What is the history behind the names of Milton streets?
Each Monday, we dive into the stories local street names. 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.
Last week, Chris Pimentel filled in, covering March Crossing and Duff Crescent. March Crossing was a request from a listener as she was wondering why there were horses on the street signs in the area. A follow-up email from Challinor says “the horses on the signage were added by Mattamy Homes as a decorative addition to the street signs to raise marketing awareness.” The poppy on the street sign for March Crossing is to notify residents that the namesake was a veteran.
This week, we’re covering three street names: Duncan Lane, as well as the listener suggested-Knees Point and Wrigglesworth Crescent.
Running alphabetically, Challinor says Duncan Lane is named after John Duncan, a prominent Milton resident from the 1800s.
He adds that the Milton Mechanics Institute served as the local library. This was at a time when they were privately operated. It eventually became the Milton Public Library.
Next up is Knees Point. Unfortunately, Challinor says Charles Knees is one of a handful of early members of the municipality that has little known about them other than their service for the community.
He notes that this happened as early history was scarcely tracked. He’s happy for the excellent work done by the Milton Historical Society to maintain and track down historical records, as well as the work done by the Milton Champion over its history.
Our last street this week is Wrigglesworth Crescent. Challinor says Mr. Wrigglesworth was a local veteran and popular plummer.
He adds that there are many Wrigglesworth family members still in town, saying that it’s a very common family name in this area. Unfortunately, the plumbing business is no longer active as Norman’s son Howard (who carried the business on) passed away a few years ago.
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.
