Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1958 on, and old-book passages.
Milford was named for the presence of a mill on a ford.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Milford’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Milford.
Milford was platted in 1835. It was named for the presence of a mill on a ford. It was incorporated around 1888 but voted to disincorporate in 2007.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Milford, cut from the printed page as they were published.
bridge, crossing Indian river on the old country road, 1706, King's bridge in 1711, a bridge from a point of rocks a few rods below the Episcopal church, not now kept up, in 1723, Oyster river bridge, built by Milford and New Haven, 1753, North street foot bridge, 1768, bridge by Jehiel Bristols, 1819, Gulf bridge, 1810. Jefferson's bridge, over the Mill river, was built and is supported by the turnpike company.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A part of Orange, North Milford parish, originally belonged to Milford. Orange was incorporated by the general assembly holden at New Haven in May, 1822, and was formed by the union of North Milford parish and West Haven, a parish of New Haven. The first town meeting was holden at the meeting-house in the parish of North Milford, on the second Monday in June, of which meeting Charles H. Pond, Esq., of Milford, was previously appointed moderator by the
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.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Milford. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Milford.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Milford’s page.
Retake this view · +15Nobody well known was born in Milford itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 Wikimedia Commons (1), the Library of Congress (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.
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