Erindale, Ontario

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Erindale is a historical village located within the city of Mississauga, west of Toronto.

It runs along Dundas Street West, the centre of the old village is just to the east of the Credit River valley. A large campus of the University of Toronto, known as the University of Toronto at Mississauga is located on the west bank of the river.

[edit] History

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 70,784 acres. A second sale of 648,000 acres (2,620 km²) followed in 1818.

The "Indian Trail" became a military road and was named Dundas Street 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 Toronto.) 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 from the former Thirteen Colonies to the south or from settlements in Atlantic Canada, especially New Brunswick.

By 1830 the Crown was selling the land in 100 to 200-acre 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.

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.

The ruins of an old hydro electric dam are situated just north of Dundas and a park is located by the river.