Milford is a city in Beaver County,

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, United States. The population was 1,431 at the 2020 census, up from the 2010 figure of 1,409.

History

Although settlers had established ranches in the area in the 1870s, Milford was not developed until after construction of the

San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad The Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad was a rail company in California, Nevada, and Utah in the United States, that completed and operated a railway line between its namesake cities (Salt Lake City, Utah, and Los Angeles, California), via Las ...

, which established a station here in 1880. In that year, Arvin Stoddard moved here and surveyed a townsite. ''Milford'' is a constructed name, formed from ''mill'' and ''ford''. During the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, workers from a nearby

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was ...

camp constructed a road from Milford to

Beaver Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...

, to improve connections.

Milford Flat Wildfire

Lightning caused a massive

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...

to start near Milford at 3:45 p.m. Friday, July 6, 2007. On July 8 the fire was declared the largest in Utah's history, having burned more than .

Demographics

As of the 2000 census, there were 1,451 people, 484 households, and 357 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was 753.7 people per square mile (290.3/km²). There were 589 housing units at an average density of 306.0 per square mile (117.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 90.42%

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 ...

, 1.45% Native American, 1.45% Asian, 4.07% from other races, and 2.62% 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 6.13% of the population. There were 484 households, out of which 45.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.0% were

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, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.2% were non-families. 24.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.95 and the average family size was 3.58. In the city, the population was spread out, with 37.2% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 23.6% from 25 to 44, 17.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $35,809, and the median income for a family was $41,750. Males had a median income of $35,568 versus $19,000 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 city was $14,889. About 9.2% of families and 10.8% 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 11.1% of those under age 18 and 17.4% of those age 65 or over.

Geography

Milford is located in east-central Beaver County in the

Escalante Desert The Escalante Desert is a geographic Great Basin region and arid desert ecoregion, in the deserts and xeric shrublands biome, located in southwestern Utah. Geography The Escalante Desert is northwest of Cedar City in Iron County, Utah, and ext ...

, a basin situated between the Mineral Mountains to the east and the smaller Star Range to the west. State Route 21 passes through the city, leading south to Minersville and northwest to U.S. Routes 6 and 50 near the

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

line. State Route 257 runs north from Milford to

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta"), the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * Delta Air Lines, a major US carrier ...

. 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 city has a total area of , all land.

Climate

Milford has a

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of se ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''BSk'').

Recreation

Milford has a seasonal swimming pool, a five-hole golf course, lighted ball fields, a pavilion and a rodeo arena
The

American Discovery Trail The American Discovery Trail is a system of recreational trails and roads that collectively form a coast-to-coast hiking and biking trail across the mid-tier of the United States. Horses can also be ridden on most of this trail. The coastal tr ...

runs through Milford

Historic photo gallery

Train depot Milford Utah.jpg, Train depot in Milford, Utah, during the winter of 1936–1937 CCC camp 2530.jpg, Civilian Conservation Corp camp at Milford, Utah Milford Utah CCC barracks.jpg, Barracks at CCC camp 2530 CCC Co. 2530 building road in Utah.jpg, CCC workers with picks and shovels building road in Utah between Milford and

References

External links

* {{authority control Populated places established in 1880 Cities in Beaver County, Utah Cities in Utah 1880 establishments in Utah Territory