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AHistory
History · Milton

Milton dates to 1763, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 91% of U.S. towns · #6 of 37 in Delaware. What drives it

5 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 84 buildings. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1911 on, and the census since 1860.

1763founded
5on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
6famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Milton’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Milton began

When was Milton founded?

1763

Milton dates its founding to 1763 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1860.

First census: 780 in 18602020 census: 3,291263 years

How historic is Milton?

A

More historic than 91% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1793.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Milton’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Milton is more historic than 91% of U.S. towns, #6 of 37 in Delaware. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Milton’s overall grade.
Founding era1763, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194014.4% of homes (±5.8) · typical DE town 5.9% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register5 listings, 88 historic buildings, 247 per 10,000 residents · typical DE town 29.4 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 91%
NewerOlder
Delaware towns of 2,500+ (37)Ahead of 86%

Delaware towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Delaware town has 29.4 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Milton’s 247 sits above most of its state (75% of Delaware towns have fewer) while its 88 historic buildings outnumber those of 89% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1763.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.8 points).

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Milton’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A historic districtThe Milton Historic District takes in 84 historic buildings.On the map since 19186 editions of the USGS map, 1918 to 1992. Watch Milton change.Older than the countryEstablished in 1763, 13 years before the Declaration of Independence.Landmarks on the Register5 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

5 listings protect 88 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
88
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
Draper-Adkins House
Draper-Adkins HouseGov. James Ponder HouseHazzard HouseMilton Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
Victorian1
Late 19th Century1
Rural Vernacular1
Victorian Gothic1
Queen Anne1
Draper-Adkins HouseGreek Revival
Gov. James Ponder HouseVictorian
Hazzard HouseBuilding
David Robbins HomesteadLate 19th Century
Milton Historic DistrictVictorian Gothic

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

On the map

Milton on the map, 1918 to 1992

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Milton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Milton on the 1918 USGS mapMilton on the 1938 USGS mapMilton on the 1944 USGS mapMilton on the 1955 USGS mapMilton on the 1981 USGS mapMilton on the 1992 USGS map1918Cedar Creek sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Milton.

Timeline

Milton, 1763 to 1985

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 18th century
  2. 1763
    FoundingMilton is established
  3. 1781Born hereDavid Hazzard is born here
  4. 1793Post officeThe Clowes post office opens
  5. 1797Post officeThe Clowes post office closes
  6. 1797Post officeThe Milton post office opens
  7. 19th century
  8. 1845Born hereJoseph M. Carey is born here
  9. 20th century
  10. 1918On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1959Born hereBryan Stevenson is born here
  12. 1985Born hereJimmie Allen is born here
The story

How Milton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Milton.

Read it all →

Located at the head of the Broadkill River, which enters Delaware Bay, the Milton area was first settled in 1672 by English colonists and founded as Head of Broadkiln in 1763. It became important for shipbuilding. The town was renamed by the Delaware Legislature in 1807, in honor of the English poet John Milton. The Delaware General Assembly passed a charter on March 17, 1865, that recognized the Town of Milton as a municipality.

History and Milton's shipbuilding heritage remain very important to the town, which is home to some of the finest Victorian and Colonial architecture in Delaware. Many of the homes have been restored to their original form, particularly those on Union and Federal streets.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Milton, decade by decade

