Milford, Delaware
Encyclopedia
Kent County, Delaware
Kent County is a county located in the central part of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is coextensive with the Dover, Delaware, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010 the population was 162,310, a 28.1% increase over the previous decade. The county seat is Dover, the state capital...
and Sussex
Sussex County, Delaware
Sussex County is a county located in the southern part of the U.S. state of Delaware. As of 2010 the population was 197,145, an increase of 25.9% over the previous decade. The county seat is Georgetown. The Seaford Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Sussex County.Sussex County is...
counties in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 9,559.
The Kent County portion of Milford is part of the Dover
Dover, Delaware
The city of Dover is the capital and second largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County, and the principal city of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Kent County. It is located on the St. Jones River in the Delaware...
Metropolitan Statistical Area, while the Sussex County portion is part of the Seaford
Seaford, Delaware
Seaford is a city located along the Nanticoke River in Sussex County, Delaware. According to the 2010 Census Bureau figures, the population of the city is 6,928, an increase of 3.4% from the 2000 census...
Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Geography
Milford is located at 38°54′46"N 75°25′46"W (38.912840, -75.429327), along the Mispillion RiverMispillion River
The Mispillion River is a river flowing to Delaware Bay in southern Delaware in the United States. It is approximately 15 miles long and drains an area of 76 square miles on the Atlantic Coastal Plain....
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 5.6 square miles (14.5 km²), of which, 5.6 square miles (14.5 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it (1.07%) is water.
History
The Kent County side of Milford was first settled in 1680 by Henry Bowan on what was known as the Saw Mill Range. A century later the Reverend Sydenham Thorne built a dam across the Mispillion River to generate power for his gristmill and sawmill. Around the same time, Joseph Oliver laid out the first city streets and plots nearby on a part of his plantation. Soon a number of homes and businesses appeared along Front Street and Milford was born. The city was incorporated February 5, 1807.In the 1770s, a ship building industry was already flourishing on the Mispillion River. Shipbuilding continued to be the major industry of Milford through World War I, bringing considerable prosperity to the town. The high point came in 1917 when the four-masted, 174 feet (53 m) long Albert F. Paul was launched from the William G. Abbott shipyard. At one point six shipyards were operating in the downtown area. When the last of the area’s giant white oaks was cut in the 1920s, the shipyards quickly went out of business, although the Mispillion ships sailed on for many years. (The Paul was sunk by a German torpedo in 1942 while sailing from the Bahamas.) The Vineyard shipyard was called into service in both World War I and II to build submarine chasers.
During much of the twentieth century Milford served primarily as the commercial center for much of southern Delaware's large agricultural community.
Seven of Delaware's governors came from Milford: Daniel Rogers
Daniel Rogers
Daniel Rogers was an American miller and politician from Milford, in Sussex County, Delaware. He was a member of the Federalist Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly and as Governor of Delaware....
(who served 1797-99), Joseph Haslet
Joseph Haslet
Joseph Haslet was an American planter and politician from Cedar Creek Village in Cedar Creek Hundred, Sussex County, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic-Republican Party, who served twice as Governor of Delaware....
(1811–14), William Tharp
William Tharp
William Tharp was an American farmer and politician from Milford, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly and as Governor of Delaware....
(1847–1851), Peter F. Causey
Peter F. Causey
Peter Foster Causey was an American merchant and politician from Milford, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a member of the American Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly and as Governor of Delaware....
(1855–59), William Burton
William Burton (governor)
Dr. William Burton was an American physician and politician from Milford, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party, who served as Governor of Delaware.-Early life and family:...
(1859–63), William T. Watson
William T. Watson
William Tharp Watson was an American banker and politician from Milford, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly and as Governor of Delaware....
(1895–97) and Ruth Ann Minner
Ruth Ann Minner
Ruth Ann Minner is an American politician and businesswoman from Milford, in Kent County, Delaware. She is a member of the Democratic Party who served in the Delaware General Assembly, as the 23rd Lieutenant Governor of Delaware and two terms as the first female Governor of Delaware.-Early life...
(2001–09).
