A former entrepreneur and a path to Milton’s outdoor pool!
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 Bill Buckley Ring Road and Mount Pleasant Way. This week, we’re focusing on Brandon Terrace and Garden Lane.
Starting alphabetically with Brandon, Challinor says the name comes from a former business owner dating back more than 100-years ago.
Challinor says the brick industry was a booming one around the turn of the 20th century, but quickly died down as the years went on. He says the reasons for this come down to a finite amount of local resources (namely clay), and competition around the Greater Toronto Area was hard to go up against. The same happened with Milton limestone companies. By World War One, Brandon was essentially out of business.
Moving on to Garden Lane, Challinor says the street is named for the gardens next to Mill Pond.
At the end of Garden Lane is Rotary Park, which is home to the only outdoor pool in Milton. As an interesting note, Challinor reflects on the outdoor pool that was once open at Kelso Conservation Area. He says it opened around the same time as the Rotary Park, but closed about a decade later due to maintenance issues.
Rotary Park saw a resurgence on the community during the pandemic, with COVID-19 restrictions leading many residents only able to publicly swim outdoors. Challinor thinks the pandemic has increased the longevity of the outdoor pool, which is already at 60-years-old.
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.
