Modern Mississauga presents Way Back Wednesdays - The history of Lisgar Drive

Modern Mississauga and Heritage Mississauga have come together to present an ongoing series called “Way Back Wednesdays."
We’ll share information about the history of Mississauga here and answer your questions.
Today’s topic is the history of Lisgar Drive.

John Young, 1st Baron Lisgar

Many residents of northwest Mississauga may know the name of Lisgar in the context of a modern community, a street name, at GO station, and a large park in Ward 10, but have you ever wondered where the name came from? Lisgar was a name of a “lost village” in historic Mississauga: located around what is now the intersection of Winston Churchill Boulevard and Derry Road West, the settling community came, at first, to be known as Switzer’s Corners, after several members of the Switzer family who settled nearby. Switzer’s Corners officially became Lisgar when its post office opened in 1871 under Postmaster Samuel Alexander. The name was chosen in honour John Young, 1st Baron of Lisgar, who served as the second Governor General of Canada from 1869 to 1872. One of the few reminders of this historic hamlet on our modern landscape is the historic Eden Cemetery, located at the corner of Derry Road West and Shelter Bay Road. The current use of name in terms of the road, community, park and GO station that all carry the Lisgar name, is a modern re-birth/re-use of the historic name.

If you’ve got a question about the history of our city, we want to hear from you.
Please send your questions to info@modernmississauga.com with “Way Back Wednesday” in the subject line.