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 Cawthra Road.

Formerly known as First Line East, Cawthra Road was named for the influential Cawthra family. The Cawthra family has long roots in historic Mississauga, having received a land grant here in 1808. By the 1920s the Cawthra land grant had passed through many hands within the Cawthra family, and was in the possession of Grace Cawthra, daughter of Henry Cawthra, a wealthy Toronto entrepreneur.

In 1926, Grace commissioned the existing estate house, extensive gardens, a walled garden, and various outbuildings. Grace married Major-General Harry Elliot. In a break of tradition, Harry added the Cawthra surname to his own, becoming Cawthra-Elliot, ensuring that the treasured property remained in the Cawthra name.

The house was to be a copy of the original family home, known as Yeadon Hall, in Yorkshire, England. It was carefully designed and executed to accommodate the elegant and refined lifestyle of Grace and Harry Cawthra-Elliot.

In 1947 a fire in the east wing of the house caused severe damage and much of this area of the house was rebuilt. Two years later Major-General Harry Cawthra-Elliot died of complications from pneumonia. From that time onward, the house and grounds slowly began to decay. In 1974 Grace Cawthra-Elliot passed away and the estate, for which there were no heirs, was acquired by the City of Mississauga. The house and adjacent property is designated under the terms of the Ontario Heritage Act.

For the Cawthra family, the property was known as “Lotten”, which was simply “Lot Ten” in reference to the historic property survey. The road abutting their property became informally known as “Cawthra Road” and was formally adopted in name by the Town of Mississauga in the 1960s.

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.