Have you ever wondered who your street was named after?
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 Hunter Drive and Lowe Lane. This week, we’re focusing on Hood Terrace and MacArthur Drive.
Starting in alphabetical order with Hood Terrace, Challinor says the street was named after a former Milton Citizen of the Year.
He adds that residents may also know Murray’s brother, Bruce, who officiated more than 1000 NHL regular season games. He is found in the Milton Sports Hall of Fame and on the Milton Walk of Fame. Murray Hood passed away in June 2020.
Our other street this week is MacArthur Drive. The namesake was a local landowner-turned-developer from decades ago.
That’s a polite way of saying they are very nice homes found in rural Milton.
Challinor adds that MacArthur Drive was named prior to the Town of Milton ensuring that streets be named after local figures, locations, etc. That said, he does concede that it’s fair for MacArthur to have a street named after him since he developed the area, and most local developers are also involved in the community (though not much is known about MacArthur).
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.
