Milford is a
town
A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city.
The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...
in
Hillsborough County,
New Hampshire
New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
, United States, on the
Souhegan River. The population was 16,131 at the
2020 census,
up from 15,115 at the
2010 census.
[United States Census Bureau]
U.S. Census website
2010 Census figures. Retrieved March 23, 2011. It is the retail and manufacturing center of a multi-town area known informally as the Souhegan Valley.
The town center, where 9,212 people lived at the 2020 census, is defined as the
Milford census-designated place (CDP), and is located at the junction of New Hampshire routes
13 and
101A.
History
Milford separated from neighboring
Amherst in 1794. Like most towns named Milford in the United States, its name comes from the fact that it grew around a
mill
Mill may refer to:
Science and technology
* Factory
* Mill (grinding)
* Milling (machining)
* Millwork
* Paper mill
* Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel
* Sugarcane mill
* Textile mill
* List of types of mill
* Mill, the arithmetic ...
built on a
ford—in this case on the
Souhegan River.
Milford was once home to numerous
granite
Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...
quarries
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to manage their safet ...
, which produced a stone that was used, among other things, to make the —as seen on the back of the American $10 bill. Its nickname remains "The Granite Town", although only one small quarry is in operation as of 2017.
Like many
New England
New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
riverside towns, Milford developed several thriving
textile
Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...
mills in the 19th century. That industry left New England by
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, but Milford remains the commercial and retail center for surrounding towns. Major employers included casting company Hitchiner Manufacturing Co., a metal cable manufacturer, Hendrix Wire and Cable Inc., and a contract manufacturing solutions company, Cirtronics Corporation. In 2018, local firm Alene Candles became one of the first companies in the state to implement a "conscious leadership" program in a manufacturing production setting.
Milford is home to the Milford State Fish Hatchery. The town also holds the Souhegan Valley Boys & Girls Club, built on the former home of the now-bankrupt private theater American Stage Festival.
Milford was a stop on the
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...
for escaped slaves. It was also the home of
Harriet E. Wilson, who published the semi-autobiographical novel ''
Our Nig: Or, Sketches in the Life of a Free Black'' in 1859, making it the first novel by an
African-American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...
woman published in the country.
Officially designated "Union Square", the Milford Oval is neither square nor oval in shape, but rather triangular. The "square" name in American parlance denotes a town common irrespective of geometry, and the "oval" name dates from the 19th century, when it was oval in shape. The Oval is the town center, with the Pillsbury
Bandstand
A bandstand (sometimes music kiosk) is a circular, semicircular or polygonal structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts. A simple construction, it both creates an ornamen ...
as its centerpiece and the Souhegan River as the backdrop. The Oval is formed by a modified
traffic rotary in which State Highways 13 and 101A intersect, with northbound 13 and eastbound 101A passing straight through and crossing each other at a right angle with a stop sign for traffic on Route 13.
File:Downtown Milford park.JPG, Centennial Park
File:MilfordNH WilliamPeabodyHouse.jpg, William Peabody House
File:Union Square, Milford, NH.jpg, Union Square
File:Milford NH Bandstand.JPG, Union Square in 2006
File:Stone Bridge, Milford, NH.jpg, Stone Bridge
File:Elm Street, Milford, NH.jpg, Elm Street
File:High School, Milford, NH.jpg, Centennial High School
Geography
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the town has a total area of , of which are land and are water, comprising 0.22% of the town.
Milford is drained by the Souhegan River, an eastward-flowing tributary of the
Merrimack River
The Merrimack River (or Merrimac River, an occasional earlier spelling) is a river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into M ...
. The southwestern part of town is drained by Mitchell Brook and Spaulding Brook, which flow south into Brookline and are part of the
Nashua River watershed, another tributary of the Merrimack. The town's highest point is near its western border, on the summit of Boynton Hill, at above
sea level
Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...
.
Adjacent municipalities
*
Lyndeborough (north)
*
Mont Vernon (north)
*
Amherst (east)
*
Hollis (southeast)
*
Brookline (south)
*
Mason (southwest)
*
Wilton (west)
Climate
According to the
Köppen Climate Classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
system, Milford has a
hot-summer humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...
, abbreviated "Dfa" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Milford was in July 2011, while the coldest temperature recorded was in January 1994.
Demographics
As of the
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2010, there were 15,115 people, 5,929 households, and 4,004 families residing in the town. There were 6,295 housing units, of which 366, or 5.8%, were vacant. The racial makeup of the town was 94.8%
white
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 1.3%
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.2%
Native American, 1.3%
Asia
Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
n, 0.01%
Native Hawaiian
Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, Indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands.
Hawaiʻi was set ...
or Pacific Islander, 0.6% some other race, and 1.7% from two or more races. 2.2% of the population were
Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or
Latino of any race.
Of the 5,929 households, 35.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.0% were headed by
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.5% were non-families. 25.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.4% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53, and the average family size was 3.04.
In the town, 25.0% of the population was under the age of 18, 7.8% was from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 28.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.8 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 93.3 males.
For the period 2011–2015, the estimated median annual income for a household was $64,576, and the median income for a family was $80,241. Male full-time workers had a median income of $55,313 versus $38,792 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 town was $32,918. 5.8% of the population and 3.7% of families were below the poverty line. 8.2% of the population under the age of 18 and 2.7% of those 65 or older were living in poverty.
Education
The Milford School District operates Jacques Memorial School (K-1), Heron Pond Elementary School (2-5), Milford Middle School (6-8), and
Milford High School & Applied Technology Center (9-12).
Culture
The town is known for its "Pumpkin Festival", which is normally held in early October. It is held over a three-day weekend (Friday-Sunday) and attracts more than 35,000 people. The festival has many attractions including food vendors, music stages, craft fair, carved pumpkin lighting, a haunted trail, a beer and wine tasting and a fireworks display around the Oval.
Notable people
*
Linda Kasabian
Linda Darlene Kasabian (; June 21, 1949 – January 21, 2023) was an American woman known for being a member of the Manson Family, a cult led by Charles Manson in late-1960searly-1970s California. She was present at both the Tate–LaBianca mu ...
(1949–2023), former
Manson Family
The Manson Family (known among its members as the Family) was a Intentional community, commune, gang, and cult led by criminal Charles Manson that was active in California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The group at its peak consisted of a ...
member who participated in the
Helter Skelter murders
*
John McLane (February 27, 1852 – April 13, 1911),
50th governor of New Hampshire, from 1905 to 1907
*
Abby Hutchinson Patton (1829–1892), 19th-century singer, poet
*
George A. Ramsdell (1834–1900), 46th governor of New Hampshire
*
Harriet E. Wilson (1825–1900), considered the first female African-American novelist, as well as the first African American of any gender to publish a novel on the North American continent
*
Bernice Blake Perry (1905-1996), the first woman in New Hampshire to earn a pilot's license.
See also
*
New Hampshire Historical Marker No. 133: Captain Josiah Crosby (1730–1793) Lieutenant Thompson Maxwell (1742–1832)
*
New Hampshire Historical Marker No. 268: Bernice Blake Perry (1905–1996)
References
External links
*
Wadleigh Memorial LibraryMilford History OnlineMilford Historical Society
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Towns in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire
Populated places established in 1794
Towns in New Hampshire
1794 establishments in New Hampshire