Photo: Town of Milton
It’s Street Name Monday!
On a weekly basis, we speak with local historian 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. Challinor also served seven years as the President of the Milton Historical Society.
Recently, we focused on Hearns Place and Shade Lane. This week, we’re covering Halm Road and Sydenham Lane.
Starting alphabetically with Halm, Challinor says the name comes from a local blacksmith, but the details are still relatively unknown.
He adds that what we know about Halm comes down to historical records kept at the Milton Historical Society, thanks to the work done by the local newspaper over the previous century.
Our second street name this week is Sydenham Lane. Challinor says this particular namesake was Lieutenant Governor, and is known for his remarkable efficiency in the role.
Legal name Charles Poulett Thomson, Lord Sydenham was responsible for uniting Upper and Lower Canada into the Province of Canada. The move is believed to be a significant step towards to the country becoming what it is today, becoming independent just 26 years later.
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.
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 X account or 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 (Milton)
- News1015@LocalRadio.ca (Orangeville)
- News92@LocalRadio.ca (South Simcoe)
- Rick.Sargent@LocalRadio.ca (Bolton)
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.
