Heritage Bytes

The City of Mississauga was incorporated on January 1st, 1974 with the amalgamation of the Towns of Port Credit, Streetsville and the Town of Mississauga. The first City of Mississauga election was held on October 1st, 1973 and the ceremonial inauguration of the newly formed City of Mississauga council took place on January 16th, 1974 at Glenforest Secondary School. This time on Sauga 50-for-50, t...

Join Historian Matthew Wilkinson as he interviews past and present civic leaders and longtime residents on their memories over the last 50 years of the City of Mississauga. This episode we welcome City of Mississauga Ward 9 Councillor Martin Reid.   To stay up to date with Mississauga's 50th Anniversary celebrations, follow Heritage Mississauga on social media @heritagemississauga and also follow...

Join Historian Matthew Wilkinson as he interviews past and present civic leaders and longtime residents on their memories over the last 50 years of the City of Mississauga. This episode we welcome Former Councilor Dave Cook.   To stay up to date with Mississauga's 50th Anniversary celebrations, follow Heritage Mississauga on social media @heritagemississauga and also follow #Sauga50for50 to stay u...

Join Historian Matthew Wilkinson as he explores the life and times of some of Mississauga's greatest legends. In this series, Matthew will provide a chronological account of these legends' lives, their achievements and how they helped shape Mississauga as we know it today. In Part 3, Matthew discusses Sidney Belford, Evelyn Kennedy, Colonel Harland Sanders, Kate Aitken, Grand Duchess Olga Romanov,...

Join Historian Matthew Wilkinson as he explores the life and times of some of Mississauga's greatest legends. In this series, Matthew will provide a chronological account of these legends' lives, their achievements and how they helped shape Mississauga as we know it today. In Part 2, Matthew discusses Henry Rutledge, Peter Jones, Dr. Beaumont Wilson Bowen Dixie, Sir Melville Parker, Emily Blower,...

Join Historian Matthew Wilkinson as he explores the life and times of some of Mississauga's greatest legends. In this series, Matthew will provide a chronological account of these legends' lives, their achievements and how they helped shape Mississauga as we know it today. In Part 1, Matthew discusses Reverend James Magrath, General Peter Adamson, Joseph and Jane Silverthorn, William Thompson, Sir...

Thousands of years ago glacial deposits of dense clay and sandy till mixed with the underlying shale to create an area near the modern intersection of Dundas Street and Mavis Road that would provide an economic boom in the early 20th century. This time on Sauga 50-for-50, explore the forgotten history of Cooksville's once-thriving Brickyard with historian Matthew Wilkinson.   To stay up to date wi...

If Mississauga could talk, what would it say about Confederation more than 150 years ago? This week on Sauga 50-for-50, we hear from Mississauga up close and personal. In order of appearance, narrators include: Jake Dheer, Matthew Wilkinson, Merri Ferguson, Nicole N. Hanson, and Robert Smol.    To stay up to date with Mississauga's 50th Anniversary celebrations, follow Heritage Mississauga on soci...

What makes a Sacred Fire? A Sacred Fire is sacred because it is used as an Anishinabe traditional wellness approach. A Sacred Fire is an important part of Anishinabe spirituality, communication with the spirit realm, and our ancestors. It is a sacred practice meant to make individuals feel open, grounded, and connected with people on Earth, and those that have moved on. As a member of the Mississa...

This time on Sauga 50-for-50, explore an Indigenous perspective on the importance of the Credit River with Carolyn King. Carolyn has been engaged by government, colleges and universities, businesses and community organizations to do cross-cultural training sessions and presentations to help people develop a better understanding of Indigenous and First Nations people in Canada. A recipient of the Q...

This week on Sauga 50-for-50, Historian Matthew Wilkinson and Traditional Knowledge and Land Use Coordinator for the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation Darin Wybenga, answer a question from about who Quenippenon Meadows Community Park, known simply as "Q Park" to residents, is named after. The story will take us back to one of the most tumultutious times in the history of Mississauga and for...

Join Historian Matthew Wilkinson as he explores Treaties 22 & 23 and the Racey Tract in Historic Mississauga. June marks National Indigenous History Month, and Heritage Mississauga would like to encourage Canadians to celebrate and learn more about the cultural identity and diversity of First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples.   To stay up to date with Mississauga's 50th Anniversary celebration...

