Modern Mississauga presents Wayback Wednesday - The history of Cantelon Crescent

Modern Mississauga and Heritage Mississauga have come together to present an ongoing series called “Way Back Wednesday’s."
We’ll share information about the history of Mississauga here and answer your questions.

Today’s topic is the history of Cantelon Crescent.

Many of the street names in the Miller’s Grove subdivision (near the modern intersection of Tenth Line and Britannia Road), carry name associations to families from the area’s past. Cantelon Crescent is named for the Cantelon family, who farmed in the area for several generations.

John Cantelon (1800-1887) was originally from County Tipperary, Ireland. He arrived in Canada about 1835, eventually settling along the Firth Line (what is now Erin Mills Parkway), which at the time was little more than wilderness. John and his wife Catherine had several children, including sons Samuel (1837-1925) and James (1840-1928) and William.

Sons Samuel and James both remained in the area. Samuel spent his whole life on the family farm, and “no man went with produce more often to Toronto”. He would travel through mud roads, and stay at the Peacock Inn in West Toronto.

John Cantelon helped with the construction of the Trinity Anglican Church in Streetsville in 1842 by drawing bricks from Henry Rutledege’s farm. Through marriage, the Cantelon family was connected to several other prominent early settling families, including the Cook(e), Mason, Rutledge, and Switzer families, amongst others, creating a very tight-knit rural farming community. One branch of the Cantelon family was very active in Trinity Anglican Church in Streetsville, while another branch were members of the Eden Methodist (later United) Church at historic Lisgar.