Strangely enough, I’ve heard Miltonians pronounce a local street name two different ways. I’m happy to say I finally have an answer.
myFM News continues to dive into the history of local street names with President of the Milton Historical Society, John Challinor. In case you’re wondering, Challinor and the late great historian, Jim Dills, wrote the book on Milton street names, having written Milton Streets back in 2007. Now, we’re looking at why these roads are named what they are.
We’re looking at a trio of names this week: Bastedo Court, Waters Boulevard, and Bronte Street. If you’re curious, we covered Appleby Line and Commercial Street last week. Commercial Street: a mostly residential road with a business-first name.
Looking at Bastedo Court first, Challinor says it was named after a young Milton man from the 1800’s who accomplished a lot in his short life.
He adds that with Bastedo’s role as the Crown Attorney, he would’ve handled big cases in the area at the time.
Our next street is Waters Boulevard. It’s a fairly common surname, but residents in the area likely notice the poppy on the street sign. That’s the symbol for the namesake being a veteran. Joe Waters served in World War One and was a charter member of the founding of the Royal Canadian Legion, leading to Milton’s Legion being named the Royal Canadian Legion Private Joe Waters Branch No. 136. Challinor says Mr. Waters played a big role in the local Remembrance Day ceremonies.
Ray Waters passed away just a few years ago. With the COVID-19 pandemic affecting the 2020 Remembrance Day ceremony, Challinor couldn’t recall who replaced Ray.
Our last name for this week is a street that for some reason, Miltonians seem to pronounce it differently. It’s Bronte Street. Some say BRON-tee, others say BRON-tay. Challinor says it is, in fact, BRON-tee, and that it’s origins are quite simple: it’s named after the hamlet.
He says that’s why there is a Bronte Street and a Bronte Road (the name of Ontario Street/Regional Road 25 in Oakville).
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@mbcmedia.ca. Otherwise, we’ll just continue asking about local street names that we find interesting.
