It’s always interesting to hear the stories behind our local street names.
Each week, we speak with Milton Historical Society President John Challinor to gather information and details about the namesakes of our roads. If you weren’t aware, Challinor and the late great historian, Jim Dills, wrote the book on Milton street names, writing Milton Streets back in 2007.
Last week, we covered Fay Court and Panton Trail. This week, our focus is on Cargill Path and Winn Trail.
Starting off with Cargill Path, Challinor says the Cargill family ran a major lumber business in Milton.
Back in the time, lumber was a pretty prominent industry for Milton. Challinor says it’s definitely not the same in 2022, but Milton does have a lot of what he calls ‘lumber finishing’. This is gathering wood from areas around the country and finishing the lumber into finer pieces for furniture.
Our second street this week is Winn Trail. Challinor says the road is named after the owner of an old shoe store.
Mr. Winn received financial compensation from the municipality at the time to move his business to Milton from the Cambridge area. This was a common practice at the time that is no longer allowed, but is the process credited to bringing PL Robertson to Milton – which Challinor notes – was potentially the greatest thing to ever happen to the municipality.
As Challinor notes, the shoe store had up to 60 employees at one point. This is because shoes were not in mass production like they are today. They were being made from scratch locally, and Challinor notes that Winn would’ve had close relationships with local farmers for things like leather hides.
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.
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