This will be an impressive Milton history lesson.
Each week, we speak with Milton Historical Society President John Challinor to gather information and details about the namesakes of our roads. If you weren’t aware, Challinor and the late great historian, Jim Dills, wrote the book on Milton street names, writing Milton Streets back in 2007.
Recently, we covered Frank Place and Moreau Lane. This week, we’re focusing on Freeman Trail and Mitchell Place.
Starting with Freeman, Challinor explains the fascinating history of the namesake.
He notes that Dr. Freeman is also in the Milton Walk of Fame.
The other street this week is Mitchell Place. Challinor says the street is named after a former local business owner.
Sash windows have since fallen out of favor due to their high maintenance with issues such as rot. Challinor says Mitchell’s window factory eventually closed up shop like many other manufacturing businesses.
Many businesses in the 19th and early 20th century were brought into Milton as investments by the municipality. The most notable case of this for Milton is the PL Robertson screw factory. These agreements are no longer allowed. Challinor says history tends to remember the winners, so he couldn’t think of any failed investments by the Town over the years, but notes there likely were a few. “Nobody bats .1000,” he quips.
If you’re looking to understand how Milton’s streets are named, you should check out the book written by Challinor and Dills. Published by the Milton Historical Society back in 2007, it sold out in about six weeks and has since been long out of print. That said, according to Challinor, you can still find a copy at the Milton Public Library. With nearly 15-years having passed since the initial publication, and the extensive town growth in that time, an updated book is likely to come.
You can also take a walk with the late Jim Dills down Milton’s Main Street in 2002.
If you have a suggestion on what you’d like to learn about next week, let us know! We’re currently working on names that we find interesting. You can message our Facebook page, Twitter account, Instagram page, or even email us at News1013@LocalRadio.ca. Otherwise, we’ll just continue asking about local street names that we find interesting.
Hey, things are changing for us here at MiltonNow.ca! If you have a news tip or story idea, you can now send us a heads up via email at News1013@LocalRadio.ca. If you’d like to get ahold of me personally, shoot me a message at Cameron.Wilkinson@LocalRadio.ca. We’re in the business of content creation, so no idea is a bad idea.
