Toronto Township, Ontario

Toronto Township is a former municipality now mostly part of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada,[1] with its northern extremity now a part of Brampton.[2] It is directly west of but not part of the city of Toronto, and its land area makes up the majority of present-day Mississauga.

History

Toronto Township was formed as a locally unincorporated part of York County, Upper Canada on August 2, 1805 (1805-08-02) when officials from York (what is now the City of Toronto) purchased 84,000 acres (340 km2) of land from the Mississaugas (First Nations people) for 1,000 Pounds. After the land was surveyed, much of it was given by the Crown in the form of land grants to Loyalists. More than a dozen small communities grew in this area, most of which were located near natural resources, waterways for industry and fishing, and routes leading into York. The township became part of Peel County in 1851.[3] In 1873, in light of the continued growth seen in this area, Toronto Township was incorporated as a rural municipality and a council was created to oversee the affairs of the various villages that were unincorporated at that time. The council's responsibilities included road maintenance, the establishment of a police force, and mail delivery service.

Toronto Township was a municipality until 1967, when the town's citizens and politicians voted to change the town's name to Mississauga over Sheridan.[4] Mississauga became a city seven years later in 1974,[5] and ceded its northernmost area (and thus lands formerly part of the township) to Brampton.[2]

See also

References
  1. "Toronto". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 2012-06-11.
  2. "Brampton's historic Churchville village turns 200". Pam Douglas. Brampton Guardian. July 28, 2015. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  3. "Map of the County of Peel". 1880 Map of Ontario Counties - The Canadian County Atlas Digital Project. McGill University. Retrieved 2012-06-11.
  4. "When Mississauga Was "Toronto"". Retrieved 2018-05-20.
  5. Rayburn, Alan (2001). Naming Canada: Stories about Canadian Place Names. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 9780802082930.

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