Did you know that Etobicoke North’s name echoes the Mississauga First Nation’s “wadoopikaang”? It means “place where the alders grow”. This land was theirs long before Europeans arrived.
Etobicoke North is a significant part of Toronto’s history. It’s where the Mississauga people lived for generations. The area’s rich agricultural past is interwoven with its Indigenous heritage. Think of the vast fields of wheat dairy livestock and fruit once covering this land. Market gardening thrived in areas like Humber Bay Sunnylea and Richview.
Picture this The year is 1795. Abraham Iredell surveys the land dividing Etobicoke’s 31000 acres into 100-acre farm lots. There were few European settlers. Sergeant Patrick Mealey receives the first land grant in 1797. His lot is where Royal York Road runs north from Lake Ontario. Early records show only 8 residents in 1799. Then 40 in 1804. Eighty-four in 1805. One hundred and forty in 1808.
Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe played a key role in Etobicoke’s early development. He built the King’s Sawmill in 1793 the first industrial building in the Toronto area. Simcoe also surveyed the first road through Etobicoke along Lake Ontario. Today it’s Lake Shore Boulevard. He intended to rename the Etobicoke River and the township “Smith” after Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Smith. His plan was rejected. The Mississauga name remained.
The War of 1812 had a profound impact on Etobicoke. About 250 people lived here then. At least fifty-five men served in the York Militia or the British army. Life was harsh. There were no churches schools villages post offices stores hotels or services. Only mills thrived along the Humber and Etobicoke Creek.
After the war Etobicoke grew slowly. By 1839 its population had grown to 1874. In 1850 there were 2900 residents. Half the land was cleared for farming. Within 30 years most of the forest disappeared. The land became farmland producing wheat dairy products livestock and fruit.
The post-World War II baby boom changed Etobicoke dramatically. The need for housing skyrocketed. In the first quarter of 1946 new building starts totaled $2000000. Farmland gave way to homes industries schools and stores. Etobicoke’s population exploded from 19000 in 1941 to 283000 in 1971.
Etobicoke North became part of Toronto in 1998. The name Etobicoke is no longer an official entity. Yet its spirit remains. The legacy of the Mississauga First Nation its agricultural past and its rapid growth during the 20th century shapes Etobicoke North to this day. It’s a story etched into the very land under our feet a blend of history nature and urban transformation.