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History The French explorer Étienne Brűlé was the first European to visit the area in 1615.
The name "Etobicoke" was derived from the Mississauga word wah-do-be-kang (wadoopikaang), meaning "place where the black/wild alders grow", which was used to describe the area between Etobicoke Creek and the Humber River.
Etobicoke was intended by the British to be included in the Toronto Purchase of 1787. However, whether the western boundary of the purchase was the Humber River or Etobicoke Creek was disputed. The Mississauga Indians allowed British surveyor Alexander Atkins to survey the disputed land, and eventually the dispute was settled, with the Mississauga recognising the purchase as extending to Etobicoke Creek, and the British paying an additional 10 shillings for the purchase.
Settlers began to move in from Britain. Early settlers of Etobicoke included many of the Queen's Rangers, who were given land in the area by Lieutenant Governor Simcoe to help protect the new capital of Upper Canada. In 1795 the Honourable Samuel Bois Smith, a captain in the Queen's Rangers, received a grant of 1530 acres, extending from Kipling Avenue to Etobicoke Creek, and north to Bloor Street.[4] The first land patent was issued to Sergeant Patrick Mealey on March 18, 1797 for a plot on the west side of Royal York Road on Lake Ontario.[5] More land was given to the members of the Queen's Rangers between Royal York Road and Kipling Road south of Bloor Road.
On May 18, 1846 the Albion Road Company was incorporated. Its purpose was to build and maintain a road to the north-west corner of Etobicoke, where a new community was planned.
The township of Etobicoke was incorporated on January 1, 1850. In 1954, Etobicoke Township became a part of the newly-formed regional government, the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto ("Metro").
In 1967, the township of Etobicoke was merged with three small lakeside municipalities — Long Branch, New Toronto, and Mimico — to form the borough of Etobicoke. The borough was reincorporated as a city in 1984.
In 1998, six local municipalities (including Etobicoke) and the Metropolitan Toronto government merged to form the amalgamated city of Toronto.
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