Historic Milton, Delaware

Originally settled in 1672 by the Dutch, the Town of Milton was the birthplace of sailors, soldiers and priests. Its citizens fought with the Continental Army in the War with the British. Before the War of 1812, the town at the headwaters of the Broadkill was a small settlement that was re-named for the poet John Milton.

Civil War Divisions

During the Civil War, Delaware was a State whose sympathies were divided. In fact, Lincoln sent a Battalion of men into Delaware to police the trade coming out of Delaware; to make certain that no weapons, supplies or food went to Richmond. Like the rest of Delaware, the town of Milton had many sympathizers for the Confederate side. Blocks were divided by the families that fought for either the North or the South in the Civil War. Soldiers from Delaware fought well for the Union Army in many skirmishes but Union Generals never allowed the Delaware troops to fight in a major campaign. They feared that the known ambivalence of Delawareans could affect the outcome of a major battle.

Delaware Ship Building

Milton was best known for shipbuilding and the home of many small entrepreneurs and craftsman. Hundreds of ships were built and launched in Milton that sailed the Atlantic and around the world. Waiting for the highest tide in the shallow Broadkill River, boat hands and horses would pull the tall ships along the twisting waterway nearly five miles to the ocean where the ships were launched.  So many maiden voyages wore a path along both sides of the bank. This path was the most direct route to the ocean for decades. Entrepreneurs built supply and general stores along the riverbank to sell wares to the walking traffic.

Delaware Holly Decorations

Known for its soybeans, corn and country chickens, the lower counties of Delaware are also well known for Holly Trees. Each Christmas season, farmers from Milton would prune their Holly trees. They would then send the holly to craftsmen in town who would make the boughs into festive red and green seasonal decorations. At one time, Milton was the Holly Tree capital of the world, clipping, wrapping and packing its holly decorations to far away places. Other cottage industries in Milton included button manufacturing. Using chips from mother of pearl shells, button manufactures employed whole families in dozens of houses to cut and polish the button blanks and send them to the garment districts in Philadelphia, Wilmington, New York and Boston.

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