A piece of 200-year-old history and a former farm-to-table business owner!
Each week, we speak with Milton Historical Society (MHS) 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 Clarkson Gate and Stewart Crescent. This week, we’re focusing on Shade Lane and Tock Close.
Starting alphabetically with Shade, Challinor says the name is actually named after a person from Milton’s history, not from the shade provided by a tree.
Let’s also acknowledge that Absalom Shade is an all-time great name.
Present day, Shade’s Mills has been turned into a Conservation Area along the Grand River. You can find it at 450 Avenue Road in Cambridge.
As for Tock Close, Challinor says the namesake was a lifelong farmer who eventually evolved his business into a grocery store in Milton in the late 1800s.
Milton’s Main Street has a long history with grocery stores, with many residents likely recognizing this prominent sign on one of its buildings. Quality Greens officially closed in 2006, ending a long run of traditional downtown grocery stores in Milton.
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.
