5 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Mississauga

Here are some random things about Mississauga that you probably didn't know 

Colonel Sanders (KFC) lived in MississaugaIn 1965, Sanders moved to Mississauga, Ontario to oversee his Canadian franchises and continue collecting franchise and appearance fees both in Canada and the U.S. Sanders bought and lived in a bungalow at Melton Drive in the Lakeview area of Mississauga from 1965 to 1980. The Colonel would often visit the KFC location at the bottom of Tomken and just sort of hang around.

TL Kennedy Secondary School Has Bomb Shelter

TL Kennedy was built right after the World War 2 in 1953. During that era it was mandatory for high school constructed in that time to have a bomb shelter which TLK rumoured to have had. The bomb shelter was told to be located in the basement by the office. This room was then became a rifle range in the late 50's and then an equipment and storage room for the defunded football team in the late 80’s.

There is an Elephant buried in Mississauga

There may be a forgotten story buried in a park in Mississauga. There is a simple note in a file that alludes to the remarkable story of Miles Park Farm, near Erindale. A.W. Miles, a Toronto undertaker, established a country home and private zoo in Mimico in 1912. In 1936, due to pressure from Mimico council, Miles sold his property and purchased over 200 acres in Toronto Township (northwest of the intersection of Fifth Line West and Dundas Street, just west of Erindale Village). By far the most popular tenant at the farm was Tootsie the elephant who originally came from Burma, and was very tame. Sadly, fire struck Miles Park Farm on Sunday, February 14, 1943 and 70 animals were lost, including Tootsie. But back to the note in the file: it recalls that Tootsie’s bones were buried on the property, and her "funeral" was attended by many saddened children from the area. Miles Park Farm remained in operation into the early 1950s. After it closed, the property was sold for development. Although we do not know where for certain, somewhere on the property the bones of Tootsie the elephant lie buried, possibly in modern Brookmede Park which is located on part of what was Miles Park Farm. Modern Dunwin Drive, as it leads north from Dundas Street, follows part of the former Miles Park Farm laneway.

Mississaugua Golf and Country Club spelled Mississauga wrong and kept itWhen the club was incorporated in 1906, its name was spelled “Mississauga” to reflect the Indian heritage associated with the property.  In 1913, the name was legally changed to “Mississaugua,” with a “u” inserted before the last letter, but for some unknown reason apart from one recorded instance, the original spelling continued.  In the late 1940s, the board resolved the apparent spelling conflict by directing that the 1913 spelling was correct.  

Mississauga is bigger than Vancouver, Detroit, Denver, Washington and BostonIt's common for cities to incorporate surrounding suburbs (much like Toronto does) to make their population sound bigger. The real population of a city is simple. It's the population of a city within its own borders. If that is the case, Mississauga (713,443) has a larger population than Vancouver (603, 502), Detroit (688,701), Denver (649.495), Washington (646,449) and Boston (645,966).