The McLeod family, after whom McLeod Park in Ward 10 is named, trace their roots to Scotland. Family patriarch Murdoch McLeod (1792-1872) was born on the Ilse of Mull, Argyll, Scotland. In 1826 Murdoch married Mary McKinnon (1803-1892) in 1826 in Tobermory, Scotland. Murdoch and Mary had eight children: Neil (1828-?), Janet (1832-1916), Angus (1834-1880), John (1836-1928), Donald (1839-1917), Norman (1841-1893), William (1847-1871) and James (1853-1874). The family came to Canada in 1841 and purchased a 100-acre parcel of land in the west half of Lot 1, Concession 10, in the New Survey of Trafalgar Township on November 30, 1841. Today, McLeod Park is located on part of their former farm.

Part of the reason for the McLeod family coming to historic Mississauga was likely the purchase of a farm in 1840 by Mary McLeod’s older brother, Donald McKinnon (1782-1848). McKinnon had acquired the 100-acre farm in the east half of Lot 1, whereas a year later, in 1841, Murdoch McLeod purchased the 100-acre farm in the west half of Lot 1. The McLeod and McKinnon families were neighbours and could, in that sense, have relied upon each other for support. But times must have been tough. Mary’s brother, Donald, passed away early in 1848, leaving the McKinnon farm to his sons, John, Albert and Archibald. The McKinnon family suffered several more losses, and in 1877 John’s widow Catherine sold the farm to James McClure.

The McLeods were not without their own family hardships, losing at least three children at a relatively young age, and the 1861 agricultural census shows that the McLeod farm was not as prosperous or as valuable as some of the neighbouring farms. Being of Scotch Presbyterian background, the McLeod family was also of a different cultural background than most of their neighbours, particularly after the McKinnon family left the immediate area. Many of the surrounding farm families were of Irish Catholic origins, and the area was referred to as the Catholic Swamp.

The McLeod family likely lived in a log cabin when they first arrived in 1841, or quite possibly resided together with the McKinnon family. Murdoch and Mary built a brick farmhouse for their growing family likely before 1851.

The McLeod family travelled the distance to Streetsville where they attended St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church. Murdoch and Mary, along with their sons Angus and James, and possibly Norman, were likely buried in the Streetsville Memorial Cemetery. The Memorial Cemetery closed in 1895, with the Streetsville Public Cemetery having opened across the Credit River in 1892. Daughter Janet McLeod was buried in the Public Cemetery in 1916, and the gravestone marking the family is within the Public Cemetery. It is unknown if the remains of the earlier deceased family members were transferred to the new cemetery, or if the family stone simply remembers them here. Alice Scruton (1869-1931), John McLeod’s wife (John was a grandson of Murdoch and Mary), is also buried in Streetsville Public Cemetery.

Over time, the 100-acre McLeod farm was split into two 50-acre parcels. The SW 50 acres, where the McLeod House once stood, remained in the McLeod family until 1934 when Arthur and Eva McLeod sold their farm. In 1955 Albert and Mary Mercure purchased the property, and in 1975 the property was sold for future development purposes.

Hidden underneath the white siding, which covered the McLeod Home, was a traditional red-and-buff brick design that was popular throughout Peel County. Despite local interest and efforts to preserve the McLeod House, it was demolished in 2004. The McLeod House had stood near the Northeast corner of Eglinton Avenue and Ninth Line for around 150 years. McLeod Park remembers this early settling family and the challenges faced by those seeking a new home here in historic Mississauga so many years ago.