We have two Milton street namesakes who played major parts in Milton’s development.
Every Friday, 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.
Recently, we covered Hume Way and Livock Trail. This week, we’re focusing on Hugh Street and Livingston Road.
Starting alphabetically with Hugh, Challinor says the namesake is the same as a number of other streets, and even a building!
Hugh Foster Hall can be found on the south-end of Milton’s Town Hall.
Hugh Street also turns into Hugh Lane, which is a walkway that connects Main Street with Mary Street. Challinor notes that it likely was, at one point, used for transportation like any other streetway. However, with the creation of automobiles, it became too narrow for anything other than a walking or biking. Hugh Lane is also known in town as where Milton Member of Parliament (MP) Adam van Koeverden’s office is located.
Our other street this week is Livingston Road. Challinor says Mr. Livingston played an underrated part in one of Milton’s biggest boom periods.
Thomas Livingston also created Milton post cards that portrayed Milton as a place of destination (or even, ‘A Place of Possibility‘). The post cards lured residents from around southern Ontario to consider Milton as a weekend spot to take a boat out onto Mill Pond or even go for a swim.
Adding on to John Sproat House, the building was also where PL Robertson lived when his factory was open in Milton. Challinor notes that he was a very active and well known part of the community. The factory employed many Milton residents and brought a boom-period to Milton that Challinor notes was somewhat comparable to the growth we’re currently seeing around town (though he believes the current growth period is more significant).
The Milton Historical Society and John Duignan will be holding a presentation on Livingston and his post cards this fall. You can follow their events and activities here.
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.
