It’s time once again to learn about Milton’s history!
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 Hobbs Crescent and Mara Circle. This week, we’re focusing on Holgate Crescent and Mae Court.
Starting with Holgate, you can find it in the Highway 401 Business Park in Milton. Challinor says the local road is named after a former merchant and clerk judge from more than a century and a half ago.
As a merchant, he sold a number of dry goods to which Challinor says his business could best be described as a general store.
Moving on to Mae Court, the street is located in a subdivision in Campbellville. Challinor says the street is named after a woman who was very well known in the community.
The Crawford Lumber Mill was located just southeast of the train crossing on Guelph Line in near Campbellville’s Main Street. The building is now the home of a furniture store and a Thai restaurant.
Challinor notes that 40-years ago, Campbellville was a very booming area for local business. He describes the community as the kind of place to go to for a Sunday afternoon.
The title of Campbellvile Honorary Mayor is no longer used, and Challinor couldn’t recall who last person with the title would have been. He says the person would have attended events in the area and cut ribbons at grand openings for businesses. Prospective business owners would have also been directed to the Honorary Mayor to discuss what owning a business in Campbellville was like.
CORRECTION:
The title of Campbellville Honourary Mayor continues to be used today. Provided by the President of the Campbellville Santa Claus Parade committee, Jennifer Sibbitt, a person has been chosen for the role by the committee every year since 1982. Their photos are proudly hung at the Nassagaweya Community Hall. Here is a list of our Mayors in recent years:
- 2005: Jean Woods
- 2006: Harry Yates
- 2007: Elaine Schram
- 2008: Steve Moffat
- 2009: Stuart Johnston
- 2010: Barry Lee
- 2011: Sharon and Larry Richardson
- 2012: Kathy and Jim Harding
- 2013: Garth Essery
- 2014: Tony Cristello
- 2015: Ruth Hull and Gary Williams
- 2016: Paul and Barb Singleton
- 2017: Bridget and Shawn Saulnier
- 2018: Cindy Lunau
- 2019: Debbie Stokes
- 2020: Community Helper Heros: Brian Spiteri, Susan Capone, Deborah Duclos, Rebecca Nevins & Karen Hosler
- 2021: John Han
“We are very excited to have recently announced our Mayor for the 2022 year as John Opsteen,” says Sibbitt in an email. “Where the Mayor title is honourary, they are involved in the two annual parade committee events. Our Honourary Mayor is responsible for kicking off the holiday season in Nassagaweya at our annual tree lighting ceremony at Gazebo Park. This is a fun annual event where residents gather to drink hot chocolate, sing carols and our Mayor officially lights the large tree in the park.”
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.