We have the history behind a major street and a breakdown of how Milton got its name!
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.
Recently, we covered James Street and Little Crescent. This week, we’re focusing on James Snow Parkway and Jasper Street.
Starting with James Snow, Challinor says the namesake was a former longtime Ontario Cabinet Member, serving as the Member of Provincial Parliament for Halton (including Milton).
With a background in farming and construction, Challinor says Snow was the perfect person to serve as the Minister of Transportation.
An interesting fact mentioned by Challinor is that a portion of James Snow Parkway happens to run through what was once the old Snow family farm. He notes that there aren’t many local streets that have that kind of connection to the namesake.
Challinor was also an editor on an autobiography written by Snow, which is available for sale on the MHS website. He recalls his friendship with Snow well, saying that Snow was a very kind and intelligent man.
After serving his time in politics, Snow focused on aviation.
Moving on to our second street name this week, Challinor says Jasper Street is named after the patriarch of the original Martin family.
He adds that it was Jasper Martin who suggested the name ‘Milton’ for the town at an early meeting. The name comes from the Martin family’s favourite English poet, John Milton – author of ‘Paradise Lost’.
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.