This story tells the founding tale of Mississauga, rooted in the geological transformation of its landscape. Around 10,000 years ago, the region was covered by a massive glacier that eventually melted, forming the Credit River and reshaping the terrain. The melting glacier eroded rocks, and created fertile conditions for life to flourish. The river became home to various species of fish, including...

Join us for this week's podcast as we read from Heritage Mississauga's "The Lost Villages of Mississauga" publication on the village of Sheridan. The historic village of Sheridan grew around the intersection of Winston Churchill Boulevard and the Queen Elizabeth Way (formerly Middle Road). Originally known as Hammondsville, Sheridan was named after British playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan in 1...

On this week's episode of Sauga 50-for-50, we follow the 2nd Regiment of York Militia, also known as Thompson's Company, a group of living history enthusiasts who, through research and living history, recreate the lives of soldiers and civilians of historic Mississauga during the War of 1812. ​ Thompson’s Company functions, in part, as an educational component of Heritage Mississauga by participat...

On this week's episode of Sauga 50-for-50, we welcome Heritage Mississauga intern student Daston Babakan to speak about his research on early Chinese immigrants to historic Mississauga during the period of Chinese Exclusion in Canada (1923-1947). He traces local trends and stories discovered through his research to understand the day-to-day lives of these residents by examining their family, spiri...

On this week's episode of Sauga 50-for-50, we invite Orlinski Museum curator Robert Stanczyk onto the program as we celebrate Polish Heritage Month. We discuss key moments in Polish history and how Polish Canadians have impacted the City of Mississauga.    To stay up to date with Mississauga's 50th Anniversary celebrations, follow Heritage Mississauga on social media @heritagemississauga and also...

It has been said that Toronto was built on Dundas Shale. A careful look at the foundations of buildings erected in Toronto (and in Port Credit) prior to 1910 often reveals stone foundations. In an age before the ready availability of concrete, a constant supply of building stone was essential. Beginning in the 1840s and lasting until just after the First World War, the Lake Ontario waterfront betw...

On this week's episode of Sauga 50-for-50, we are pulling out from our vaults an interview with one of the most influential women in Mississauga during the 20th century. Bernice Inman-Emery was a well-known wildlife rescuer who operated the Winding Lane Bird Sanctuary on Mississauga Rd. for 25 years. Winding Lane became a destination for school trips, where students learned how to care for injured...

On this week's episode of Sauga 50-for-50, Dorothy Patchett Williams, former resident of Lorne Park, Mississauga, tells of the Lorne Park she grew up with in a reading from Journey to the Past: The Lost Villages of Mississauga by Heritage Mississauga.   To stay up to date with Mississauga's 50th Anniversary celebrations, follow Heritage Mississauga on social media @heritagemississauga and also fol...

On this week's episode of Sauga 50-for-50, Justine Lyn and Melissa Toste delve into the curious case of a ship-in-a-bottle. But this is no ordinary ship-in-a-bottle. A bottle from the vineyards of Cooksville, a ship named "Toronto", an enemy of the state, a brickyard, a humble Erindale General Store and a vivacious teacher all come together to make this one of the most fascinating... and strange.....

This week, we wanted to travel back in time and have a chat with a beloved former resident of Mississauga, Ben Madill. Ben Madill epitomized a lifetime of giving and is fondly remembered and well respected in Mississauga’s heritage community. He regaled generations with his stories and knowledge of the “old days” of Britannia, of farming, of life in a one-room schoolhouse in the midst of what is n...

This week on Sauga 50-for-50, we want to celebrate and commemorate the people and stories that make up the city of Mississauga. But why is this so important? Some of the greatest people we meet, just happen to be those we love the most. But there hasn’t always been a way to capture their legacy. Until now. Heritage Mississauga is giving you the opportunity, to record your story or the story of som...

This week on Sauga 50-for-50, Historian Matthew Wilkinson and Heritage Mississauga Executive Director Jayme Gaspar, with special guest Omar El Sharkawy, invite you down Dundas Street. As you go about your day, you may be unaware of the history that lies directly beneath your feet. This is a story of Dundas Street in Mississauga- one of the earliest surveyed routes of travel in the province of Onta...

This week’s episode of Ask A Historian features an interview with Lindsay Doren, Coordinator for Education and Engagement with the Museums of Mississauga as we explore an annual tradition here in the City of Mississauga – the Maple Magic Festival at Bradley Museum. Maple Magic runs on March 9-10 and March 16-17 from 12-4. For more information on the event, please visit: https://www.mississauga.ca/...