We Were Here

We Were Here. . In a short period of time the Credit Mission Village grew to include a school, a Methodist chapel, a sawmill, and a meeting lodge. Thanks in large part to the leadership efforts of Reverend Peter Jones (Kahkewaquanaby, 1802-1856), his brother John Jones (Tyantenagen, 1798-1847), Joseph Sawyer (Nawahjegezhegwabe, 1786-1863), John Cameron (Wageezhegome, 1764-1828), and Methodist minister Egerton Ryerson (1803-1882), the Mississaugas prospered for several years., Much had been accomplished at the Credit Mission by the 1830s. In just 10 years, by their own hard work, the Mississaugas had added a hospital, mechanic's shop, eight barns, and many more houses. They had enclosed 900 acres along the Credit River for pasture and farming., In 1834 the Credit Harbour Company was formed, with the Mississaugas owning two-thirds of the shares of the company whose primary focus was on developing the natural harbour at the mouth of the Credit River for shipping purposes and warehouses. In 1835 the Mississaugas had a village plot laid out on the west side of the Credit River on the shores of Lake Ontario. The village lots in what would be called Port Credit were sold to incoming settlers., News of the Credit Mission spread. To raise funds Peter Jones travelled throughout North America and Britain, including having an audience with Queen Victoria in 1838. An Irish clergyman described him as a man of "Saul-like stature, broad shoulders, high cheek bones, erect bearing, sleek jet-black hair, and fine intellect.", In the early 1840s the community had adjusted to the adoption of a new way of life and Christianity, and its population of approximately 250 Mississaugas provided nearly all of their own bread, produce, beef, pork, milk and butter. Traditionally hunters and fishers, in 20 years the Mississaugas had become successful farmers. A few had learned skilled trades, including carpentry and shoemaking. In 1844, Benjamin Slight, a Missionary at the Credit Mission in the 1830s, wrote:

They enjoy domestic comforts, and the blessings of social and civilised life. To contemplate the poor wandering Indian, without home, house, (expecting the wretched wiggewaum [sic]... without means of subsistence... and now to see the contract; the Indian, with his wife and family, in a comfortable cottage, with decent furniture and comfortable provisions in his cellar, barn, and c., must afford conviction to every unprejudiced, sound mind.

However, time was against the Mississaugas and their prosperous village. Vast stretches of forest had been harvested, and the salmon run, once abundant and vital, had almost ceased due to the mills that operated along the Credit River. More and more Mississaugas began to succumb to disease and to pressure from encroaching settlers, and the Crown did not recognize legal land title for the reserve lands. Denied the security of land tenure at the Credit River, a decision was reached in the winter of 1846 to relocate, and over 200 Mississaugas moved in early 1847 to 4,800 acres of land south of Brantford, where they established the New Credit Reserve.