Sunday, April 10, 2022

On the western corner of Mississauga stands a 171 year-old historical home that is working on becoming history. The house is located on the south half of lot 35 concession 3 in South Toronto Township which is now part of Mississauga. The lot was deeded to Henry Grant in 1808 when he met the land grant responsibilities and gained ownership of the 200 acre lot. It has a broken front, which means that it borders on the lake and there is not a straight line along the southern side of the lot. In 1851 the lot was split and sold in two halves. David Hammond had the northern section while Andrew Robertson bought the south portion including the lake frontage. The lot can be seen on the 1877 County Atlas below where it is outlined on green. The house we’re about to look at is circled in green.

In 1851 Robertson built his family home in a grand style. While many of Ontario’s farmers in this era were building small homes, this one was a sprawling mansion by comparison. The house faces the lake and featured a trio of gables on the south elevation which each has extensive gingerbread bargeboards. Each second floor window features a triangular section on the top which is outlined by the brick pattern. This is neither the rounded arch favoured by the Italianate (1840-1890) or the pointed arch of Gothic Revival (1830-1890) architecture, but something less common.

The view facing Winston Churchill Blvd also features three gables with gingerbread trim and triangular points above the second floor windows. The Robertson family had hired hands to assist with the farm and they lived in the section above the rear stairs. The stories suggest that the house was haunted with a spirit that lived in the storage space below the front stairs. When the ghost would act up, the hired hands would hide in their section at the back of the house.

In 1942 57 acres of the property was sold to William Lightfoot who passed it on to his daughter and her husband, Edward and Marguerite Abbs. They farmed it until April 24, 1970 when they sold it to Hydro who planned to build the Clarkson Generating Station. The station was never built and the house and barn were rented until at least 2001 when the house was given an heritage designation. Since then it has been left to rot and the roof is ready to fall into the structure.

The barn that was also built in 1851 is the only building left on site that appears to still be in good shape. The farm won an award in the early 1900’s as a Gold Medal Farm but the award winning structures are almost all in poor shape. Like the house, it has a historical designation with the city of Mississauga.

The red drive shed in front of the barn also has problems with the roof. Once the interior of the building is opened up to snow and rain it doesn’t last very long. The tin roof on the barn looks to be its saving grace.

A third building to the rear of the house also has the roof caving in. It’s interesting that this little cottage has a chimney as well as a TV antenna. The property is marked “No Trespassing” at the front gate and so all of these shots are taken from the road. This building must have served as a residence for a farm hand.

Two green sheds a little north of the house are also suffering from roof rot. All of the neighboring farms have either been developed or are in the process of becoming housing. When this property succumbs to the developers these sheds will disappear without a second thought.

There’s a couple more sheds along the property line but they have already collapsed into themselves.

While the buildings on the property are in various states of decay the willow trees are showing the yellow that indicates they are starting to respond to the springtime conditions. At least there’s still some signs of life on the old award winning farm.

When the Robertson house was built it faced the lake and likely had a very lovely view of the lake across Lakeshore Road. In 1938 Charles Powell Bell and his wife Kathleen Harding moved into their estate home near the mouth of Joshua Creek. We’ve featured the story of this mansion in our Joshua Creek post and featured a picture of the home as seen from the lake. This is the view from Lakeshore Road.

The Andrew Robertson house is just up the street from Lakeside Park which has a unique red beach. You can check it out while you’re in the area or look at pictures and read the story at the link.

Related stories: Lakeside Park, Joshua Creek

Google maps link: Robertson House

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