A history before the long weekend!
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 Jean Landing and Pan Am Boulevard. This week, we’re focusing on Arkell Road and Black Drive.
Starting alphabetically with Arkell, Challinor says it’s named after a nearby community that no longer exists.
An example that Challinor provides for a longer road that is named after where it leads is Guelph Line. Both Bronte Street and Bronte Road are also named after the former hamlet of Bronte, which is now a part of Oakville.
It’s important to know that municipalities are always changing, adapting, and evolving. A recent local example of this is how the Peel Region is dissolving to allow Brampton, Caledon, and Mississauga to each be separate municipalities and cities. There was once talk of Halton’s four municipalities amalgamating to become ‘The City of Halton’. That was put to rest by the Ontario Government in 2019, but could always become a discussion topic in the future.
Moving on to Black Drive, Challinor says the street is named after an old farming family.
He adds that anyone with a copy of an old Halton map, circa 1870, can find the Black farmstead. Those maps could tell the story of how prominent the Black family was in Milton and the surrounding area.
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.
