The History of Mississauga's St. Peter’s Anglican Church

St Peter's Anglican Church, Erindale, overlooking Dundas Street, c1940

St. Peter’s Anglican Church stands proudly atop a hill, overlooking the village of Erindale and the Credit River. The congregation of St. Peter’s is marking its 200th Anniversary in 2025. Steeped in history and in community, the congregation was first formed in 1825 when Colonel Peter Adamson opened his home, Thorne Lodge, for services.

Painting of St Peter's Church by Charlotte Schreiber, c1885

The first church, a small white clapboard building, was built on the hill overlooking the Credit River in 1827, and St. Peter’s Anglican Church was officially dedicated on September 28, 1828. On the land deed, dated August 30, 1828, the first trustees were Colonel Peter Adamson, Dr. Joseph Adamson, Alexander Proudfoot, William Thompson, Frederick Starr Jarvis and Henry Carpenter. Together with Reverend James Magrath and John Beverley Robinson, along with Thomas McCormick and Henry Christopher Howard, they are often referred to as the “founding fathers”. Many of them are remembered on local street names in the Erindale area.

The stately stone edifice that we see today was built through the efforts of some leading citizens in 1887, utilizing stone from the Credit River Valley. The building of a new church on the site of the original was spearheaded by Charlotte and Weymouth Schreiber, Alfred Adamson, Thomas Hammond and Thomas Barker, amongst many others. Stone was harvested from the banks to the north of the church from the Schreiber property (now part of the University of Toronto Mississauga campus). The spire was added in 1910, and the narthex in 1959.

Sketch of St Peter's Church by Charlotte Schreiber, c1885

As the City of Mississauga continuously encroaches on its banks, the Church itself, resplendent in its Victorian Gothic architecture, looks on as it has done for generations – a venerable religious, spiritual, social, cultural and architectural landmark in our city.

Within St. Peter’s Anglican Church today you can find the Thompson Adamson Bell Tower Museum, named in honour of founder Thompson “Tommy” Adamson, a beloved local history and author (and this authors late great uncle).

St Peter's Anglican Church Erindale Roll of Honour

Adjacent to the church are two cemeteries – the larger, older cemetery closest to the church is the Anglican Cemetery, while to the north is the Erindale Union (or Cosmopolitan) Cemetery. The oldest surviving stone is 1829, but there many unmarked burials. The gravestones offer a sort of roll call for local history, listing the names of the early settlers who helped to shape modern Mississauga. Among those buried here are Colonel Peter Adamson, Doctor Joseph Adamson, Captain James Harris of Benares, Reverend James Magrath, miller John McGill, brewer Samuel Conover, renowned ornithologist Roy Ivor, Samuel Wolfe, Doctor Beaumont Dixie, W.W. Evans (of Glen Erin Inn), Emerson Taylor, Weymouth Schreiber (husband of renowned artist Charlotte Schreiber), Henry Carpenter and his son-in-law Oliver Hammond, Duncan Turpel the blacksmith, and Rebellion of 1837 casualty George Armstrong, amongst so many more – all with stories to share.

St Peter's Anglican Church, Erindale, c1920

A visit to St. Peter’s would not be complete without touring the historic interior, with its stunning stained-glass windows – each with a story to tell and connecting to a local family. The plaque memorials inside the church also reflect on the wider community story of service and loss during the war years. These hallowed walls are home to countless stories and memories, many of which are captured in “175 Years of History, 1825-2000: St. Peter’s Anglican Church, Erindale” by Thompson “Tommy” Adamson (2000).

St. Peter’s is celebrating this milestone anniversary in a number of ways, including marking the anniversary of the inaugural service on November 18, 2025.

St Peter's Anglican Church, Erindale