We recently received an inquiry into the name origin of Owenwood Drive and Owenwood Public School in the Lorne Park area of Mississauga.

In simple terms, the road came first, and the school was named after the road. So, who or what was the road named for? And what does it have to do with porcupines?

Owenwood Drive runs south off of Lakeshore Road and is located on part of what was Lot 25, Concession 3, SDS (South of Dundas Street). This property, originally consisting of 128 acres, was first granted by The Crown to Edgar Neave in 1835, who subsequently sold it to Daniel Merigold. In 1851 it was sold to Duncan Oliphant, and in 1868 the property was divided, with 75 acres being granted to Caroline Matthews. From Matthews, the property passed to Jabez Spencer (1870), Joseph Picket (1873), Henry Picket (1907), William Helmer (1910) and Leo Helmer (1932). In 1937 Leo Helmer sold the 75-acre property to Mabel and Henry Owens.

Henry Edward Pettigrew (“Harry”) Owens (1888-1947) was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire, England. He arrived in Canada in 1906, and found employment in Haileybury, Ontario as a miner and prospector. In 1911 he married Mabel Alice Adshead (1894-1980) in Toronto. Mabel had been born in Toronto but was living with her family in Haileybury on Lake Temiskaming, likely meaning that Mabel and Harry met in Haileybury. Harry and Mabel had five children: Gordon, Cecil, Leta, Edgarleen and Lloyd. The family first resided in Haileybury and later moved to South Porcupine, near Timmins.

In available records, Harry was listed as a miner, prospector, and mining engineer by profession. It is possible that he made his way into northern Ontario during the Cobalt silver rush (1903), Larder Lake gold rush (1906), Porcupine Lake gold rush (1911) and the Kirkland Lake gold rush (1911). There are references that connect the family to Porcupine Lake and to South Porcupine.

Mineral mining for silver and gold brought boom years to several areas in Northern Ontario; people flocked north, and towns rapidly developed. But it was relatively short-lived, and by the early 1930s many of the mines had closed as the limited resources had been extracted.

In 1937 the Owens family purchased property along Lakeshore Road in the Lorne Park area of historic Mississauga. Harry was referenced as a retired mining engineer. The property they purchased was 75-acres in size and had two stately rows of evergreen trees flanking the laneway that led to the house.

In 1946 Harry and Mabel subdivided part of the property in Plan 332 and laid out Porcupine Avenue – most likely named in reference to the Lake Porcupine gold rush and to their former home in South Porcupine. Harry died unexpectedly in 1947 at the age of 59 from a heart issue.

Mabel sold part of her remaining property to Hugo and Elma Eichenberger in 1948, who in turn subdivided and laid out Echo Drive, Parkland Avenue, and Contour Drive.

Mabel Owens registered subdivision Plan 450 in 1952 on her remaining property, which established Owenwood Drive. In 1953 she sold the property to the South Peel Board of Education, who then registered Plan 496 and created Owenwood Public School. The school opened in 1953.

So, back to the original inquiry: Owenwood Drive was named for Mabel and Henry Owens, who purchased the property in 1937, gradually subdivided their property into building lots, and also laid out two streets – Porcupine Avenue and Owenwood Drive. Mabel and Henry Owens are buried nearby at Springcreek Cemetery on Clarkson Road. Many of the massive evergreen trees that overlooked their laneway are still there along Owenwood Drive.