrath from Erin (

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

). 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 l ...

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 whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

, known as

University of Toronto Mississauga The University of Toronto Mississauga (abbreviated as U of T Mississauga or UTM) is the second-largest division of the University of Toronto and one of its three campuses, located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. Established in 1967, the campus ...

, 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 sold their land. In the treaty of 1805 signed by Chief Quenippenon the tribe ceded . A second sale of 648,000 acres (2,620 km²) followed in 1818.

Settlers

The "Indian Trail" became a military road and was named

Dundas Street Dundas Street () is a major historic arterial road in Ontario, Canada. The road connects the city of Toronto with its western Greater Toronto Area, suburbs and several cities in southwestern Ontario. Three provincial highways—Ontario Highway 2 ...

after the British Secretary-at-War, Henry Dundas. The Credit Village developed along Dundas Street, settled mainly by people from the bustling Town of York (now

). 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 Loyalist (UEL; or simply Loyalist) is an honorific title which was first given by Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester, the 1st Lord Dorchester, the governor of Province of Quebec (1763–1791), Quebec and Governor General, governor ...

from the former

Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies were the British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America which broke away from the British Crown in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and joined to form the United States of America. The Thirteen C ...

to the south or from settlements in Atlantic Canada, especially

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

. By 1830 the Crown was selling the land in 100- to 200-acre (0.40–0.81 km²) 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 who arrived from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

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 electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...

Niagara Falls, Ontario Niagara Falls is a city in Ontario, Canada, adjacent to, and named after, Niagara Falls. As of the Canada 2021 Census, 2021 census, the city had a population of 94,415. The city is located on the Niagara Peninsula along the western bank of the ...

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 opened further north in neighbouring Erin Mills. It is now being redeveloped as mixed residential and retail area called Sherwood Village but will retain the mall as is.

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