Mississauga was born, or incorporated, in 1974 when several communities joined together. The story of Mississauga does not begin in 1974. Archaeological findings suggest about 10,000 years ago Native people lived in the area.
One of the Native groups the traders found around the Credit River area were called Mississaugas. They had come to southern Ontario from Lake Huron. This Ojibwa tribe shared the land between Burlington Bay and Etobicoke Creek with the Iroquois. By 1700, however, the Mississaugas had driven the Iroquois away. The Europeans called the area where the Mississaugas lived the "Mississauga Tract."
In 1805, government officials from York, as Toronto was then called, bought 33,995 hectares (84,000 acres) of the "Mississauga Tract" for £ 1,000 ($2,000).
 In 1806, Samuel Wilmot finished surveying the southern half of Toronto Township, and the area began to open for settlement. The settlers called the land the "Home District." The various communities who settled in the Home District were; Clarkson, Cooksville, Dixie, Erindale, Port Credit, Sheridan and Summerville.
Within the present boundaries of the City of Mississauga, which covers approximately 111 square miles, more than a dozen small communities sprang up in those locals convenient to natural resources, waterways for industry and fishing, and to routes leading to the present day City of Toronto.
By 1873 a Toronto Township Council was established to govern the affairs of the villages that were as yet unincorporated. The responsibilities of the Council included road maintenance, the creation of a police force for the protection of public property (formerly handled by a local militia) and a reliable mail delivery service.
All of these settlements, except for Port Credit and Streetsville, joined together in 1968 to form the Town of Mississauga. In 1974 the Town of Mississauga incorporated as a City, this time including Port Credit and Streetsville.
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