How many streets in Milton are named after Prime Ministers?
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 Holgate Crescent and Mae Court. This week, we’re focusing on Hollinrake Crescent and Mackenzie Drive.
Starting with Hollinrake, Challinor says he was a former Councillor who owned a local general store in the 1800s.
He was also a key member of the Methodist Church in Milton and was known for his singing voice as a member of their choir.
The other street we’re covering this week is Mackenzie Drive. Challinor says it’s named after the second Prime Minister of Canada.
Milton has a high number of streets named after federal figures such as Prime Ministers and Governor Generals. Challinor says that as long as the Town develops new streets, these federal figures will continued to be honoured with street names.
When discussing current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Challinor says it is unlikely that we see him honoured with a street because there is already a street named after Pierre Trudeau in Trudeau Drive. It’s important to have street names that are differentiable for emergency services. That said, one could make a case to name it something like ‘Justin Trudeau Avenue’ and change Trudeau Drive to ‘Pierre Trudeau Drive’. That matter would be taken up with Town Council when discussing the Street Name Bank.
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.
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