By Lisa Marie Brennan
To truly appreciate what a city has to offer in the present, it’s important to delve into its past. Who lived here? What experiences did they go through as the city rose to its status of sixth-most populous municipality? Some of Mississauga’s rich history has been preserved through the city’s museums and historical homes for this reason alone. Here are just two of the places to begin your cultural journey.
The Benares House
This Georgian-Style estate has more than 165 years of history and was home to four generations of the Harris and Sayer families. It’s truly a unique experience, as more than 95 per cent of the artifacts in the home are originals, donated by the three great-grandchildren of Captain Harris. The Visitor Centre at Benares hosts an interpretive gallery about Benares Historic House and its original residents, and includes an exhibition gallery with rotating exhibitions and displays. The Benares House is considered one of Mississauga’s newest museums, accessible to the public as of 1995. See here for information on tours and location.
Bradley Museum
Rustic is one word that can describe this delightful piece of history, located on the edge of Lake Ontario in the former village of Clarkson. It was home to Lewis and Elizabeth Bradley in 1830. The site has accessible trails and consists of several historical buildings: the Bradley House, a one-and-a-half storey residence, the Anchorage, a one-and-a-half storey building clad in clapboard and built in 1830 and a Log Cabin built in 1850.
Perhaps the most interesting is the Log Cabin itself. Log cabins were the most common building constructed in what is now known as Mississauga. The original Bradley Log Cabin was slated for demolition in 2002 and after much effort from a grassroots committee, was moved and rebuilt on the site you see today. This is the only surviving original farmhouse in area and offers a very realistic look at what life in 1830s Peel Region would have been like. See here for more information.
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