Rooted in History: A Heritage Red Oak in Mississauga Has Weathered Much Change

By Joana Carreira

In a Mississauga backyard stands a magnificent, approximately 200-year-old Red Oak tree. This living monument towers 19.5 meters tall and has a circumference of 770 centimetres, but its sheer size is nothing compared to its history.

Located near the Credit River, this Red Oak lives on the ancestral land of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. Its location and age place this oak as a live spectator of the Mississaugas of the Credit fur trade. In 1805, the Mississaugas signed Treaty 13A, selling their land to the British Crown. This treaty reserved one mile of land on either side of the Credit River, and the tree remained on Mississaugas of the Credit territory until 1820. Robert Cotton, an Irish immigrant, settled on this land in the 1840s. About a decade later, he opened a general store named “The Trading Post” where he continued trading with the Mississaugas and early settlers. Since then, this Red Oak has survived the development of one of Ontario’s most populated cities and stands today as a living monument to the pre-settlement era of the province.

In 1979, Gail Corman bought the property and accepted the oak tree as one of her own. Corman vividly remembers feeling awestruck at the size of the tree’s trunk. “The tree was one of the selling points of the property,” Corman said. “To this day, I don’t think I’ve ever seen another tree like it, in beauty and size.” The tree became another family member, watching over her children as they climbed and swung from its branches. To this day, the Red Oak has helped her foster relationships. “People peek over the fence and ask questions about the tree," Corman said. "Some return year after year to see how it’s doing. I have even had neighbours come back after moving to check in on the tree.” This remarkable tree has become a part of Corman’s day-to-day life, and her fervent wish is to have the tree celebrated and protected.

In June 2021, Philip van Wassenaer, founder of Urban Forest Innovations Inc., nominated the oak through the Forests Ontario Heritage Tree Program, and in October 2021, Forests Ontario recognized the Red Oak as a heritage tree. Corman and van Wassenaer are now working with Heritage Mississauga and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation to protect the historic Red Oak under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act.

The photograph depicts the staff of Urban Forest Innovations standing in front of the Mississauga Red Oak tree.