New Milford was first counted by the census in 1880
Most of New Milford was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. Below: maps from 1917 on and the census since 1880.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of New Milford. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1917Kings 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 New Milford.
The story so far
New Milford, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of New Milford yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
New Milford is a village in Winnebago County, Illinois, United States on the south bank of the Kishwaukee River overlooking the south side of Rockford. It is part of the Rockford, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 794 at the 2020 census.
Its first post office opened in 1880. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 697 to 794 (+14%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about New Milford in 1877
Passages that mention New Milford, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The History of Winnebago County, Illinois1877 · page 453Read the page →
Read the text
Horace Miller and Samuel Brown. A town was laid out at the confluence of the Kishwaukee with the Rock River, which, it was hoped, at one time, might become the county seat. But other influences prevailed and the town went to decay. Some years ago the present village of New Milford was laid out, the Iowa R. R. came, and a pleasant little village has grown up. A large flouring mill has been in operation some years at this point, deriving its power from the Kishwaukee River. Mr. J. Fountain, who, it is claimed, invented the sectional knives of the reapers, had a manufactory
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The History of Winnebago County, Illinois1877 · page 227Read the page →
Read the text
The two branches of the Kishwaukee unite near the southeastern corner of the county, and flow in a considerable stream, until their commingled waters fall into Rock river, in the township of New Milford. Killbuck creek, in the southeast, Kent creek coming in at Rockford, the Kennikiuick creeks in the neighborhood of Roscoe, and another considerable stream, a tributary of Sugar river, in the northwest, known as Coon creek, are the most important of the smaller streams, and with their little feeding tributaries aftord plenty of water for agricultural purposes, together with a number of
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
