{"id":509431,"date":"2026-03-02T12:39:27","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T12:39:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/509431\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T12:39:27","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T12:39:27","slug":"a-rare-piece-of-ontario-history-just-hit-the-market-for-the-first-time-ever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/509431\/","title":{"rendered":"A rare piece of Ontario history just hit the market for the first time ever"},"content":{"rendered":"

Long before Mississauga became the sprawling Ontario city it is today, a stretch of apple orchards west of Dixie Rd. and south of the QEW was considered an unlikely place to build homes.<\/p>\n

But in January 1951, Toronto-based builder Gordon Shipp and his son Harold <\/a>saw something others didn’t. The Shipp Corporation \u2014 already known for building houses in Toronto \u2014 paid $40,000 for 23 acres of raw agricultural land in what was then Toronto Township.<\/p>\n

At the time, many thought the idea was a little wild. Who would want to live that far west? As it turned out, a lot of people.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"1021<\/p>\n

The “Shipp-Built” black glazed brick on the house.\u00a0<\/p>\n

By spring 1952, the Shipps launched Applewood Acres with a marketing spectacle that sounded more like a carnival than a real estate rollout: a big tent, a PA system, and a team of ten salespeople.<\/p>\n

\"1021<\/p>\n

The kitchen and breakfast nook with a door for milk delivery.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The gamble paid off. They sold an unheard-of 126 model homes in just ten days and more than 800 overall, eventually building 853 houses in the neighbourhood and helping shape the early growth of what would become Mississauga.<\/p>\n

\"1021<\/p>\n

A bedroom.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the time, it was the largest single subdivision built by a family developer in Canada, according to a story on Visit Mississauga<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"1021<\/p>\n

Another bedroom.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Today, that legacy still lives on in the solid, family-focused homes scattered throughout Applewood \u2014 including one that’s just hit the market for the first time since it was originally purchased.<\/p>\n

\"1021<\/p>\n

The primary bedroom.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The home at 1021 Vera Cruz Dr. is a rare Shipp-built model home tucked onto a quiet street, and it’s been lovingly maintained by its original owners.<\/p>\n

\"1021<\/p>\n

The front of the house.\u00a0<\/p>\n

From the outside, the home leans into classic mid-century suburban charm, sitting on a large 56-by-120 foot\u00a0lot with mature landscaping and plenty of breathing room between neighbours.<\/p>\n

\"1021<\/p>\n

Retro wallpaper in one of the bedrooms.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Inside is a bit of a time capsule.<\/p>\n

\"1021<\/p>\n

One of two bathrooms.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Groovy wallpaper, linoleum flooring and a wood-panelled rumpus room in the basement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"1021<\/p>\n

The living room and dining area.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But if you look past the dated features, you’ll see a\u00a0bright, open-concept living and dining area with hardwood floors and a large picture window that floods the space with natural light.<\/p>\n

\"1021<\/p>\n

The kitchen.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The kitchen is small but functional.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"1021<\/p>\n

Another bedroom.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Four spacious bedrooms are split between the upper and lower levels, creating a flexible layout.<\/p>\n

\"1021<\/p>\n

The basement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Downstairs, a finished basement opens into a huge recreation room with dedicated office space.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"1021<\/p>\n

The spacious backyard.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Outside, there’s an oversized double-car garage, extra-long driveway, and large, private backyard that add to the home’s practical appeal.<\/p>\n

\"1021<\/p>\n

The second bathroom.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And while the interiors leave plenty of opportunity for a new owner to modernize or lean into a full retro revival, the bones reflect exactly what made Shipp-built homes so popular in the first place: thoughtful layouts, sturdy construction, and a focus on livability that still holds up decades later.<\/p>\n

\"1021<\/p>\n

The side of the house.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In a neighbourhood born from post-war ambition, this listing feels like a quiet reminder of how Applewood first took shape, one solidly built home at a time.<\/p>\n

\"1021<\/p>\n

The back of the house.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The home is listed for\u00a0$1,199,000<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Long before Mississauga became the sprawling Ontario city it is today, a stretch of apple orchards west of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":509432,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194297],"tags":[202693,49,48,202695,21350,55405,905,202694],"class_list":["post-509431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mississauga","tag-202693","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cruz","tag-drive","tag-mississauga","tag-ontario","tag-vera"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=509431"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509431\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/509432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=509431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=509431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=509431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}