Please see below information about the historic plaques in Midhurst developed by the Midhurst Historical Society. Please click on the image to enlarge. You can also download this flyer here: 

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Streets with a tree theme to their names

Many of Midhurst’s streets have a tree theme to their names: Idlewood Drive, Rosewood, Briarwood Court, Silverwood Crescent, Crystalwood Lane, Heatherwood Drive, Golden Oak Drive, Willow Bay Drive., Willow Landing Road, Cedar Creek Road, Green Pine Avenue, Green Pine Gate, Maplecrest Road, Forest Hill Drive.

Streets named after developers or builders

Several of our streets are named after developers or builders: Coles Court – John Cole developer, DeAmicis Cres. – Frank & Joe builders, De Amicis means “the home of friends”in Italian, Frid Boulevard – Peter Frid developer, Sant Road – Al Sant developer

Streets named after pioneers or prominent citizens

  • Cairns Boulevard – Ivan Cairns was the roads superintendent in Vespra for many years. His father, David, came to Canada in 1886 and worked as a stone mason. They had a farm on county road 27 near the CHAY radio station.
  • Carson Road – Robert Carson came to Vespra (Springwater) before 1890 and established a farm on Willson Drive. He had two sons and five daughters.
  • Channen Court – Ross Channen was Simcoe County Museum’s first curator.
  • Currie Drive – named after the family that owns the Currie Truck Centre.
  • Doran Road – Named after the Doran family who lived on Doran Road across from the Midhurst Community Centre. Jim Doran was a Councillor, Deputy Reeve and Reeve. His son, Carl, also served the Township as Councillor, Deputy Reeve and Reeve.
  • Dwyer Road – Edward Dwyer and his wife, Ellen came to Midhurst in 1866 and farmed along St. Vincent Street. He had a family of nine children who remained in the Midhurst area.
  • Finlay Mill Road – Alex Finlay purchased the sawmill on Willow creek along with 348 acres of timberland. His son, also Alex continued with the mill. Alex Junior was interested in politics and served as deputy reeve and reeve from 1910 to 1912. Alex Senior donated the land on which Midhurst United Church sits.
  • Gill Road – Richard Gill settled on Gill Road in 1832 near the Baptist church. Several generations of Gills farmed in the same location.
  • Holloway Lane – George & Eileen Holloway owned the property which was developed in this area.
  • Forbes Road – The Forbes family have farmed along Forbes Road for many years.
  • McCartney Gate – Jack & Alma McCartney and her husband came to farm in Midhurst in the 1940s. They lived on current day Willow Landing Road but the farm was not very productive and Jack took jobs in Barrie to supplement their income.
  • McGowan Place – Robert McGowan came to Canada with the 71st Highlanders in 1826 and he explored the area around Midhurst. After being discharged from the army, he returned to Midhurst where he farmed on Gill Road for many years. His, John, was a magistrate and a township councillor.
  • Noraline Avenue – Named after George Holloway’s wife (Aline) and mother (Nora). George and Aline owned the land around Noraline.
  • Orser Drive – Named after Lorne and Marion Orser who owned the property around Orser Drive and Belmont Crescent. Both Lorne and Marion were highly involved in the community through their work with the Anglican church and the Midhurst Historical Society.
  • Poole’s Road – Robert Poole came to Midhurst from England about 1870. Although he was primarily a farmer, he also worked as a road builder for the logging industry.
  • Russell Road – Andrew & Isabella Russell moved to Russell Road in 1862 from York, England. They were pioneer farmers had several children. One of their descendants was Hunter Russell for whom the Hunter Russell trail is named. Hunter was a farmer who had many accomplishments in his life: an innovator in many farming methods, director with several farm organizations, a great contributor to Midhurst United Church, a world traveller, to name a few of his accomplishments.
  • Spence Avenue – Jim Spence and the Spence family were long-time residents of Midhurst. Jim was familiar to most people in this area because he operated the gas station that sat in the place which is currently occupied by the Midhurst Mall.
  • Vernar Drive – Marion & Lorne Orser named this road after Vernar Walt who also owned some property in the area.
  • Wattie Road – Charles Wattie settled in Vespra in 1862 farmed for many years. He and his wife had 12 children, and his oldest son, Charles continued to farm after him. He was also interested in politics and was Reeve of Vespra from 1914 to 1922. Eventually the Watties moved to a house on Wattie Road (opposite the cairn at Finlay Mill Road).

Street names from random sources 

  • Belmont Cres. – Marion Orser, one of the landowners of this part of Midhurst, named it after Belmont Park in England.
  • Cowdray Park Lane – named after a large park in Midhurst, England.
  • Jodie’s Lane – Mary Morrison lived on Jodie’s lane when this road was constructed. She had a dog named “Jodie” who thought that she owned the lane. As a result, the street was named after her dog.
  • Lilac Lane – Before Springwater merged with Flos and Elmvale in 1994, Midhurst was in Vespra Township which adopted the lilac as its plant. In fact, the crest of Vespra Township featured a lilac. At one point there were several varieties of lilac planted on Gill road near the intersection of Doran Road.
  • Midves Court – Midhurst was in the Township of Vespra until amalgamation in 1994, this street took its name from the combination of the first three letters of MIDhurst and VESpra.
  • Mostar – A city in Bosnia (where the builder came from).
  • Neretva Street – named after a large river in Bosnia.
  • Malta Crescent – named after the developer’s (Al Sant’s) country.
  • St. Vincent Street –Named after a famous naval battle in 1797 when the British defeated the Spanish.