Milford is a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

that is located in Pike County, Pennsylvania, United States, and 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 ...

. Its population was 1,103 at the time of the 2020 census. Situated near the upper

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

, Milford is part of the

New York metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also called the Tri-State area and sometimes referred to as Greater New York, is the List of cities by GDP, largest metropolitan economy in the world, with a List of U.S. metropolitan areas by GDP, gross metropo ...

History

The area along the

where the community of Milford is located had long been settled by the

Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...

, an Algonquian-speaking indigenous tribe that lived in the mid-Atlantic coastal areas at the time of European colonization. The English also called them the Delaware, after the river they named for colonial leader Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, the

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

. Milford was founded in 1796 by Judge John Biddis, one of Pennsylvania's first four circuit judges. He named the settlement after his ancestral home in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. Milford has a large number of buildings of historical significance, many constructed in the nineteenth century and early twentieth centuries. Some are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

, while numerous others are included in the Milford Historic District. Of the 655 buildings in the district, 400 of them have been deemed to be historically significant."A Tour of Milford, Pennsylvania"
'' Travel and Leisure'' (March 2009) The district is characterized by a variety of Late Victorian architecture. The Grey Towers National Historic Site, the ancestral home of

Gifford Pinchot Gifford Pinchot (August 11, 1865October 4, 1946) was an American forester and politician. He served as the fourth chief of the U.S. Division of Forestry, as the first head of the United States Forest Service, and as the 28th governor of Pennsyl ...

, noted conservationist, two-time governor of Pennsylvania, and first head of the U.S. Forest Service, is located in Milford. It was designed by architect Richard Morris Hunt has been designated a National Historic Site. From 1904 to 1926, Grey Towers was the site of summer field study sessions for the Master's degree program of the Yale School of Forestry, together with the Forester's Hall, a commercial building that was adapted and expanded for this purpose. ''Note:'' This includes Jervis Gordon Grist Mill Historic District, Hotel Fauchere and Annex, Metz Ice Plant, and Pike County Courthouse are also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Nearby is Arisbe, the home of Charles S. Peirce, a prominent logician, philosopher and scientist in the late 19th century, and another NRHP property. The Milford Writer's Workshop, an annual science fiction writers' event, was founded in 1956, and ran until it moved to the United Kingdom in 1972, where it is still running. The Pike County Historical Society Museum in Milford includes in its collection the "Lincoln Flag," which was draped on President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

's booth at Ford's Theatre on the night he was assassinated. The flag was bundled up and placed under the president's head, and still bears his blood. It was kept by stage manager Thomas Gourlay, who passed it down to his daughter, Jeannie, an actress who had appeared in the play, '' Our American Cousin'', at the theatre that night and who later moved to Milford. The flag was donated to the museum after her death. In September 2007, '' Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel'' named Milford second on its list of "Ten Coolest Small Towns" in Pennsylvania.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of , all land. Milford is located on the Upper Delaware River, which divides Pennsylvania's Poconos region from the

Catskill Mountains The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province and subrange of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined a ...

in New York, in what was historically a heavily-forested area. When Judge Biddis bought up the land of what was then known as Wells Ferry and laid out the lots for the new town, he generally followed the urban plan of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. He created the grid that made High Street the equivalent of what is now Market Street in Philadelphia, running it to the Delaware River while also making Broad Street perpendicular to High. At the intersection of Broad and High is a public square, just as there is at Broad and Market in Philadelphia. Most of Milford's official buildings are located there."2001 Guide to Pike County Pennsylvania", Pike County Chamber of CommerceHistorical marker on monument in Milford, erected by the Pike County Historical Society in July 1965. Within that grid, Milford's east–west streets were numbered as Second through Seventh streets with Broad falling between Fourth and Fifth. North–south streets were named after Biddis' children: Ann, Catherine, George, John, Sarah, and Elizabeth. In between both the named and numbered streets are alleys, that were named after berries and fruit. In contemporary Milford, Broad Street is also marked as U.S. Route 6 and U.S. Route 209. At its intersection with Harford Street, Route 6 continues north on Harford, while Route 209 continues south on the street. Milford is located on an escarpment above the

. All waterways there which drain into the river fall the difference in height, creating what is known as a "fluviarchy," a network of waterfalls that is putatively the most notable east of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

. These also provided waterpower to mills that contributed to Milford's growing economy during the nineteenth century.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 1,021 people, 491 households, and 236 families residing in the borough. The population density was . There were 580 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the borough was 95.2%

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 ...

, 0.6%

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 ...

, 0.5% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 1.4% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races.

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 were 5.5% of the population. Pike County has one of the highest concentration of same-sex households of any county in Pennsylvania. There were 491 households, out of which 19.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.4% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 51.9% were non-families. 42.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.01 and the average family size was 2.79. In the borough the population was spread out, with 16.3% under the age of 18, 59.9% from 18 to 64, and 23.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48.3 years. The median income for a household in the borough was $33,571, and the median income for a family was $46,136. Males had a median income of $40,500 versus $28,333 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $21,011. About 4.0% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.1% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Milford is served by the Delaware Valley School District. Including an Elementary school in Matamoras, serving children from Matamoras, and Milford. Delaware Valley middle school serves children from Milford, Matamoras and Shohola areas. Delaware Valley High School serves children from Milford, Matamoras, Shohola, and Dingman areas.

Cultural activities

Milford is home to Pike County Arts and Crafts, an art education organization that was chosen by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts as winner of the 2007 Pennsylvania State "Creative Community Award.". Since 1950, Pike County Arts and Crafts has also hosted an annual art show each July in Borough Hall. Hotel Fauchere front Milford PA

Milford's Hotel Fauchère has hosted multiple prominent guests since 1852, including U.S. presidents Theodore and

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

and John F. Kennedy, philanthropist

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie ( , ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the History of the iron and steel industry in the United States, American steel industry in the late ...

