Taylor's Orchard and Isabella Avenue road signs in Mississauga.

Sometimes inspirations for articles come unexpectedly. In previous articles in this series we have explored the name inspirations behind Harborn Road and, more recently, Gordon Woods, Gordon Drive, and the family story of Lt. Andrew Robertson Gordon. A recent drive (and road closure) along The Queensway had me divert my route of travel to Gordon Drive, and subsequently to Isabella Avenue. I paused at the intersection of Isabella Avenue and Parker Drive and recounted what I knew of the history of the Parker-Gordon families and the development of the Gordon Woods subdivision beginning in the 1920s. As mentioned, the origins of the road names for Harborn, Gordon and Parker are known, but who was Isabella?

I mistakenly thought that the name inspiration must come from within the Parker and Gordon family, so I explored those as much as possible, including connecting with a family historian (thank you, Bruce!). But it turned out to be a bit of red herring.

Looking westward on Isabella Avenue from Gordon Drive in mississauga.

But let’s set the stage first … the area of Gordon Woods is comprised historically of parts of Lots 1 and 2, Range 3 of the Credit Indian Reserve. The NE part of Lot 1 was granted by The Crown to Albert Parker in 1859, and the SW part of Lot 1 was granted to Lady Mary Jane Hector (widow of Sir Henry Parker, 1822-1877, who was the elder brother of Albert and Melville Parker) in 1878. Lot 2 was granted to Sir Melville Parker in 1893. The NE part of Lot 1 was purchased by Lt. Andrew Robertson Gordon in 1872, and the SW part of Lot 1 was sold to Sir Melville Parker in 1893. Sir Melville’s properties passed to May Elizabeth Parker following her father’s death in 1903. May Parker was Sir Melville’s only child, and she was married to Lt. Gordon, thus uniting Lots 1 and 2, consisting of some 180 acres combined. A portion of Lot 1 was sold to William Moody, and on May 1, 1920, Arthur Lindsay Gordon (1875-1959), as executor of his widowed mother’s estate (May Elizabeth Gordon, nee Parker, 1848-1913), registered subdivision Plan E-20 in 1920. The plan established three roads – namely Harburn Road (renamed Harborn in 1922), Gordon Drive and Parker Drive.

Mississauga’s Isabella Avenue and Parker Drive road signs.

In 1922, Part of Lot 1 was sold to William Rein Wadsworth (1871-1929), a famed cricket player, who registered subdivision Plan C-24 in 1924, establishing Grange Drive, which ran north from Harborn Road. Another early name found in the Gordon Woods area is that of Symes Creek, named after Leonora and Fred Syme who purchased property here in 1922, and their sons, Bruce and Paul Syme. But there was still no Isabella Avenue yet.

In 1929, George Carter May Sr. and his wife Ada (nee Clegg) acquired part of Lot 8 in Gordon’s Plan E-20 subdivision. George Sr. was listed as both a clothing merchant and farmer by profession. George and Ada had at least three children: George Jr., John (“Jack”) and Isabel. By 1931 the May household also included housekeeper Hannah Ward, farm hand and gardener William Taylor, and “house helper” Emily Towns. In 1930 the Wadsworth lands in Plan C-24 were acquired by Ada May.

In 1937 Ada May subdivided their property in lot 8 and conveyed a right-of-way to Toronto Township for purpose of opening a roadway “to be known as Isabel Avenue”. The road was/is a relatively short street, connecting Gordon Drive on the east and Parker Drive on the west. Isabel Avenue, as it was called in 1937, was named for George and Ada’s daughter, Isabel Ada May (1923-2005). In 1943, Isabel, then working as a stenographer, married manufacturing engineer Russell Richard Gould (1918-2008) of Uxbridge. In 1945, Isabel was granted a lot on Grange Drive by her mother.

Mississauga’s Isabella Avenue and Gordon Drive road signs.

Another street that links to Isabella Avenue today is Taylor’s Orchard. The small subdivision was registered in 1976, and the street name was registered in 1977. The street is named for the small farm and orchard that we operated here by Lillian and Robert Taylor, and their children, Gertrude and Francis Taylor.

As to when “Isabel Avenue” became “Isabella Avenue”, we are not positive, but the name change likely occurred sometime between 1943 and 1955. As to why the change happened, we do not know.

It should be noted that there is another section of street named Isabella Avenue, which runs west of Parker Drive, but is not directly connected to the Isabella Avenue we have been exploring. This “extension” of Isabella Avenue was created and named in 1971.

If you know or have pictures and stories around the early history of the Gordon Woods area, we would love to hear from you!