Milton, Ontario

Milton (2006 population 58,700) is a town in southern Ontario, Canada, about 40 km west of Toronto on Highway 401, and is the western terminus for GO Transit's Milton Line commuter train and bus corridor.

Milton is part of the Greater Toronto Area and is the seat of Halton Region, and is on the edge of the Niagara Escarpment, a UNESCO world biosphere reserve and the Bruce Trail.

History

The town took root out of a settlement by Jasper Martin, along the Sixteen Mile Creek, who immigrated from Newcastle, England with his wife Sarah and two sons on May 17th, 1818. Martin was granted 100 acres (405,000 m²) of land, from the Crown in 1820, designated Lot 14, Concession 2, Township of Trafalgar, Halton County, in the District of Gore. Martin later built a grist mill along the creek and created a pond, known as Mill Pond, to power his mill. The mill became the centre of settlement for others as they settled in the region. In 1837 the area had a population of approximately 100 people and was named Mill Town. The town, as it is today, soon after became known as Milton, although not because of the homonymic similarity to Mill Town. The Martin family were instead paying tribute to author John Milton. The two principal property owners of the young town were the Martins and the Fosters. The current site of Milton's town hall was donated from Mr. Hugh Foster (and thus, Hugh Foster Hall).

Milton was incorporated into a town in 1857, after being chosen as county seat for Halton. In 1974, the present municipal structure was created when the Regional Municipality of Halton, replaced Halton County.

The new town of Milton added parts of the former township of Esquesing (most of this township comprises Halton Hills), all of Nassagaweya Township including the village of Campbellville, and the northern sections of Trafalgar and Nelson from (a 1962 annexation of the former townships) Oakville and Burlington respectively.

With the addition of the Niagara Escarpment lands, tourism, recreation, and hertiage conservation have increased in importance. The Halton Region Museum which has a large number of historic agricultural buildings and the Halton County Radial Railway museum are located in Milton, as is the Ontario Agricultural Museum. Five large parks operated by Conservation Halton reside in the city and Mohawk Raceway is located near Campbellville.

Since the town's inauguration there have been many famous residents. The list includes:

Chris Hadfield, NASA Astronaut;
Chris Charles, Renowned Molecular Biologist;
David James Elliott of TV's JAG,
Bruce Hood, Hockey Hall of Fame member, and retired NHL referee, travel agent, and aspiring politician,
P.L. Robertson, inventor of the Robertson screwdriver,
James W. Snow, politician.
John Tonelli, retired NHL hockey player
Bardey Wakler, retired painter.

Local Events

Every labour day weekend in Milton the annual Milton Steam-Era takes place. Steam-Era is the annual show produced by the "Ontario Steam & Antique Preservers Association" held at the Milton fairgrounds. Steam engines from the turn of the century silently puff there way around the grounds. 100's of tractors and stationary engines along with antique cars, models and agricultural displays recreate life in the rural country a 100 years ago. Website: http://www.steam-era.com

The Milton Fall Fair happens every year on the last weekend of September. The Fall Fair has been a tradtion in the town for over 60 years. Events include: Agricultural show midway, livestock, entertainment, the Demolition Derby and other traditional county fair events. The event takes place at the milton fair grounds located in the historic subdivsion area of Milton. Website: http://www.miltonfair.com

A farmers' market operates on Main St. in downtown Milton on Saturdays 8:00am - 12:00pm from May through October. The section of Main St. that hosts the market is closed off to vehicles during the event. Local Farmers proudly display "picked fresh this morning" produce and the streets come alive with artisans and flower vendors.

Education

Milton's public elementary and secondary schools are part of the Halton District School Board. Milton's Catholic elementary and secondary schools are part of the Halton Catholic District School Board. There are also several private schools in Milton that belong to various independent school organizations.

Private Schools:
- Milton Christian School (JK-4)
- Hitherfield Preparatory School (JK-8)
- Keswick Sutherland School & Equestrian Center (JK-8)
- Milton Heights Academy (JK-8)
- Halton Waldorf School (JK-8)
Halton Catholic District School Board:
- Bishop Paul Francis Reding Catholic High School (9-12)
- Guardian Angels Catholic School (J-8)
- Holy Rosary Catholic School (JK-8)
- Our Lady of Victory School (JK-8)
- St.Peter's School (JK-5)
Halton District School Board:
- Brookville Public School (JK-8)
- Bruce Trail Public School (JK-7)
- Chris Hadfield Public School (JK-8)
- E.C. Drury High School (9-12)
- E.W. Foster Public School (JK-5)
- Hawthorne Village Public School (JK-7)
- J.M. Denyes Public School (JK-5)
- Martin Street Public School (JK-5)
- Milton District High School (9-12)
- Robert Baldwin Public School (JK-5)
- Sam Sherratt Public School (JK-8)
- W.I. Dick Middle School (6-8)

Recreation

Milton has many conservation parks, campgrounds and recreational areas. The conservation parks in the Milton area are owned by Conservation Halton, a conservation authority

Development

The town has very easy access throughout the GTA by Highways 401 and 407 towards Oakville, Burlington and Hamilton on the town, or by the former Ontario Highway 25 (Halton Road 25). There are two key freight railway routes ( both by CN and CP ), passenger services from GO Transit, and VIA Rail passenger connections in the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor in both neighbouring Oakville and Georgetown. There is close proximity to Toronto Pearson International Airport along Highway 401 (under 40 km from 401/Halton 25 exit).

Milton Transit was reorganized in 2004, to provide public transportation service throughout the urban centre, as well as a feeder route for GO Transit trains and buses. Milton is currently renting buses from Oakville Transit.

While most of the development is suburban in nature, larger lots are being developed closer to the Escarpment. The major industries in Milton are automotive, advanced maufacturing, distribution and food production.

Residential growth has increased substantially over the past several years due to completion of "The Big Pipe" project; designed to deliver water to the town from Lake Ontario. Since this time, Milton has developed 4 new subdivisions and several new ones are under development by Mattamy Homes and various other builders. Two new gradeschools have been built as well as a shopping plaza that includes a Wal Mart, a Canadian Tire, a Montana's Cookhouse restaurant and several other smaller scale stores. An eight screen movie theatre will be operated by Cineplex Entertainment under their Galaxy Cinemas brand and is set to open June 30th, summer 2006. The population in Milton countinues to rise. It has been forcasted that by 2021, the population of Milton will have risen to 106,000.

Representation

Milton is listed under the Halton Riding

Canadian House of Commons:

Member of Parliament Garth Turner (Conservative)

Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

Member of Provincial Parliament Ted Chudleigh (PC)

External links

	North: Guelph-Eramosa
West: Puslinch, Campbellville	Milton	East: Halton Hills, Mississauga, Toronto
	South: Hamilton, Burlington, Oakville

Halton Region, Ontario | Towns in Ontario

Milton (Ontario) | Milton (Ontário)