Mississauga's Harold Shipp and a Remarkable Legacy

Over the decades, many people have left their individual mark on Mississauga and have helped to shape both our physical geography and our social landscape. We can look at some of those who charted the early evolution of what would become a city: Macklin Hancock, Iggy Kaneff, Peter Langer, Bruce McLaughlin, and many more. Harold Shipp, following his father Gordon Shipp, left a legacy behind that transcended development and helped to shape our city for generations of residents. Harold Shipp (1926-2014) was born on January 21, 1926 – 100 years ago today.

Under the guidance of Harold’s father Gordon, the company purchased 23 acres in what is now Mississauga in 1951. Beginning in 1952, the G.S. Shipp & Son built along the QEW around Dixie Road in what the company called Applewood Acres.  Following Applewood Acres, the Shipp family expanded their holdings north of the QEW, and construction on Applewood Heights began in 1959, and on Applewood Hills in 1964. Rooted here in Mississauga, the company grew and developed beyond the borders of our city over the years. The early Applewood development truly changed the development course of what would become Mississauga. Former Mississauga Mayor, the late Ron Searle, remarked “it was the Shipp family who bridged the gap between Toronto Township and today’s bustling City of Mississauga when they started developing Applewood Acres.

Harold Shipp - City Centre Development Model.

Synonymous with all things dubbed “Applewood”, the Shipp developments were initially named “Applewood” because large portions of the area had been previously used as apple orchards. Some of the farm properties that were part of the Applewood Heights and Hills developments were family farms belonging to the Allison, Copeland, Currie, Doherty, Kennedy, McKinney, Moore and Watson families, amongst others. Street names in the Applewood Acres subdivision also connected to the apple theme, including Macintosh, Tolman, Snow, Russet, Melba, Greening, Harvest, Courtland, Wealthy, Primate and Melton.

Harold Shipp, 1996.

Gordon Shipp founded the family-owned company in 1923, and Harold Shipp assumed the leadership of the Shipp Corporation in 1968. The name “Shipp Built” has always been synonymous with the highest levels of trust, integrity and quality since 1923. Harold also left a remarkable legacy of generosity, philanthropy, and community building. From an article entitled “Shipp Shape” from the Mississauga Business Report Magazine (1990) by Jim Robinson, “the walls of Shipp’s office bear witness to another important value of putting back into the community more than you get out. Countless plaques testify to his years of involvement in local charities.” Harold also served as a director and campaign chairman for the Queensway General Hospital in Etobicoke and as a chairman for the Mississauga Hospital Foundation. Harold remarked “I honestly believe that we are not just a builder in the community, but we have to be a builder of the community … I don’t think its how many square feet you’ve got in your portfolio that is a mark of a builder, it’s how it’s built. It’s not the bricks and the mortar, but it’s about the reputation you leave behind.” The Shipp family, thanks in large part to the legacy left behind by Harold Shipp, are a part of Mississauga’s DNA and have left, and continue to leave, a remarkable legacy.

Harold Shipp was inducted into Mississauga’s Legends Row in 2014. You can read more about the Shipp family and the development of Applewood in “Apple Blossoms and Satellite Dishes” by Dave Cook.