The history behind Cousens Terrace, Sproat Street, and Chuchmach Close

Every Monday, FM 101 Milton dives into the history of local street names.

Last week, we covered Coulter Way, Stevenson Street, and the listener-suggested Willet Terrace. This week, we’re focusing on Cousens Terrace, Sproat Street, and Chuchmach Close.

We’re able to do this week-in and week-out due entirely to the excellent work done by the Milton Historical Society and its President, John Challinor II. If you weren’t aware, Challinor and the late great historian, Jim Dills, wrote the book on Milton street names, having written Milton Streets back in 2007.

Our first road this week is a street that was suggested by a listener. It’s one that many have likely mispronounced when coming across it. Challinor breaks down the history of Chuchmach Close.

Challinor adds that Nick Chuchmach was also recognized for his community work by the Town of Milton. He was an avid member of the Optimist Club and the Rotary Club. He says Nick and his brothers were very well known within the community, and so it made sense to honour Nick and them with the street name.

Looking at Sproat Street, Challinor says that Adam Sproat was a man who helped look over the Town of Milton, while also taking part in community activities as much as possible.

Challinor says he didn’t know Adam Sproat too well, but he did get to know his son and grandson. He provided some interesting Toronto Maple Leafs information as Adam Sproat’s son John, who eventually became a judge, represented the late Leafs owner Harold Ballard as his lawyer. As Regional Councillor Colin Best once said when discussing Best Road, street names don’t just honour the namesake, but the family as well.

Our last local street for this week is Cousens Terrace. Challinor says it was named in 2006 for Tony Cousens, a former Councillor.

The story goes that Cousens got a job in the area working on the Avro Arrow. Sadly, on what is considered ‘Black Friday’ in the Canadian aviation industry, the project was cancelled by Prime Minister John Diefenbaker in 1959. The community was hit hard and many residents had to find new work. This led Cousens and others (including former Milton Mayor Brian Best) to look elsewhere. Like Best, Cousens ended up with a stint in local politics. Challinor couldn’t comment on whether the Avro Arrow cancellation played a part in several of the workers dipping into politics.

If you’re looking to understand how Milton’s streets were 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, as well as suggested names. 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 interest us.

Hey, things are changing for us here at MiltonNow.ca! 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.