Milford is a village in Milford Township, Iroquois County,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, United States. The population was 1,158 at the 2020 census. The village's name comes from its location, where the Old Hubbard Trail forded Sugar Creek and where a

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

stood in 1836 ("the mill at the ford").

Geography

Milford is located in southeastern Iroquois County along Illinois Route 1, which leads north to Watseka, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

, and south the same distance to Hoopeston in Vermilion County. The

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

border is east of Milford via county roads. According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Milford has a total area of , all land. Sugar Creek flows westward along the southern edge of the village, before turning north to flow to the Iroquois River near Watseka. It is part of the

Kankakee River The Kankakee River is a tributary of the Illinois River, approximately long, in the Corn Belt, Central Corn Belt Plains of northwestern Indiana and northeastern Illinois in the United States. At one time, the river drained one of the largest we ...

watershed.

Demographics

As of the 2020 census there were 1,158 people, 566 households, and 353 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 623 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 91.62%

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, 0.26%

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, 0.00% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 0.00%

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, 2.42% from other races, and 5.27% from two or more races.

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or Latino of any race were 5.09% of the population. There were 566 households, out of which 24.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.34% were married couples living together, 17.49% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.63% were non-families. 31.27% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.49% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 2.17. The village's age distribution consisted of 20.4% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 22.2% from 25 to 44, 27.7% from 45 to 64, and 20.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.3 males. The median income for a household in the village was $47,830, and the median income for a family was $55,054. Males had a median income of $33,750 versus $27,011 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the village was $23,502. About 5.9% of families and 13.2% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 9.4% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.

Education

High school athletics

Milford High School, which also brings in students from nearby communities of Stockland, Wellington and Sheldon, fields varsity level teams in; golf, baseball, softball, football, volleyball, cheer leading, and basketball. Teams play under the nickname "Bearcats" (boys) and "Lady Cats" (girls). Football cooperative agreements: In the spring of 2009 it was announced that Cissna Park and Milford would form a high school football cooperative to become more competitive. Previously, the football program had co-oped with Sheldon (from 1993 through Sheldon's becoming part of the Milford school district) and Donovan (in 1997 and 1998). Gymnasium: The school was also one of few nationally to feature a carpeted gym floor used for varsity level basketball and volleyball. The carpet was removed in the summer of 1997 and replaced by a plastic surface manufactured by Sport Court. Night Football: The Bearcat football team took part in the first night football game in America. The contest took place on September 21, 1928, in Westville IL. Westville won the game 26–6. This is recognized by the Illinois High School Association as the first "modern" football game played under lights.

Notable people

* Joseph R. Callahan, Illinois state representative, farmer, and businessman; born on a farm near Milford * Ray A. Laird, president of Laredo Community College in

Laredo, Texas Laredo ( ; ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Webb County, Texas, Webb County, on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Founded in 1755, Laredo grew from a villag ...

, 1960 to 1974; born in Milford in 1907Ray A. Laird obituary, ''Kerrville Daily Times,'' Kerrville, Texas, October 7, 1986 * Eula Davis McEwan, geologist and paleontologist born in Milford, taught at the

University of Nebraska A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

* Claude Rothgeb, outfielder for the Washington Senators, college football, basketball, and baseball coach; born in Milford * Jessie Sumner, Iroquois county judge, member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois' 18th district through the 76th to 78th US congress

Gallery

Image:Milford Illinois Library.jpg, Milford Carnegie library Image:Milford Illinois Water Tower.jpg, Milford's water tower

References

{{authority control Villages in Iroquois County, Illinois Villages in Illinois