LOOKING AROUND DELAWARE
MILTON 1938
During the more than 250
years of its existence, Milton has had at least six names,
the present one being
officially adopted in 1807. Milton is located on Broadkiln , a
creek
navigable as far as the
town.
Record mention it as early
as 1673, a settlement by Hermanus Wiltbank and his
son Cornelius, soon joined
by James Grey , at which time it was named 'Milford” .
A change of land ownership
and the place became Osbourne's Landing, then Upper Landing,
Cornwell Landing, Hear of
Broadkiln then finally Milton.
The 17th
century saw the town develop as a port for shipping grain and
was visited
by ships from the
Atlantic seaboard. Ship yards building schooner's and the
like
became a thriving
industry which dwindled upon the arrival of the railroad. 1880
saw
the last ship yard shut
down.
Old marine records give
an idea of the seaport importance by disclosing the
large number of vessels
which plied between this port and large cities along the Atlantic
coast each week . Six
ships had schedules, sailing between Milton and Phidledphia on a
regular basis, five
others had freight service to New York. Fire wood, from the
dense
forest around Milton,
brought to the wharves for shipment was another industry bringing
an economy.
The locality gave three
governors to Delaware, John Ponder, David Hazzard and
Sam Paynter. All are
buried in graves in the area. Among the military men resting in
Milton's old cemetery's
are Major John Hazzard and Lieutenant Peter Parker. Parkers
home, built in 1830, is
now the “Welsh House” and stands between the old railroad
station
and town center.
Milton Academy,
flourished between 1819 and 1880, was one of the leading
schools in early America.
St. John The Baptist
Episcopal Church was built in Broadkiln Forest in 1728, by
1800 it was a school and in
1877 Bishop Lee built a new church.
The Goshen Meeting house
came into being 1801, by 1878 a new church was
built by the Methodist.
Presbyterians built a
church in 1834 which flourished until 1865.
Just below Milton on the
Broadkill is Drawbridge and like Milton it was a port of
importance for grain and
shippments until 1870. The governor, Sam Paynter, was born
1768 and lived here, in
his homestead which stood for many years.
Abstract: Wilmington
Morning News , Dec 14 1935, Looking Around Delaware/Milton
No comments:
Post a Comment