Milton’s streets are filled with a lot of history tidbits.
It’s Monday, and that means we’re covering the history behind Milton’s street names. Last week, we looked at Davis Lane, Robarts Drive, Frost Court, and Hugh Street/Lane. This week, we’re focusing on Chambers Place and Teetzel Drive.
Every week, we interview Milton Historical Society John Challinor and ask him for the stories behind several local street names. If you weren’t aware, Challinor and the late great historian, Jim Dills, wrote the book on Milton street names, having written Milton Streets back in 2007.
Challinor says that Albert Chambers was a big shop owner who found his way into the Mayor’s office.
Chambers was also big into horse racing, which was fairly common in Milton at the time. With Woodbine Mohawk being located in Campbellville, and considering the history of horse racing in Milton, Challinor says it’s mostly a happy coincidence that the racetrack was first built.
Our second street this week is Teetzel Drive. It was named for Mathias Teetzel, who just so happened to be one of the men responsible for developing downtown Milton.
He puts Teetzel right up with Hugh Foster as the most influential people in the early development of Milton.
A lot of the buildings that Teetzel helped develop were commercial. Unfortunately, Challinor notes that many have been destroyed by fires over the last century and a half.
If you’re looking to understand how Milton’s streets were 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, as well as suggested names. 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 interest us.