Date unknown6 to date
VIEW EAST, LOOKING AT ENTIRE WEST SIDE OF BRIDGE - Red Bridge, Spanning Broadkill River at Union Street (State Road No.…Date?VIEW EAST, LOOKING AT ENTIRE WEST SIDE OF BRIDGE - Re…VIEW NORTH, ROADWAY ELEVATION - Red Bridge, Spanning Broadkill River at Union Street (State Road No. 5)Date?VIEW NORTH, ROADWAY ELEVATION - Red Bridge, Spanning …VIEW SOUTH, ROADWAY ELEVATION - Red Bridge, Spanning Broadkill River at Union Street (State Road No. 5)Date?VIEW SOUTH, ROADWAY ELEVATION - Red Bridge, Spanning …VIEW WEST, LOOKING AT ENTIRE EAST SIDE OF BRIDGE - Red Bridge, Spanning Broadkill River at Union Street (State Road No.…Date?VIEW WEST, LOOKING AT ENTIRE EAST SIDE OF BRIDGE - Re…Red Bridge, Spanning Broadkill River at Union Street (State Road No. 5)Date?Red Bridge, Spanning Broadkill River at Union Street …Wagamon Pond Dam & Bridge, Spanning Broadkill River at State Road No. 197 (Mulberry Street)Date?Wagamon Pond Dam & Bridge, Spanning Broadkill River a…
Today21 recent
Giant beer vats at the Dogfish Head Craft Brewery2018Giant beer vats at the Dogfish Head Craft BreweryPipeline and delivery bays at the Dogfish Head Craft Brewery2018Pipeline and delivery bays at the Dogfish Head Craft …Scene along the Governors' Walk, a path from downtown to recreational spots along Wagamons Pond2018Scene along the Governors' Walk, a path from downtown…Entrance to Governors' Walk, a path from downtown to recreational spots along Wagamons Pond2018Entrance to Governors' Walk, a path from downtown to …Funky sculpture at the Dogfish Head Craft Brewery2018Funky sculpture at the Dogfish Head Craft BreweryGazebo on Wagamons Pond2018Gazebo on Wagamons PondVictorian-style cottage2018Victorian-style cottageVictorian-style cottage2018Victorian-style cottageJones 32382018Jones 3238Milton Public Library2013Milton Public LibraryMilton Memorial Park2013Milton Memorial ParkMilton Fire Department2013Milton Fire DepartmentLydia Black Cannon Museum2013Lydia Black Cannon MuseumHonor Roll Plaque 22013Honor Roll Plaque 2Honor Roll Plaque 12013Honor Roll Plaque 1502 Union Milton Sussex Co DE2013502 Union Milton Sussex Co DEDogfish Head Tree House2010Dogfish Head Tree HouseMilton Delaware2006Milton DelawareMilton Delaware Town Hall2006Milton Delaware Town HallMilton Delaware (cropped) Milton Theatre2006Milton Delaware (cropped) Milton TheatreBroadkill River2006Broadkill River
Every building

Milton, building by building, 1911

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Milton fire insurance map, 1911, sheet 11911Sheet 1 of 7
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

VIEW EAST, LOOKING AT ENTIRE WEST SIDE OF BRIDGE - Red Bridge, Spanning Broadkill River at Union Street (State Road No.…
Retake this viewVIEW EAST, LOOKING AT ENTIRE WEST SIDE OF BRIDGE - Red Bridge, Spanning Broadkill River at Union Street (State Road No.…

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Milton’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Milton, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5001900195020003,291

Grew from 780 people in 1860 to 3,291 in 2020, 4 times over.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Milton’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

6 famous people were born in Milton

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Bryan StevensonAmerican lawyer, social reformer and academic · b. 1959
Joseph M. CareyAmerican politician · b. 1845
David HazzardAmerican politician · b. 1781
J
Jimmie AllenAmerican country music singer and songwriter · b. 1985
J
James PonderAmerican politician · b. 1819
Robert G. HoustonAmerican politician · b. 1867
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Milton’s post office has been open since 1797. Another post office, Clowes, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Clowes
1793–1797
Milton
1797–today
17901910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Holly Lake Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Milton Federal Street Elementaryschool

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Start Milton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Milton’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo6 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewVIEW EAST, LOOKING AT ENTIRE WEST SIDE …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Milton’s history

What year was Milton founded?

In 1763, according to Wikidata. Milton’s post office opened in 1793, and the census of 1860 counted 780 people here.

How does Milton rank for history?

Milton is more historic than 91% of U.S. towns, #6 of 37 in Delaware. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Milton?

5 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Draper-Adkins House (listed 1973, the first), and 1 historic district, the Milton Historic District, with 84 contributing buildings. 88 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Milton?

14% of Milton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.8 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Delaware town; the median home was built in 2002.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (17), the Library of Congress (10), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (5), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.