Heritage York Research Guide
The Creech family home in Lambton Mills at 4245 Dundas St. W. in 1896. Meade Creech pictured on the left, and family. Photograph Courtesy: Toronto Public Library
Meade Creech
of Lambton Mills
A prominent member of the Lambton Mills community, Meade Creech spent the majority of his life on the Etobicoke side of the neighbourhood where he raised a family and worked as a carpenter and designer.
His residence was at modern-day Royal York Rd. and Dundas St. W.
Special thanks go to the Etobicoke Historical Society's Denise Harris for the collection of much of the information on the Creech family that appears below​
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To view a complete list of primary sources collected during the research for this page, please click here
Ireland, Weston, Lambton Mills
Meade Creech was born in Ireland in 1824, and came to Pennsylvania in 1829 with his parents. In the mid-1830s, the family moved near Weston, in York County, before settling in Lambton Mills on the west side of the Humber River, around 1843. Meade married Charlotte McCammon in 1851. The couple had two sons, Joseph and Robert, who also lived and raised families in Lambton Mills. Meade predeceased his wife in 1896. Charlotte passed away in 1902.
Buildings and Community Contributions
Some of the information below has been taken from the statements of Meade's and Charlotte's granddaughter, Josephine. This interview is located in the Etobicoke Historical Society archives.
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When Meade and Charlotte first married in 1851, they lived in the Lambton Mills home of Meade's father, Robert, near Dundas and (modern day) Prince Edward Drive. Robert's wife Ellen had passed away around 1846.
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Meade was a builder, and over the years, he would contribute a number of projects to the community. In 1864, after two years of work, Meade completed a church organ for the local Methodist church. The church was located on the east side of what is today Prince Edward Drive, between Government Rd and Dundas St. The organ would live and be used within the church for a year, until, unfortunately, a suit between Creech and Thomas Montgomery resulted in the seizure and sale of the organ at auction (see source below). Meade bought a melodeon to serve as the church's new instrument, which was also more appropriate for the small size of the building.
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In 1869, Meade was contracted by the city to build a new bridge connecting both sides of Lambton Mills over the Humber River, across what is now Old Dundas St. His bid to complete the job for $1,790 won him the contract (see source below). The bridges on the Humber were destroyed many times over by flooding, and Meade's version of the bridge was likely washed away in 1879.
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In 1875, Lambton Mills needed a new public school. Meade had previously built a school in Eatonville, and was up for the task in Lambton. On the same site today is Lambton Kingsway Junior Public School, at Prince Edward Drive and Government Rd.
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In the late 1870s, the neighbourhood grew out of its small church, and Meade was hired to build a new church (pictured above) at Dundas and Prince Edward Drive. This church served the community for about a decade before yet another, larger location was necessary. Meade's building would be used as a retail location until it burned down in 2021.
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Meade also built his family a new home in 1885 on Dundas St W (pictured at top of page), which housed his descendents until 1967 when Meade's granddaughter, Josephine, passed away. The house was demolished the following year.
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Lambton Methodist Church, Dundas Street West, north side, between Humber River & Royal York Road. James Victor Salmon, photographer, 1954. Baldwin Collection of Canadiana, TPL. Public Domain.