It turns out, a Milton street is not named after a South American country.
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.
Recently, we covered Freeman Trail and Mitchell Place. This week, we’re focusing on Montgomery Lane and Peru Road. Starting with Montgomery Lane, Challinor says the street is named after one of Milton’s original developers.
He adds that subdivisions were built differently in the 1800s. Residents would have been sold lots and then development would have been handled separately. That’s why older houses are all designed in different ways.
Moving to a street that was suggested by a listener: Peru Road. Challinor says the street has a Scottish origin.
When looking into the connection of the name Peru and Scotland, not much comes up outside of soccer scores. Challinor suggests it could be that the Scottish community the original settlers came from and named the hamlet after could have dissolved over the last 150 years and is now a part of another community; similar to the Peru hamlet within Milton.
The listener who suggested Peru Road also wanted to learn more about a heritage home located on the street. Despite an incoming subdivision development, Challinor says the heritage building will remain as part of the eventual neighbourhood.
Learn more on that development 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.
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.
