Canadian History (Page 10)

Yes, church buildings have featured prominently in this project, and that should come as no surprise as many of the oldest buildings in town are churches. But also they are some of the more interesting buildings in town to photograph. One of my first photo projects was related to Milton’s churches. Despite the look of the grey fieldstone Grace Anglican Church the current building standing on the hill looking down on the main street is not the oldest church in town nor is this building the original building for the Anglicans in Milton. While the congregation dates to the 1850s and if you will noticeRead More →

Unless you live in Milton, you may not realise the rich architectural heritage that my hometown has to offer. Sadly many of our oldest buildings no longer stand and most that do stand date only to the mid-century, that century is the 19th. And I would have many different homes to choose from, but I wanted something new different and never have been in my camera’s viewfinder before. The Lawson House dates to 1893 built by a local merchant. Sadly I cannot find anything about John Lawson or what role he played in the town. But I do like the house, the creeping vines alongRead More →

There are several iconic buildings that sit along Milton’s main street. There’s the old City Hall, the Quality Green sign, the various churches, the Ivy Arms pub. But besides the churches, there has always been one building that drew my eye, the brick post office. While not the original Milton post office, that post office from 1836 is what earned Milton its name as decided by George Brown (who would become the town’s first Mayor). To the best of my knowledge that post office served until the brick one opened, its cornerstone laid in a grand ceremony in the summer of 1914. Located at theRead More →

In the archives of the Milton Champion newspaper, there is a file photo of two little boys looking with smiles on a ball and chain. The two boys are myself and my brother who took a tour of the Town Hall during a New Year’s Day event hosted by the town mayor Gord Krantz. And it shows the dark history of the town hall. When Halton County became independent, the Foster family wanted to ensure Milton’s status as the county seat, and in 1855 a county court, jail, and land registry office were completed. The building saw expansion in 1877 adding on the jail anRead More →

These days you probably would walk past this building without a second glance, a little bit out of the way of the downtown and overlooked by many but this building once was the centre of the town of Milton. When Milton saw incorporation as a town in 1858, the need to construct a town hall began. As a building, it served many purposes once it saw completion in 1865 as a market hall and local police station. The land it sits on was donated by Joseph Martin (one of Jasper’s sons) and once had a beautiful bell and cupola, both of which have been removed.Read More →

From the big cities to the small towns across Canada there is always some form of war trophy usually near the town’s cenotaph. Some little, other’s big, not to mention various pieces of material donated or captured during one of the many significant conflicts that Canadain troops fought and gave their lives. Milton’s gun is one of three guns designated for the town and the only one that arrived in town; it’s unknown what happened to the pair of machine guns. This particular piece of artillery is an FK16, a 7.7cm field gun that came to Milton in surprisingly excellent condition. Captured by Canadian troopsRead More →

One thing that I like about Milton is the fact we have a downtown, not just a city centre but a downtown, that historic core when the town sprung up from. Today there are a couple of pubs, restaurants, shops, and churches. But it wasn’t always so, the downtown of Milton used to have plenty of industry. From the original mills built by the Martin family, the PL Robertson factory. And take, for example, this building here, if you travelled back to 1892 Milton you may not recognize the place. It was built as the Winn Shoe Company, it also served as the Model KnittingRead More →

Some of my earliest adventures exploring abandoned buildings were taken here in Milton, small farmhouses mostly. But what would have been amazing to check out was the Milton Pressed Brick Company. Formed in 1877 as one of the early large scale industrial setups in Milton. Milton Pressed Brick by the name not only baked their bricks, but they also pressed them. Which in the world of brick production produced a higher-quality product. By 1901 it was said that the company was producing some of the best bricks. The plant continued operation until 1974 and at the peak employed some 200 people. Yet today there’s littleRead More →

Like most history, there is always a bit of legend mixed in with fact and a fair amount of embellishment. That statement is even true when it comes to PL Robertson. If you live in Canada you know well the socket or square head screw, it’s standard across all provinces and all trades. Peter L. Robertson would often tell the story of how, as a screw salesman, a slotted screwdriver slipped during a demonstration and sliced his arm. Being both a salesman and an inventor, Robertson decided to invent a safer head for the standard screw. Although the more likely story is that Robertson sawRead More →

People, Places, and Things they all intersect with our lives in various ways and at multiple times, all according to a plan. I’m one who believes that everything happens for a reason; you may not always realise it at that time or won’t until much later. Take, for example, Southside Community Church; my family attended the church briefly when it first opened, but I became attached even attending Sunday School there before going to Knox later that Sunday morning. In High School thanks to a coworker of my mom, I went to the youth group there also, met many friends, or older siblings of thoseRead More →