Sparling Woods, located at 3800 Erin Centre Boulevard in Ward 10 are not named for a bird or a type of smelt fish. They name comes from the Sparling family who once operated a farm here. The larger property was once 200-acres in size, and stretched between what is now Tenth Line West and Ninth Line. Historically the property was known as Lot 2, Concession 10, in the New Survey of Trafalgar Township.

The Crown Grant for the property was issued in 1820 to Timothy Street (of Streetsville fame). In 1824 the property was purchased by Malcolm McKinnon, and in 1834 150-acres of the property was acquired by William Sparling. In 1853 William acquired the other 50-acres of the property, and in 1862 transferred the entire 200-acre property to his brothers, George and Joseph Sparling (more on Joseph Sparling later). In 1877 the property was acquired by Henry Robinson and Hugh Kee. Over the next several decades, the property changed hands multiple times, including being owned by John Wesley Beynon and Robert and Elizabeth Coulson. The Coulson family farmed here on 100-acres until 1955, when the property was sold to Charles Wilfred Hartwick. The property was sold for development purposes in 1974. The former Sparling House, known as “Lark Hill”, was built circa 1870 and stood until 1996.

The Sparling family, after whom the woods are named, were from Kilcooly Parish, County Tipperary, Ireland. Originally of Germanic origins, the Sparlings were a Palatine family who had immigrated to Ireland. George Sparling (1768-1818) and Elizabeth Switzer (1772-1839) were tenants on the Southwell Estate in Rathkeale Parish before coming to Canada. George and Elizabeth Sparling had at least 10 children: Peter (1793-1861), Samuel (1795-1883), John (1798-1865), William (1804-1890), Margaret (1805-1873), Rebecca (1809-?), George (1810-1868), Joseph (1812-1880), Christopher (1816-1866) and James (1818-1880). According to family records, brothers William and John came first, likely arriving in Canada in 1826 or 1827, following the death of their father. John Sparling married Eliza Miller in St. Peter’s Anglican Church at Springfield (Erindale) in 1828. The rest of the family followed with the exception of their brother Samuel, who remained in Ireland. Siblings John, George, Joseph, Christopher and James all established farms around the town line (now Winston Churchill Boulevard). The extended Sparling family developed connections to several historic communities, including Lisgar, Meadowvale and Streetsville. Noted local history author, the late Marjorie Sparling (1918-2004), wrote extensively about the Sparling family, and of other early settling families in what is now northwest Mississauga. Through marriages, the Sparlings were also related to several other notable early families in the area, including the Bussell, Cole, Cordingley, Mason, Miller, Switzer and Waite families, amongst others. Many of them were laid to rest in Eden Cemetery.

But now back to subject of Sparling Woods and former farm property. Brothers George and Joseph Sparling came to own the property in 1862, although Joseph may have lived on the property before acquiring it. His brother George, while owning the property, had moved to Huron County. After George died in 1868 in Seaforth, the property passed solely to Joseph. Interestingly, siblings Christopher and James had also relocated to Seaforth.

The woods themselves appear in historic aerial images and may be a remnant woodlot from the farm, and represent an uncleared portion of land which may have been a wooded area for much of its history.

The Sparling House, which was once located near to Tenth Line, is attributed to having been built by Joseph Sparling and his wife Elizabeth Hamilton around 1870. They had a large family with at least 11 children, including Anna (1836-1869), Jane (1837-1910), Rebecca (1844-1911), Louisa (1847-1920), Alice (1849-1933), Joseph (1852-1915), George (1855-1922), Mary (1857-1866), James (1861-1904), Martha (1862-1940) and Thomas (1866-1924), possibly amongst others. Joseph sold the property in 1877, and the family moved to Goderich. According to census records, the family was already living in the Goderich area by the time they sold the property here in historic Mississauga.

While the Sparling House, which was known as “Lark Hill”, was demolished in 1996, the Gothic window from the farmhouse was preserved and is on display now in the Churchill Meadows Library.