We have a former leader of the province of Canada, as well as a beloved Milton butcher.
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 Furik Place and Logan Drive. This week, we’re looking at Clitherow Street and Stemman Place.
Starting alphabetically with Clitherow, Challinor says the namesake helped lead Canada out of a rebellion.
John Clitherow fulfilled his duty and then moved back to the United Kingdom. Challinor suggests the harsh weather had an impact on this decision, as well as Clitherow’s family wealth.
Our second street this week is Stemman Place. The namesake is a very well-known family of butchers in Milton, with their business still around to this day.
Looking back on the career of Peter Stemman, Challinor notes that he began working on James Snow’s farm at a young age. When Snow became a politician, Stemman took on the role of Snow’s driver. During this time, Stemman also developed a catering business. Eventually, Stemman returned to the family business, and that’s when Wally’s Meats moved to Main Street as The Meat Terminal.
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.