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North Milford Village Historic DistrictNorth Milford Village Historic District · Photo: Traveler100 · CC BY-SA 3.0
A−History
History · Milford Township

Milford Township dates to 1832, and 4 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 85% of U.S. towns · #104 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it

Most of Milford Township was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. 4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 255 buildings. Below: maps from 1909 on and the census since 1880.

1832founded
4on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Milford Township began

When was Milford Township founded?

1832

Milford Township dates its founding to 1832 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 1,251 in 18802020 census: 17,090194 years

How historic is Milford Township?

A−

More historic than 85% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1836.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Milford Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Milford Township is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns, #104 of 701 in Michigan. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Milford Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1832, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19409.9% of homes (±2.4) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register4 listings, 258 historic buildings, 151 per 10,000 residents · typical MI town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 85%
NewerOlder
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 85%

Few Michigan towns list much on the Register (a typical Michigan town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Milford Township’s 151 sits above most of its state (96% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 258 historic buildings outnumber those of 95% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share (±2.4 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1832.

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 Milford Township’s past

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

A historic districtThe North Milford Village Historic District takes in 255 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Milford Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19097 editions of the USGS map, 1909 to 1983. Watch Milford Township change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1832: 194 years of Milford Township.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

4 listings protect 258 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
258
each building in a district counts
first listed
1985
Dr. Henry K. Foote House
Dr. Henry K. Foote HouseMilford Rural Agricultural School, built 1925Hubbard-Kesby HouseNorth Milford Village Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival3
Arts-and-Crafts1
Italianate1
Late Victorian1
Dr. Henry K. Foote HouseGreek Revival
Milford Rural Agricultural SchoolArts-and-Crafts · Built 1925
Hubbard-Kesby HouseGreek Revival
North Milford Village Historic DistrictGreek Revival

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

Help out

Start Milford Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Milford Township on the map, 1909 to 1983

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

Milford Township on the 1909 USGS mapMilford Township on the 1936 USGS mapMilford Township on the 1945 USGS mapMilford Township on the 1954 USGS mapMilford Township on the 1969 USGS mapMilford Township on the 1973 USGS mapMilford Township on the 1983 USGS map1909Milford 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 Milford Township.

The story

How Milford Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Milford Township.

Read it all →

The village of Milford began with the building of a sawmill by Elizur and Stanley Ruggles in 1832. Early county records indicate that the mill was erected in the "Township" at that time, and that formal organization would occur in 1834. That same year, the first gristmill was erected by Luman Fuller. In 1835, the first post office was established with Aaron Phelps as postmaster.

The Lower Mill Pond was created in 1836 to provide waterpower for the various types of mills and factories. The Upper Mill Pond followed in 1845. In 1911, the Hubbell Pond was created by a dam built on the Huron River to generate electricity. The village was incorporated in 1869.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Milford Township, 1832 to 1925

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1832
    FoundingMilford Township is established
  3. 1836Post officeThe Milford post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1909On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1925BuiltMilford Rural Agricultural School is built
By decade

Milford Township, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Milford Rural Agricultural School Plaque2016Milford Rural Agricultural School PlaqueLepista subconnexa Murrill 6707722016Lepista subconnexa Murrill 670772Lactarius atroviridis Peck 4624272014Lactarius atroviridis Peck 462427Out of the Darkness Walk2013Out of the Darkness WalkMilford High School Highland Michigan2011Milford High School Highland MichiganHubbard-Kesby Home2010Hubbard-Kesby Home
People over time

Milford Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,5007,000188019001920194019601980200020206,520

Grew from 1,251 people in 1880 to 6,520 in 2020, 5 times over.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Milford
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Milford Township
Milford MemorialOak GroveSaint Mary's

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Lyon TownshipIts storyCHighland Township2 historic placesB+Commerce Township2 historic placesBBrighton Township1 historic placeB−Wixom1 historic placeB−

Questions about Milford Township’s history

What year was Milford Township founded?

In 1832, according to Wikidata. Milford Township’s post office opened in 1836, and the census of 1880 counted 1,251 people here.

How does Milford Township rank for history?

Milford Township is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns, #104 of 701 in Michigan. 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 Milford Township?

4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Dr. Henry K. Foote House (listed 1985, the first), and 1 historic district, the North Milford Village Historic District, with 255 contributing buildings. 258 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Milford Township?

10% of Milford Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1986.

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 (6), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.