Is Milton known for its animals?
Each week, we speak with Milton Historical Society President John Challinor II to gather information and details about the namesakes of our roads. If you weren’t aware, he and the late great historian, Jim Dills, wrote the book on Milton street names, writing Milton Streets back in 2007.
He was gracious enough to still do the interview this week despite suffering a throat injury during a hockey game.
Recently, we covered Harrison Road and McClenahan Crescent. This week, we’re focusing on the listener-suggested Beaver Court, and Cardinal Court. Starting with Beaver, Challinor says it was named for our country’s national animal.
He adds that Milton does have beavers living along our waters. They’re mostly in Nassagaweya and routinely cause flooding with their dams in the spring, which is a major issue.
Our other street this week is Cardinal Court. Challinor says it was named after a popular local bird.
While municipalities don’t typically declare a community bird, like how a country may declare a national bird, Challinor has a hard time believing the cardinal would win the title. That’s primarily due to Milton’s high number of more common birds, including sparrows, crows, and robins.
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.
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.
