What’s in a name?
myFM News is diving into the history of local street names. The President of the Milton Historical Society, John Challinor, literally wrote the book on Milton street names, having written ‘Milton Streets‘ back in 2007 with the late local historian, Jim Dills.
This being the first week, we asked Challinor an easy one: ‘Where did Steeles Avenue get its name?’
Steeles is one of the biggest roads in Ontario, starting at Appleby Line on the Escarpment and running past Markham. Challinor says it measures in at about 77 – 78 km long. It also happens to be one of the oldest arterial roads in the province, dating further back than the well known Dundas Street.
The road was even considered one of the worst in Ontario for a time being. That’s because it wasn’t maintained properly for the bulk of its history. Challinor notes that in 2010, the federal government got involved and ensured that Steeles Avenue would be properly maintained. Because of that, the Town Councillor for Ward 2 says that CAA considers Steeles to be one of the best kept roads in southern Ontario.
Now, it wasn’t always known as Steeles Avenue here in Milton. As Challinor points out, it had a more generic original name locally.
If you drive along Steeles Avenue in Milton, you may notice that it has a more industrial feel to it. Lined with factories, the road really stands out from the residential look that Milton has since developed. Challinor says that’s because back in the 50s and 60s, Steeles Avenue wasn’t really a part of Milton. Likely because of its outskirts location as Upper Baseline Road, Steeles became the spot for manufacturing facilities. It wasn’t until the introduction of Highway 401 that Milton really took on Steeles Avenue through amalgamation and developed around it, with Challinor noting how it’s a major arterial road – helping connect Regional Road 25 with the 401.
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.
Now, Steeles Avenue was chosen this week due to the simple fact that 101.3 myFM’s station is located there. If you have a suggestion on what you’d like to learn about next week, let us know! You can message our Facebook page, Twitter account, Instagram page, or even email us at News1013@mbcmedia.ca. Otherwise, we’ll just continue asking about local street names that we find interesting.
