Heritage designation won’t necessarily save historic Mississauga church

A building that many people drive past in Mississauga without a second thought is poised to receive heritage designation for its role in shaping the Clarkson community — even though the recognition may not preserve the historic structure itself.

The City of Mississauga’s Heritage Advisory Committee has recommended that 1764 Lakeshore Road West be designated under the Ontario Heritage Act, recognizing the property’s historical, associative and contextual significance.

But unlike many heritage designations, this one may ultimately preserve the site’s story more than the building itself. Rather than protecting every architectural feature of the former church, the city’s planning and building department is recommending a flexible designation that would allow future redevelopment while ensuring the site’s history is commemorated through public art, interpretations or other features.

The building, which has housed commercial businesses for decades, originally opened in 1875 as Carman Church, a Methodist place of worship built on land donated by pioneer settler Margaret Merigold, a member of one of Clarkson’s founding families.

According to a report presented to the committee, the church quickly became much more than a place of worship.

Because there were few churches nearby in the late 1800s, residents from various Christian denominations attended services there, making it the spiritual heart of the growing village.

Its importance expanded even further in 1924 when a community hall was added to the property, turning it into what city staff describe as a de facto community centre for Clarkson.

For decades, the site hosted concerts, theatrical productions, community picnics, Red Cross meetings, Women’s Institute gatherings, Boy Scouts, Girl Guides, indoor sports and even the community library, which operated there from 1925 until 1965. One theatrical production reportedly attracted an audience of as many as 600 people.

“It served the social and religious needs of the Clarkson community,” the report states.

The church was named after Bishop Albert Carman, a close friend of Merigold.

The property also tells the story of Clarkson’s earliest settlers.

Methodist meetings in the area date back to the 1820s at the Bradley House, now part of the Bradley Museum, before moving to the Merigold family’s meeting house and later to churches elsewhere in the village. Volunteers constructed the current building in 1875 after the congregation outgrew its previous church.

As Clarkson expanded following the Second World War, the congregation eventually outgrew the building once again. A new church opened on Mazo Crescent in 1956, and the former church was later purchased by St. Christopher’s Roman Catholic Church before eventually being converted to commercial uses in 1964.

The building as it presently appears on the south side of Lakeshore Road West and Clarkson Road South.

Although the building has been altered over the years, city staff say its original church form remains recognizable, with its steep gable roof, buttresses and the faint outlines of Gothic-style windows still visible beneath later renovations.

Rather than requiring those architectural features to be fully preserved, staff are recommending that the heritage designation exclude specific heritage attributes, providing flexibility should redevelopment occur. If the property is redeveloped, the site’s history would instead be commemorated through features that go beyond a traditional plaque, potentially including public art or other presentations.

According to the report, the property’s owner has already met with the city and is considering redevelopment that would commemorate the church through an outdoor multimedia space featuring historical images and text.

The committee concluded the property meets multiple criteria for designation under the Ontario Heritage Act because of its historical associations, its ties to Clarkson’s founding families and its role as one of the community’s longstanding landmarks.

If Mississauga council gives final approval, the designation would formally recognize the site’s cultural heritage value while ensuring that, even if the building itself changes in the future, the story of the place where generations of Clarkson residents gathered for worship, meetings, concerts and community life will not be forgotten.