How much of Milton’s history do you know?
We continue to dive into the local history behind Milton’s street names. There are three streets this week: Denyes Way, Shepherd Place, and the listener-suggested Byng Court. Last week, we covered Deacon Drive, Savoline Boulevard, and Chee Chee Landing.
We’re able to do this thanks to the tremendous work done by Milton Historical Society President John Challinor. If you weren’t aware, Challinor and the late great historian, Jim Dills, wrote the book on Milton street names, having written Milton Streets back in 2007.
Looking at Denyes Way, you may know the name – but you likely don’t know the namesake.
He adds that there’s very much a connection in the Milton community and the Denyes name when you have both a street and a school named after two separate members of the family.
Our second street this week has an interesting origin. Challinor says Shepherd Place is named after a popular local cab driver from 30s, 40s, and 50s.
For some, a local cab driver in a small town can almost serve as a mobile therapist. Back in the day, many would have gone to Shepherd with their issues and vented away. It was his likeable personality that made him the local figure that he became and why a street was named after him here in Milton.
Mr. Shepherd passed away in 1959.
Our final street for this week is Byng Court. The listener who suggested the street name joked that they always thought it was named after Chandler Bing from the TV show ‘Friends’. Challinor says “not quite.”
He adds that while Milton has been naming its arterial roads after provincial and national figures, such as Leger Way, since the 1990s, Byng Court was named way back in 1973. Challinor gives a lot of credit to the Town Council at the time that would’ve approved the street name being named after such a prominent part of Canadian history.
If you’re looking to understand how Milton’s streets were 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, as well as suggested names. 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 interest us.
As a note, leading up to Remembrance Day, we’ll be covering streets named after local veterans. If you live on a street that has a poppy on its sign, we want to hear from you! Give us your suggestions so that we can do our best to help uncover the history of Milton’s bravest.
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.