Downtown Milford Fire
On Friday, May 30, 2003 at approximately 3:00 p.m. a fire started in a second floor apartment next to Wiley Hardware & Appliance on Walnut Street in the historic downtown section of Milford. More than 200 firefighters from Milford, Ellendale, Harrington, Felton, Dover, Smyrna, Houston, Frederica, Slaughter Beach, Bowers Beach, Greenwood, South Bowers, Farmington, Magnolia, Cheswold, Lewes, Georgetown, and Bridgeville in Delaware and Greensboro and Goldsboro in Maryland fought the blaze which destroyed seven businesses, a church, and three apartments, destroying an entire city block in the historic section of town. No one was killed in the blaze, but one civilian and six firefighters were injured.Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 6,732 people, 2,665 households, and 1,700 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1,210.2 people per square mile (467.5/km²). There were 2,897 housing units at an average density of 520.8 per square mile (201.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 67.97% White, 23.26% African American, 0.34% Native American, 1.04% Asian, 0.16% Pacific Islander, 4.25% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 2.97% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.82% of the population.
There were 2,665 households out of which 32.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.6% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 16.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.2% were non-families. 31.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.03.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.2% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 18.3% from 45 to 64, and 17.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 86.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $32,525, and the median income for a family was $40,333. Males had a median income of $29,271 versus $23,164 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $16,181. About 10.4% of families and 14.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.1% of those under age 18 and 12.6% of those age 65 or over.
Crime
The city of Milford has a crime rate higher than the national average in some categories, much higher in rape, assault, and theft, and lower in others.| Milford | Nation | |
|---|---|---|
| Murder | 0.0 | 6.9 |
| Forcible Rape | 97.22 | 32.2 |
| Robbery | 166.7 | 195.4 |
| Aggravated Assault | 1333.3 | 340.1 |
| Burglary | 1027.8 | 814.5 |
| Larceny Theft | 5500.0 | 2734.7 |
| Vehicle Theft | 291.7 | 526.5 |
Formula used for chart: ((Crimes Reported) / (Population)) X 100,000)
http://www.areaconnect.com/crime/compare.htm
Trivia
- John LoflandJohn LoflandJohn Lofland , widely known as the "Milford Bard" of Milford, Delaware, was a prolific and widely read writer of prose, verse, and speeches. He grew up and spent much of his life in "The Towers" on North West Front Street in Milford. Later in his life he moved to Baltimore, Maryland where he...
(1798–1849), widely known as the "Milford Bard", was a prolific and widely read writer of prose, verse and speeches. He grew up and spent much of his life in "The Towers" on North West Front Street. - Milford hosted farm teams of the New York GiantsSan Francisco GiantsThe San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
and Boston Red SoxBoston Red SoxThe Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
in the Eastern Shore Baseball LeagueEastern Shore Baseball LeagueThe Eastern Shore Baseball League was a Class D minor league baseball league that operated on the Delmarva Peninsula for parts of three different decades. The league's first season was in 1922 and the last was in 1949, although the years were not consecutive, and featured teams from Maryland,...
as well as a team known as the Sandpipers. - On October 11, 1929, JC Penney opened Store #1252 in Milford, which made it a nationwide company with stores in all 48 of the continental states.
- In 1974 a second grade class at the Lulu Ross Elementary School in Milford successfully petitioned the State Legislature to make the ladybug Delaware's official state bug. Starting in April 2004. Downtown Milford, Inc., a local business association, established an annual festival - the Bug & Bud Festival - to celebrate this event and recognize Arbor Day.
- Robert CrumbRobert CrumbRobert Dennis Crumb —known as Robert Crumb and R. Crumb—is an American artist, illustrator, and musician recognized for the distinctive style of his drawings and his critical, satirical, subversive view of the American mainstream.Crumb was a founder of the underground comix movement and is regarded...
, a famous American cartoonist, lived in Milford for a few years and attended high school there. - Chris ShortChris ShortChristopher Joseph "Style" Short was a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies , and in his final year, for the Milwaukee Brewers . He was a left-handed pitcher, but batted righty. He was born in Milford, Delaware.Short was considered a top pitcher from 1964 through 1968 with...
, star baseball pitcher for the Philadelphia PhilliesPhiladelphia PhilliesThe Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
in the 1960s, was born in Milford. - Simmie KnoxSimmie KnoxSimmie Knox is an African American painter who was chosen to paint the official White House portrait of former United States President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton.-External links:*...
began to teach himself to paint while living in Milford as a young man. He later became the first Afro-American to paint an official presidential portrait - that of President Bill Clinton.