The City of Mississauga, established in 1974, is considered relatively young. However, the history of the area that it comprises goes back thousands of years. Natives traversed the area for centuries. French traders dubbed the Ojibwa natives that settled here “Mississaugas,” after the river where they first settled in central Ontario. Eventually the British Crown took over this land and European settlement ensued. Many little villages comprised the area in the nineteenth and into the twentieth century. Some of the larger ones can still be identified, to varying degrees, as vibrant communities within the city. These include Clarkson, Cooksville, Dixie, Erindale, Malton, Meadowvale Village, Port Credit and Streetsville. The latter two villages became towns in 1961 and 1962 respectively. The remainder of the area became the Town of Mississauga in 1968. In 1974, the Towns of Mississauga, Port Credit, Streetsville, as well as portions of the Township of Toronto Gore and Trafalgar, were amalgamated into the City of Mississauga.

The City of Mississauga offers Heritage Planning services, Museums and a local history resource centre at Mississauga Central Library called the Canadiana Room. The City also assists in funding Heritage Mississauga, a not-for-profit charity that provides research, advocacy and interpretation. For more information on Heritage Planning or any of these other Heritage Services, including the Heritage Advisory Committee, please click on the appropriate links.