Hidden ‘Little Village’ in Mississauga set to open to public for one day only

A whimsical and lovingly maintained miniature village in Mississauga–and one that recently received star treatment in a short documentary–will open to visitors for one day only next month. 

Recently, Mississauga City Councillor Brad Butt announced that for one day in May, curious onlookers and history aficionados can peek inside Terry Wilson’s Little Village, a striking miniature replica of the historic Meadowvale Village.

“Spring has sprung, and I would like to invite you to celebrate the sunshine and beautiful blooms of spring at Terry Wilson’s Little Village, in the historic Meadowvale Village community,” Butt wrote on his website. 

The drop-in spring open house will take place on Saturday, May 10, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. During the event, Wilson will be on hand to offer tours and share stories about the village he began creating with his late mother, Rosemary, in the 1990s. 

In his post, Butt encourages attendees to dress in 19th century attire to honour the history of Meadowvale Village, a unique part of the city that was declared Ontario’s first Heritage Conservation District in 1980. 

While Wilson’s village isn’t exactly new, it’s been garnering more attention throughout Canada (and beyond) since the release of Terry’s Little Village, an almost seven-minute documentary by Jack Kukolic, a fourth-year Sheridan student and the director/producer of the film. 

Since its release, the short, penned by local writer and director Emmy Pitschner, has screened at Celebration Square, the Downtown Belleville Docfest (where it was nominated for Best Local Short), the Door County Film Fest in Wisconsin, the National Film Festival for Talented Youth in Seattle, and more festivals across Canada and the United States. 

Last year, Kukolic, who is studying film and television at Sheridan College’s Trafalgar campus in Oakville, told INsauga.com that he grew up in Meadowvale Village and was able to visit Wilson’s expansive recreation of the heritage district during his childhood. 

The village itself is something to behold. The miniature town is spread across two residential lots and features over 15 shed-sized recreations of historic buildings that once called Meadowvale Village home. While it’s not open to the public regularly, Kukolic said people have been able to explore the quaint general store and other buildings during Doors Open events over the years.

In addition to maintaining the village with his income and savings, Wilson also writes books and shares stories about his childhood and his family’s time in their beloved neighbourhood on his Facebook page. 

“From [1980] forward, we had guidelines that were intended to preserve the character. It was recognized that Meadowvale had an incredible inventory of surviving old buildings from the 1800s. My mother and I were able to create a tribute where we built replicas to represent many of the buildings in Meadowvale, including the lost buildings in Meadowvale,” Wilson said in the documentary.

The village began taking shape when Wilson recreated the Harrowsmith House as his mother’s garden house. After that, he built a library in Rosemary’s garden. In the years that followed, Wilson and his mother built and designed two mills, a church, houses, shops, stores, a train station, a blacksmith shop and a covered bridge.  

In the film, Wilson said his mother decorated and filled the houses and that he just did whatever required “neither brains nor talent.” 

“My mom decorated everything and she gave the buildings the feeling that they have inside. I closed them in and she made them special,” he said.  

Visitors who come to the open house at 7091 Pond Street are asked not to park on the street, but rather at Rotherglen School Meadowvale Elementary Campus (929 Old Derry Rd.), Old Ridge/Historic Trail Park (6965 Historic Trail), Gooderham Park (6938 Gooderham Estate Blvd) or Meadowvale Conservation Area (1081 Old Derry Rd). 

Butt’s website says that in the event if inclement weather, the event will be rescheduled. 

This event will be held outdoors, so attendees are asked to dress for the weather and wear proper footwear. 

All images from Terry Wilson’s official Facebook page