Remembering Mississauga’s Miszczuk Subdivision

Miszczuk Subdivision, 1954

Visible in 1954 aerial photography, there is an early subdivision road that runs west off of Cawthra Road, between Burnhamthorpe Road and Bloor Street. Today that street is called Hyacinthe Boulevard, and in 1954 there were nine smaller houses built. It really shows the beginnings of a small subdivision, while all the land around the street was still open farmland. For some reason, this one small picture, highlighting the early piecemeal development of historic Mississauga, has intrigued me.

What was called, in the 1950s, the Miszczuk Subdivision, was located on part of Lot 11, Concession 1, NDS. The property, originally consisting of 200 acres, was first granted for settlement on November 6, 1807, to Joseph Silverthorn. In 1925, 70 acres of the property was acquired by Fred A. Gaby. Fred Gaby, the son of Scottish immigrants who came to Canada in the 1850s, was a hydroelectric engineer by profession. Together with his wife Florence and their children (Fred, Catherine, Betty and Robert) resided in Toronto. Their household also consisted of two domestics, suggesting that the family was likely affluent. In 1926 Gaby registered subdivision Plan B-26 on his property. On paper Gaby established Breckenridge Road, although no actual development occurred apparently. The Great Depression and the Second World War might have brought a pause to Gaby’s plans, but we do not know for certain. Plan B-26 was revived and re-registered in 1944 by Fred and Florence Gaby as Plan 326. However, ill health likely stymied any intended plans, and following Fred Gaby’s death, the property, along with the registered plan, was sold to Kazimierz (Charles) Miszczuk on June 15, 1948. Charles was listed as a builder by profession.

Miszczuk Subdivision, 1966

On June 10, 1952 Charles Miszczuk (along with a partner, Fred Cirka) further subdivided Gaby’s plan and registered Plan 447. This plan laid out a new street, which they called Miszczuk Boulevard. In 1954, Misczczuk Boulevard was renamed Hyacinthe Boulevard, and the first nine houses were in place.

Two of the houses, at 625 and 626 Hyacinthe Boulevard were homes for the Miszczuk family, including Charles and his wife Palagja (Mary), and their children Ronald, Sidney and Chester. Interestingly, Sidney Miszczuk, together with his brother Ronald, founded Cooksville Steel Limited in 1952, which is going strong in Mississauga today, and under the guiding hand of the third generation of the Miszczuk family.

But back to Hyacinthe Boulevard and the Miszczuk subdivision. Plan 475 was registered in 1953, followed by plans 553 and 562 in 1956. Together these plans laid out additional streets (Fleury Avenue, Vermouth Avenue and Yale Road), and also revived Breckenridge Road from the older Gaby plan. Working with several local construction companies, including Primola Construction Limited and Loreta Homes Limited, dozens of houses were built. Fleury Avenue renamed Mississauga Valley Boulevard in 1972.

Hyacinthe Boulevard from Google Earth, showing some of the surviving 1952-1954 houses

In 1962, with the subdivision of their property complete, Charles and his wife left historic Mississauga and moved to Caledon. Charles passed away in 1987, and his wife Mary passed in 1989. They were laid to rest with other family in Sprincreek Cemetery.

The Miszczuk Subdivision, largely built between 1952 and 1959, is an example of the many smaller family-owned subdivision endeavours that took place before the Town and City of Mississauga came to be. At the time, Toronto Township (historic Mississauga) Council struggled to manage the suburban growth and provide connection to things such as water, sewage, and other services we take for granted today. There were some early challenges with regards to sewer connections in the subdivision, as described in The Weekly newspaper in 1959.

The Miszczuk Subdivision is an excellent surviving example of the early piecemeal development years of Mississauga, when the land surrounding the new subdivision was still largely rural and agricultural.