Fort Trumbull Beach

Fort Trumbull Beach, Milford

The city of Milford, located in New Haven County, is in the southernmost part of the state on the Long Island Sound. The land, purchased by English settlers in 1639, originally included what would become the towns of Orange and West Haven. By 1822, Orange separated and what remained of Milford was a successful shipbuilding, oystering and farming community, as well as a popular beach resort. In the post-World War II period, Milford underwent significant suburbanization, and in 1959 the town incorporated as a city. In the later 20th century, the town became home to many multinational corporations including the Schick Shaving Company.

More on Milford from the CT Digital Archive

Browse more interactive content on the CT Digital Archive website.

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Featured

A family outing in the Woodmont section of Milford, September, 1887

Connecticut’s Sleepy Hollow

Was Washington Irving's famous schoolmaster, Ichabod Crane, modeled after a man who once called Milford home?  …[more]

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Places

“Milford Historical Society,” 2017. Link.
Department of Energy & Environmental Protection. “Silver Sands State Park,” 2012. Link.

Documents

Lambert, Edward Rodolphus. “Map of Milford, Connecticut,” 1855. Connecticut Historical Society and Connecticut History Illustrated. Link.
Connecticut State Library Digital Collections. “Milford - WPA Architectural Survey,” 2015. Link.
“Milford Collection.” Connecticut Digital Archive, n.d. Link.

Books

Dooling, Michael C. An Historical Account of Charles Island, Milford, Connecticut. United States: Carrollton Press, 2006.
McCain, Diana. Connecticut Coast: A Town-by-Town Illustrated History. Guilford,  CT: Globe Pequot Press, 2009.
Federal Writers’ Project, and Milford Tercentenary Committee. History of Milford, Connecticut, 1639-1939. Bridgeport,  CT: Braunworth & Company, 1939. Link.
Rockey, J. L., ed. History of New Haven County, Connecticut. Vol. 2. New York: W. W. Preston, 1892. Link.
Lambert, Edward. History of the Colony of New Haven, Before and After the Union with Connecticut. Containing a Particular Description of the Towns Which Composed That Government, Viz., New Haven, Milford, Guilford, Branford, Stamford, & Southold, L.i. with a Notice of the Towns Which Have Been Set Off from “the Original Six.” New Haven, CT: Hitchcock & Stafford, 1838. Link.
Hurd, Melville. Milford. Charleston,  SC: Arcadia, 2006.
Juliano, Frank. Milford: A Brief History. Charleston,  SC: History Press, 2010.
Murphy, Katherine. Woodmont on the Sound. Charleston,  SC: Arcadia, 2007.