, poets Robert Frost and Ogden Nash, baseball's Babe Ruth, and actors

Sarah Bernhardt Sarah Bernhardt (; born Henriette-Rosine Bernard; 22 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including by Alexandre Dumas fils, ...

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...

Mary Pickford Gladys Louise Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American film actress and producer. A Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood, pioneer in the American film industry with a Hollywood care ...

Rudolph Valentino Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguella (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926), known professionally as Rudolph Valentino and nicknamed The Latin Lover, was an Italian actor who starred in several well-known sile ...

, and

Mae West Mary Jane "Mae" West (August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American actress, singer, comedian, screenwriter, and playwright whose career spanned more than seven decades. Recognized as a prominent sex symbol of her time, she was known ...

. Listed on the

since 1980, this hotel was restored in 2006. It has sixteen guest rooms, three restaurants and a corporate meeting facility. The Pike County Chess Club was founded in 2011. Games played at these tournaments are submitted for rating by the United States Chess Federation (USCF), with which the club is affiliated.

Annual events

The Black Bear Film Festival is an annual independent film festival, which has taken place the weekend after Columbus Day in October every year since 2000. Held primarily at the historic Milford Theater, the festival also includes many free films and lectures in a Film Salon, as well as feature films for an admission fee. In recent years, stars participating in the film festival have included Farley Granger, Tab Hunter, Marge Champion, Lorna Luft, Arlene Dahl, Larry Kramer and others. The Milford Music Festival takes place each June. It is a free, weekend event sponsored by Milfordmusicfest.org, which also produces Septemberfest, Share The Harvest and the annual Tree Lighting. The 2009 Milford Music Festival was headlined by Vanessa Carlton, the Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter/pianist who is from Milford. In 2013, the festival featured Pete Seeger. The Milford Readers and Writers Festival, inaugurated in 2015, is held in September each year and focuses on facilitating conversation between readers and writers. Recent featured guests have included Lee Child, John Berendt, Robin Morgan,

Gloria Steinem Gloria Marie Steinem ( ; born March 25, 1934) is an American journalist and social movement, social-political activist who emerged as a nationally recognized leader of second-wave feminism in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s. ...

, Tim Murphy, Tim Teeman, M.K. Asante, Alan Alda, Billy Goldstein, Brooke Warner, Suzanne Braun Levine, Anne-Christine d'Adesky, Sean Strub, Mary Badham, Robert Moor, Susan Faludi, Julie Barton, Carol Jenkins, Lucian Truscott IV, Frances FitzGerald, Judge Andrew Napolitano, Phil Klay, John Leland, Ducan Hannah, Bob Eckstein, and others. Other events include the Festival of Wood, DanceFest Milford, Pike Opera, and "Artwalks" scheduled throughout the year.

Notable people

* John A. Gotti, former acting boss of the

Gambino crime family The Gambino crime family (pronounced ) is an Italian American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the American Mafia. ...

, held secondary residence * Louis Allen, a

New York Army National Guard The New York Army National Guard is a component of the New York National Guard and the Army National Guard. Nationwide, the Army National Guard comprises approximately one half of the United States Army's available combat forces and approximate ...

officer killed in a fragging incident in 2005 during the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

* James Blish, Damon Knight, Judith Merril and Kate Wilhelm (Mrs. Knight), all science fiction writers * Vanessa Carlton, singer/pianist * Bob Guccione, Jr, magazine publisher * Allyn Joslyn, stage and screen actor * Christopher Makos, artist, photographer * Frank McCourt, author * Martin & Muñoz, visual artists also known as Walter Martin & Paloma Muñoz *

, silent film actress *

's family, including Cornelia Bryce Pinchot and Mary Pinchot Meyer * Al Pitrelli, guitarist * Tom Quick, first born child of European ancestry in the region, purported to have murdered numerous Lenape, an indigenous people of the area *

Charles Sanders Peirce Charles Sanders Peirce ( ; September 10, 1839 – April 19, 1914) was an American scientist, mathematician, logician, and philosopher who is sometimes known as "the father of pragmatism". According to philosopher Paul Weiss (philosopher), Paul ...

, a philosopher and

polymath A polymath or polyhistor is an individual whose knowledge spans many different subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. Polymaths often prefer a specific context in which to explain their knowledge, ...

, lived on a farm 3 miles from Milford, from 1887 until his 1914 death * Bill Steele,

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

for the St. Louis Cardinals, born and raised in Milford * Sean Strub, writer, activist, founder of POZ magazine*, and former mayor of Milford * Mary Wiseman, actress ('' Star Trek: Discovery'')

Gallery

File:Milford Bird's-Eye View crop.jpg, Milford viewed from "The Knob," looking east down Broad Street File:Charles S. Peirce House near Milford PA.jpg, Charles S. Peirce's house File:The Columns Milford PA.jpg, "The Columns," home of the Pike County Historical Society Museum File:Public Library Milford PA.jpg, Milford Branch, Pike County Public Library File:Tom Quick Inn Milford PA.jpg, Tom Quick Inn File:Milford Theater Overview.jpg, Milford Theatre File:Plaque FrankMcCourt.jpg, Historical sign at location where Frank McCourt wrote ''Angelas's Ashes'' File:Milford, PA borough hall, July 2024.jpg, Milford Borough Hall

References

External links

* {{authority control 1874 establishments in Pennsylvania Boroughs in Pike County, Pennsylvania Boroughs in Pennsylvania County seats in Pennsylvania Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Pike County, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania populated places on the Delaware River Pocono Mountains Populated places established in 1796 Towns in the New York metropolitan area