On Monday, June 25, 1923, a tornado (then referred to as a cyclone) touched down near Guelph, and stayed on the ground for nearly 25 minutes, carving a path of destruction through Milton and Brampton, before finally dissipating southeast of Cooksville, near Port Credit, in historic Mississauga. Although the tornado apparently followed a somewhat narrow route, it did leave a path of destruction in its wake. The May family in Lisgar lost a barn, and several other barn buildings were either destroyed or damaged. Nearby Eden Wesleyan Methodist (later United) Church in Meadowvale was severely damaged and had to be partially rebuilt, and in the Cooksville area, the Cooksville brickyard and the nearby Cooksville Methodist Church was partially destroyed. The roof of the church was blown off, and land on Ellingham’s house next door, which was reportedly destroyed as a result; Charles Lawrence’s barn was moved four feet off of its foundations, and the roof of Achille and Leopold Roumegous’ wine vaults at the former Claire House vineyard in Cooksville was blown off. Two (or up to five in some accounts) deaths were attributed to the tornado, and although none were local to Mississauga that we are aware of, there were reportedly several injuries, including at the brickyard.
