We have two streets named after local pioneers!
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 Cedar Hedge Road and Tasker Court. This week, we’re focusing on McPhedran Point and Suitor Court.
Starting alphabetically with McPhedran, Challinor says the family settled in Nassagaweya Township more than 200 years ago.
He adds that, geographically, Nassagaweya was one of the biggest townships in southern Ontario. Over the years, much like Esquesing and Trafalgar, the borders kept being adjusted before they were absorbed by Milton in 1974 as Halton County became Halton Region.
In 2024, Milton is the largest geographically among the four Halton municipalities (Milton, Burlington, Oakville, and Halton Hills). Through Ontario’s growth mandate, Milton is expected to have the highest population among the group of four by 2051.
Moving on to our other street name this week, Challinor says Suitor Court also has ties to an early pioneering family.
He notes that for the original family to sell their Crown land to another, they would’ve had to make efforts to farm and live on the space. Challinor doesn’t know why exactly they sold the land to the Suitors, but says it’s possible they moved back overseas. The price of the transaction is not known, but it was significantly less than what several hundreds of acres in Milton would sell for in 2024.
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.
