Another week, another pair of Milton street names to dive into!
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 Johnson Heights and Lawson Road. This week, we’re focusing on Jones Terrace and Laurier Avenue.
We’ll start alphabetically with Jones Terrace, Challinor says the namesake was a local woodworker and politician.
He adds that the shift from cabinet making to undertaking was a natural one at the time. Back then, it wasn’t uncommon for woodworkers in the community to become undertakers because they could make the caskets and coffins.
Jones had a strong understanding with his work as Milton’s assessor and collector. He was in charge of gathering tax payments, and also assessed how much a property was worth.
One could say he helped you with getting your first home and your very last home.
Moving on to Laurier Avenue, Challinor confirms that it is named after the beloved Canadian Prime Minister.
He adds that Laurier was a big factor in evolving Canada’s economy with international trade agreements. Laurier is routinely ranked in the top three, if not first, on lists of ‘Greatest Canadian Prime Ministers’.
With the development of the Milton Education Village, the Laurier name will be attached to another major piece of Milton’s community. While no set date has been set on the incoming Wilfrid Laurier University campus in Milton, we will get a Conestoga Campus sooner than expected. Read about that 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.
