The Forgotten Crossroads Hamlet of Hanlan

Have you ever heard of the tiny hamlet of Hanlan? To many, the name would perhaps be more closely associated with Toronto Island and Hanlan’s Point, or to the more modern residents of Mississauga, with the Hanlan Pumping Station and Reservoir at Tomken and Britannia Roads. But long before the pumping station was built in 1975, a small pioneer community began to develop along Britannia Road between Tomken and Dixie Roads.

This small pioneer crossroads first sprung to life in the 1830s when D.W. Johnson opened a blacksmith shop on the southwest corner of Tomken and Britannia. His enterprise soon blossomed to include a carpenter shop and paint shop where he employed three blacksmiths, three carpenters and three painters. His son George continued the enterprise, adding a store around 1855.

George Johnson’s small industrial development became the focus of the early community and early residents and workers soon began to build their homes around the intersection. A shoemaker, possibly Joseph Armstrong, also established himself on the southeast corner across from the blacksmith shop.

A post office was established on November 1, 1878 in George Johnson’s store, with George W. Johnson listed as the first postmaster. The name chosen for the community was Hanlan, in honour of famed Canadian oarsman Edward (Ned) Hanlan.

Ned Hanlan was considered “the most renowned oarsman of any age”, and in a sense, was Canada’s first international sporting champion as he was declared the world’s rowing champion from 1880 to 1884.

In choosing the name for the community, George Johnson is said to have wanted a name that was short and easy to remember. In 1890, the post office was moved to the Armstrong residence on the Northwest corner of Britannia and Tomken, and was run by Mr. & Mrs. Robert Armstrong until it closed on April 17, 1911.

The growing crossroads community added a small one-room log schoolhouse in 1844 (S.S. #11) further to the south on and on the east side of Tomken Road, on land purchased from Mr. Douglass. The first teacher was Mr. Wright. This log schoolhouse was replaced in 1872 with a slightly larger brick building, roughly on the same site as the original school. S.S. #11 Hanlan Public School served the community until it was closed in 1957. It sat vacant until about 1970, when it was removed to make way for industrial development.

Another school was built around 1875 on the north side of Britannia between Tomken and Dixie Roads, on land owned by James McBride. It is unclear how long this building served as a school, but it might also have doubled as a meeting hall for local residents. It is unknown when this building was removed. The community of Hanlan also established social events in the form of a band, literary & debating society, quilting bees and boxing matches.

The early settlers in the area were largely Methodist and traveled to Derry West to hold small services in Carter’s Anglican Chapel. However, sometime around 1840, it appears that the Anglican congregation in Derry West would no longer allow the Methodists to use their chapel.

In response, John and Sarah Hunt sold part of their land (Lot 5, Concession 4 EHS) on March 7, 1853 to the Methodist congregation from the Hanlan area. They quickly constructed a small frame church on what is today the southeast corner of Britannia and Dixie Roads. This original church, known as Hunt’s Chapel, was replaced in 1867 by a larger building and renamed the Trinity Wesleyan Methodist Church. However, this church was not long-lived and closed prior to 1925, with the congregation attending the nearby Bethany United Church, south of Elmbank. The only visible remains of the church, and indeed the hamlet of Hanlan, is the small Trinity Wesleyan Methodist Cemetery that sat immediately to the east of the church. It is unclear how many burials took place in the small cemetery as many stones are noted to have disappeared.

Some of the names associated with Hanlan can be found on the old maps and in the lonely Trinity cemetery: names like Allison, Baldock, Cooper, Curry, Douglass, Foggerty, Hunt, Jiffikins, Johnston, McBride, McKay and McGraw, amongst many others. Please share your memories and photographs of the vanished hamlet of Hanlan with us and help preserve the story of the settlers who once called it home.