The Cheesy History of Mississauga

Former McKay Cheese Factory building, Elmbank, c1930.

Oh, cheese! There are, of course, many places in our city to buy and try wonderful assortments of cheeses. But there was a time when local cheese factories were commercially making cheese here too!

Commercial cheese making in Canada stretches back to 1864 when the Pioneer Cheese Factory cooperative near Norwich, Oxford County, Ontario opened. In 1867, the Canadian Dairyman’s Association was founded in Ingersoll, Ontario. By 1867, there were over 200 cheese factories in Ontario and by the early 1900's Ontario and Quebec boasted over 2,000 cheese-making facilities.

Cropped image from the 1877 Historical Atlas of Peel County showing Elmbank and the McKay cheese factory.

Cheese making also came here to Mississauga many years ago. A number of individuals, listed as Cheese Makers by profession, have come to light in research over the years. Between 1894 and 1910 Jeremiah (“Jerry”) Stillman ran a cheese factory in Meadowvale Village. An article from the 1894 Brampton Conservator shed some light on the early formation of the cheese factory, which was run as a cooperative venture: “A meeting of farmers and others interested in the establishment of the cheese factory are requested to attend a meeting at the school house here on Tuesday, February 22nd, at 8 o’clock, for the election of officers and other business. Mr. Stillman is now residing in Meadowvale. The new factory will be erected about the middle of April, and a flourishing business is expected. The building will be 28 by 56 feet.”

Another article from October of 1895 states: “The cheese factory in our town and run by Mr. Stillman has discontinued its operating for the season. We believe that the factory was highly successful this year, and that a good quantity and quality of cheese was produced, which is shown by the many favourable comments upon it.”

Jerry Stillman and family, crop from 1901 Census, showing Chesse Maker profession.

Jerry Stillman (1863-1911) was born in Campbellford, Ontario. In 1892, he married Catherine Nolan (they were married near Napanee, Ontario). Jerry was listed as a cheese maker by profession. By 1894, the couple had two daughters, Pearl and Ethel, and were living in the Meadowvale area. Presumably, the cheese factory in Meadowvale was closed following Jerry’s passing in 1911, as no further reference to its existence has been found to date.

We have also come across several other cheese makers in historic Mississauga. Roughly between 1881 and 1891 George Scott operated a cheese factory near Malton, although we know nothing else about this cheese factor or maker for the moment. An assessment roll from 1895 in Streetsville lists a James Sills as a Baker and Cheese Maker. Cooksville was also home to baker and cheese maker William Cox between 1868 to 1881.

William Cox and family, Baker and Cheese Maker in Cooksville, crop from 1871 Census.

Another mention in Streetsville is an advertisement that appeared in the Streetsville Review in 1891, listing Edmund Beers as a “Maker and Importer of the Finest English Cheeses”. Edmund Beers (1861-1938) was born in Oxfordshire, England and arrived in Canada in 1890. Together with his wife, Rosetta Harris (1863-1945), they raised six children: Daisy, William, Laura, Rosie, Muriel and Albert.

The largest (and longest-running) cheese factory we have identified in historic Mississauga belonged to William McKay and Robert Craig and was named the Elmbank Cheese Factory Cooperative. This cheese factory was located along the Etobicoke Creek, just south of what is today Britannia Road, and east of Dixie Road. The property had been granted by the Crown to James McKay on February 7, 1832. McKay came from Scotland, built a log house on the property, and farmed. James died on his farm in 1865, and the property was inherited by his son, William. Beginning around 1865, William established a cheese factory at Elmbank in partnership with Robert Craig of the nearby hamlet of Burnhamthorpe. McKay took over sole operation around 1870. The venture proved very successful, and McKay cheeses won numerous awards at local and provincial fairs and exhibitions as mentioned in the Brampton Conservator newspaper. The cheese factory likely operated until about 1910, as no other references to it has been found after that date. William McKay (1829-1914) and his wife, Eliza Garbutt (1837-1910), had nine children: Ann, Mary, James, Agnes, Louisa, Ethel, George, William Jr., and Lottie. The family, and cheese factory, had ties to the lost village of Elmbank. William McKay Sr. died in 1914 and was buried with his wife at St. George’s-on-the-Hill Anglican Cemetery in Etobicoke.

If you have any information or pictures relating to cheese making in historic Mississauga, please let us know!

William McKay Gravestone, St George's Cemetery, Etobicoke.