Peel Memorial Hospital, part three

Despite five expansions to Peel Memorial in a span of 31 years, planners were facing a hard time of keeping up with overwhelming demand. Thankfully the South Peel Hospital (now Trillium Health Centre) opened in 1952, to serve those in the towns that eventually became Mississauga. A two-stage expansion, including a 10-storey wing, added 439 beds at a cost of $10.5 million. Grown from 12 to 700 beds, the hospital hosted 8,755 people annually by 1965, and 16,919 by Brampton’s Centennial in 1973. By that year, plans were underway to build a 200-bed hospital in Bramalea by 1980, by Chinguasousy Township.

Peel Memorial Hospital, part two

Now that Brampton's shoe industry-family, the Hewetsons, had built a residence for twelve nurses, Peel Memorial needed to deal with its overcrowding. In 1932, the hospital was extended, and an elevator and second set of stair installed. The facilities were expanded again in 1938, with a multi-storey addition, doubling the original bed capacity. As the town and surrounding villages continued to grow, another wing was opened in December 1949. The extension, which again doubled the hospital size, cost $310,000 with its “furnishings”. Further extensions added 153 beds in 1960, and 100 more in 1963, for a cost of $3.7 million.

Peel Memorial Hospital, part one

When The Great War (now known as World War One) ended in 1915, the Peel County Women's Institute began fundraising for a hospital in Brampton. By 1921, some 99 years after the first settlers moved to the area, the organization had raised $2600. After the Veterans Association leant its support, the Institute and Red Cross purchased the William Elliott estate. Further grants and donations later, the hospital opened in February 1925 with 12 beds. The hospital served 156 within its first year, and immediately faced overcrowding. Expansion would continue in 1932, two years after a donation funded construction of a nurse’s residence.

Regal Square brought business

While many major companies now operate out of Brampton, the town's first major centre for suits was the Queen's Square Building. 24 Queen Street East was opened in November 1965, in place of the Queen's Hotel. The downtown’s first high-rise commercial building, it was applauded for modernizing the street's appearance, and town's professional development. The Town of Brampton offices and council chambers soon moved in to the second and third floors, before eventually heading to the Bramalea Civic Centre, home to the Chinguacousy Library. Recently, local developer Inzola Construction has made major renovations to the building, helping reinvigorate the area.

New name for the village

In 1829, a named William Lawson decided to immigrate to Canada with his wife, from the Cumberland area of northern England. A fervent Primitive Methodist, Lawson continued to preach when he arrived in the Ontario village known to locals and travellers as Buffy’s Corners. One of the first people he met in the village was an old friend from his hometown, John Elliot. The men met so often, they eventually decided to incorporate a village in the area. They decided against using the name Buffy’s Corners, choosing instead Brampton, after their common hometown. Lawson eventual moved away, dying in Hamilton.

Triple execution

Three executions took place at the County Jail for Peel, which operated from 1867 to 1977. Stefan Swyryda was the first person executed at the jail in 1909, having murdered a young Polish man the previous year. He was hung on scaffolding in the yard. Two men were hung inside, where there was a trap door arrangement. Gordon Ross Matthew was hanged in 1941 for the murder of his wife, and Walter Zabolotny met the noose in 1946 for the murder of a woman. The spot where the trap door once was can be seen at the Peel Heritage Complex.