Street Name Monday continues here on FM 101 Milton.
Each week, we cover local street names and discover the history behind them. This is 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.
One of our streets this week is a major road in Milton: Derry Road. Challinor says it has ties to Ireland.
He says that the road that we now know was at one point in the centre of a small village of Irish settlers – which then became the Town of Milton.
Derry Road was once known as Ten Side Road. It was eventually renamed.
Our second street for this week is one of the more unique street names in Milton: Santa Maria Boulevard. Challinor says the name comes from our only Sister City.
He adds that the relationship between the two communities has gotten a little quiet over the years. In his time as a Councillor (since 2018), he hasn’t heard much of Santa Maria. That could be, in part, because of the pandemic, he says reassuringly.
We also got a request to do Dills Crescent this week. It’s a good time to say we already covered it! You can read about Dills Crescent here.
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.
