With Thursday being Remembrance Day, we’re focusing on Milton streets named after local veterans.
Each week, we dive into the local history behind Milton’s street names. There are two streets this week: Archer Way and Beaty Trail. Last week, we covered Dewar Court and Shortreed Crescent.
We’re able to do this thanks to the tremendous work done by Milton Historical Society President John Challinor II. 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.
Challinor says Archer Way is named after one particularly brave young man.
Jonathan Watts Archer was 28-years-old when he died just months before the end of the first World War. Challinor says that he was originally from England and worked in agriculture in Milton before leaving for the war.
Beaty Trail has an interesting wrinkle in its story. Challinor says Walter Beaty died while fighting in the second World War.
While Beaty Trail is found in the Beaty neighbourhood, Challinor says they do not share the same namesake. The Beaty neighbourhood was named after Hugh Beaty: a local dairy farmer and soldier. During the interview, Challinor wasn’t sure if Walter was possibly a relative of Hugh, someone Challinor knew personally. He later emailed to say that his research suggests the two namesakes weren’t related. It appears to be just a coincidence.
If you’d like to learn more about local soldiers, there are a few resources for you to check out:
- Milton Remembers World War I And The Men And Women We Never Knew. 2006. John Challinor II and Jim Dills. The book is out of print but available on loan at the Milton Public Library;
- Milton Remembers World War II. 1995. Ken Lamb. Available for sale at the Milton Historical Society online shop; and
- Town of Milton website street names bank.
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.
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.
(Article originally published on November 8th)
