Initially settled by the First Nations, the village of Mimico was known as Omiimiikaa, meaning the “resting place of wild pigeons.” In those days, carrier pigeons were used to relay messages from one community to another. Today, carrier pigeons have given way to instant messaging, but the spirit lives on in the name of this
community.

In the 1800s, one of Etobicoke’s most prominent businessmen, William Gamble, opened a sawmill on the west bank of Mimico Creek up from the lake and a small settlement for the mill workers sprung up nearby. At this time, Mimico was in Etobicoke Township, one of the many semi-urban communities in the southern part of York County (the former name for Metropolitan Toronto).