Editing Milan, New York (section)

===Establishment of town and post office===
The New York State Legislature voted on March 6, 1818, to create the town of Milan from the western part of the town of [[North East, New York|North East]], to be effective "from and after the last day in March" 1818.<ref>"Laws of the State of New York passed at the forty-first session of the Legislature," Albany 1818. Chapter XXVIII.</ref> The session laws stated that the first town meeting would be held the first Tuesday of April and at the home of Stephen Thorn, who was elected [[town supervisor]] along with John F. Bartlett, [[town clerk]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=hsYpAQAAMAAJ&dq=Milan+Thorne+Bartlett&pg=PA370 The History of Dutchess County, New York, Frank Hasbrouck, Higginson Book Company, 1909, page 370.]</ref>

Two 19th century histories of the town of Milan and Dutchess County (1877 and 1882) state there is no knowledge or evidence as to why the name "Milan" was chosen,<ref name="JHSmith"/><ref>"General History of Duchess County 1609–1876" by Philip H. Smith, 1877: author and publisher</ref> but the name Milan had appeared in other areas of the state, and it was not unusual to take European city names at the time. What is now the city of [[Syracuse, New York|Syracuse]] was known as "Milan" for a brief period between 1809 and 1812. A settlement {{convert|40|mi}} south of Syracuse was originally called "Milan" in 1790 before incorporation in 1802 as the town of [[Locke, New York|Locke]].<ref>[http://www.co.cayuga.ny.us/locke/ourtown/history/summary.htm Town of Locke Historian Esther Thorton] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101107114627/http://co.cayuga.ny.us/locke/ourtown/history/summary.htm |date=November 7, 2010 }}</ref> An unincorporated village there continued to be referred to as "Milan"<ref>[http://history.rays-place.com/ny/cayu-locke-ny.htm History of Locke, New York From: History of Cayuga County, New York By: Elliot G. Storke, Assisted by: Jos H. Smith Published by: D. Mason & Co., Syracuse, New York, 1879]</ref> but the Milan designation for that post office was changed to "Locke" on July 29, 1817. This cleared the way for the operation of the Milan post office on August 14, 1818, at what is now Case's Corners.<ref name="postal">"A postal history of the town of Milan," Roy Ahlquist, 1992.</ref>
[[File:MilanPOc1880.jpg|thumb|right|The Milan post office operated from 1818 to 1908 at what is now Case's Corner. A rare cancellation shown above.]]