On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Milford is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #311 of 993 in Ohio. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Milford’s overall grade.
Ohio towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Ohio town has 2.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Milford’s 6.2 sits above most of its state (67% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.3 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The area covering the City of Milford, O'Bannon (Miami) Township, and part of the City of Loveland is from a single 1788 survey by John Nancarrow, a Revolutionary War veteran from Virginia. As one of Clermont County's major historians noted, "No wonder, then, that it struck with rapture the quaint and eccentric John Nancarrow, who had it surveyed for him on May 28, 1788 as Dutch burgomaster intended to found a city that should become the future metropolis of the West." O'Bannon Township was named after O'Bannon Creek, which itself was named for Clermont's first surveyor who was not connected to, responsible for, or interested at all in Nancarrow's survey area.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Milford is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #311 of 993 in Ohio. 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?
Two places: the Promont (listed 1980) and the Pleasant Hill (2008).
How old are the homes in Milford?
20% of Milford’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.3 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1968.
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), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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) 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.
1968
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2022
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