How much do you know about Milton’s history?
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 Joseph Street and Kennedy Circle. This week, we’re focusing on Joyce Boulevard and Kerr Trail.
Starting alphabetically with Joyce, Challinor says his records don’t share too much about the Joyce family. He does know that they owned the land that made up a lot of what is considered Dorset Park today.
It is fairly common to see a farming family honoured with a street name after selling their property for development. Recently, we covered how the Lawson family was in a similar situation that developed the industrial area surrounding Lawson Road.
When it comes to not knowing much about the Joyce family, sometimes people fall through the cracks of history. If you have information on them, feel free to reach out!
READ: Looking for work? Milton Chamber of Commerce is hiring
Our second street this week is Kerr Trail. Challinor says it was named after a popular Milton pharmacist.
That was the first time I heard ‘druggist’ as a term, so you certainly learn something new everyday.
Challinor adds that the Kerr family was very well known among residents. There were teachers, lawyers, members of town staff, and of course, the pharmacist. Certainly a prominent family.
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.
