The History of Mississauga's Steen Drive

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

Today’s topic is the history of Mississauga's Steen Drive.

Steen Drive is located near the crossing of Creditview Road and the 401, as part of a subdivision on the east side of Creditview Road tucked into a bend in the Credit River. Historically this area was part of the Steen family farm.

The Steen family came from County Donegal, near Londonderry, Ireland. William Steen (1774-1838) together with his wife, Rebecca Weylie (1774-1867), came to Canada in 1825 and settled on a farm along the Credit River, just to the east of Streetsville. William and Rebecca had 10 children. Their second child was Nathaniel Steen (1800-1867), and he purchased the farm here from his father in 1832. Nathaniel He was referred to as an industrious, energetic and successful farmer. Nathaniel and his wife Isabella (1800-1893) had had four children: Jane, William, Nathaniel Jr. and Ephraim. When Nathaniel Sr. passed away, his will left the farm to son Ephraim (1847-1893). Ephraim’s widow, Mary Ritchie, sold the farm to their son, Thomas Steen, in 1908, who in turn transferred the farm to his son, James, in 1956. The Steen family had owned this land from 1825 until 1965, when James sold the farm. The road name remembers this early settling family.