Editing Milford, Delaware (section)

==History==
The Kent County side of Milford was first settled in 1680 by Henry Bowan on what was known as the Saw Mill Range. A century later the Reverend Sydenham Thorne built a dam across the [[Mispillion River]] to generate power for his gristmill and sawmill. Around the same time, Joseph Oliver laid out the first city streets and plots nearby on a part of his plantation. Soon a number of homes and businesses appeared along Front Street. The city was incorporated February 5, 1807.<ref name="History">{{cite web|title=History of Milford, Delaware|url= http://www.cityofmilford.com/index.aspx?NID=166|website=cityofmilford.com |access-date= 2012-04-11}}</ref>

In the 1770s, a ship building industry was already flourishing on the Mispillion River. Shipbuilding continued to be the major industry of Milford through World War I, bringing considerable prosperity to the town. The high point came in 1917 when the four-masted, {{convert|174|ft|m|adj=on}} long ''Albert F. Paul'' was launched from the William G. Abbott shipyard.  At one point six shipyards were operating in the downtown area. When the last of the area's giant white oaks was cut in the 1920s, the shipyards quickly went out of business, although the Mispillion ships sailed on for many years. (The ''Paul'' was sunk by a German torpedo in 1942 while sailing from the Bahamas.) The Vineyard shipyard was called into service in both [[World War I]] and [[World War II|II]] to build submarine chasers.<ref name="History"/>

During much of the twentieth century Milford served primarily as the commercial center for much of southern Delaware's large agricultural community.<ref name="History"/>

Seven of Delaware's governors have come from Milford: [[Daniel Rogers (politician)|Daniel Rogers]] (who served 1797–99), [[Joseph Haslet]] (1811–14), [[William Tharp]] (1847–1851), [[Peter F. Causey]] (1855–59), [[William Burton (governor)|William Burton]] (1859–63), [[William T. Watson]] (1895–97), and [[Ruth Ann Minner]] (2001–09).<ref name="History"/>

[[Abbott's Mill]], [[Bank House (Milford, Delaware)|Bank House]], [[Carlisle House (Milford, Delaware)|Carlisle House]], [[Christ Church, Milford, Delaware|Christ Church]], [[Dr. Dawson House]], [[Draper House (Milford, Delaware)|Draper House]], [[Egglinton Hall]], [[Golden Mine]], [[Grier House]], [[Peter Lofland House]], [[James McColley House]], [[New Century Club (Milford, Delaware)|Milford New Century Club]], [[Milford Railroad Station]], [[Milford Shipyard Area Historic District]], [[Mill House (Milford, Delaware)|Mill House]], [[Mispillion Lighthouse and Beacon Tower]], [[North Milford Historic District]], [[Old Fire House]], [[Parson Thorne Mansion]], [[South Milford Historic District]] [[Walnut Farm]], [[Gov. William T. Watson Mansion]], and [[J. H. Wilkerson & Son Brickworks]] are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>

On May 30, 2003, a fire started in a second floor apartment next to Wiley Hardware & Appliance on Walnut Street in the historic downtown section of Milford. More than 200 firefighters from Milford, [[Ellendale, Delaware|Ellendale]], [[Harrington, Delaware|Harrington]], [[Felton, Delaware|Felton]], [[Dover, Delaware|Dover]], [[Smyrna, Delaware|Smyrna]], [[Houston, Delaware|Houston]], [[Frederica, Delaware|Frederica]], [[Slaughter Beach, Delaware|Slaughter Beach]], [[Bowers Beach, Delaware|Bowers Beach]], [[Greenwood, Delaware|Greenwood]], [[South Bowers, Delaware|South Bowers]], [[Farmington, Delaware|Farmington]], [[Magnolia, Delaware|Magnolia]], [[Cheswold, Delaware|Cheswold]], [[Lewes, Delaware|Lewes]], [[Georgetown, Delaware|Georgetown]], and [[Bridgeville, Delaware|Bridgeville]] in [[Delaware]] and [[Greensboro, Maryland|Greensboro]] and [[Goldsboro, Maryland|Goldsboro]] in [[Maryland]] fought the blaze which destroyed seven businesses, a church, and three apartments, destroying an entire city block in the historic section of town. No one was killed in the blaze, but one civilian and six firefighters were injured.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.firehouse.com/news/10541741/fire-hits-block-in-historic-milford-delaware|title=Fire Hits Block In Historic Milford, Delaware|work=Firehouse|access-date=1 September 2015}}</ref>