This might be the most unique story behind the naming of a Milton street we’ve ever covered.
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 Houston Drive and Louis St. Laurent Avenue. This week, we’re focusing on Huffman Crescent and Maiden Lane.
Starting in alphabetical order with Huffman, Challinor says the namesake (Henry Huffman) once owned a pretty major section of downtown Milton.
Huffman also owned the land that eventually became the hamlet of Ashgrove that was a part of Esquesing Township, which is now a part of Halton Hills.
The next Milton street name we’ll cover this week is Maiden Lane. While most streets in our town are named after important local figures, locations or other features, Maiden Lane was seemingly named for the people who were seen walking along it.
Maiden is defined online as:
“a girl or young woman, especially an unmarried one.”
Challinor notes that it’s a clear sign of the time in which it was named. He recalls discussing it with his friend and fellow local historian, the late Jim Dills, years ago. They joked that Milton could have easily had something like a ‘Scoundrel Lane’ named after the men walking home intoxicated from the bars.
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.
