Located just west of New Haven, Milford, CT (known as “A Small City with a Big Heart!”) has a population of just over 50,000. The median household income in 2010 was $77,925 and the median family income was $93,697. As the sixth oldest town in Connecticut, a stroll through town give you the sense of a small town coupled with the charm and the sense of history of an English settlement dating from 1639. Both Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 1 pass through town, making it the ideal home to several national companies, including Subway, Schick Shaving company, and Doctor’s Associates, Inc., K-Mart and Orchid Medical.
Milford public schools currently operates eight Elementary schools, three Middle schools, two High schools, and one Alternative Education High school. There are also a number of private schools in the city.
Home to the Milford Oyster Festival, started in 1975, Milford holds this “rain or shine” tradition on the third Saturday in August. It serves as a combination of a typical town fair with a culinary celebration of the town’s location on historically shellfish-rich Long Island Sound. It takes place in and around the Milford Green, near the center of town, as well as in various locations throughout the downtown area, and features a wide variety of events including canoe and kayak races, musical performances, classic car shows, carnival rides, food stands, crafts, face painting, and even opening your own oyster for a pearl. It has drawn large musical acts over the years including Joan Jett, The Marshall Tucker Band, John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band, Soul Asylum, and many more.
Points of Interest
Milford boasts a beach resort feel and many of its points of interest and area activities center around its magnificent shoreline.
- Charles Island
- Milford has five public beaches with lifeguard services for its residents – Gulf Beach, Anchor Beach, Hawley Avenue Beach, Walnut Beach, and Middle Beach – as well as seven private beaches.
- Water recreation abounds with access from boat launches, the Milford Lisman Landing Marina, multiple city beaches, and Silver Sands State Park.
- Silver Sands State Park
- A 3/4 mile boardwalk connects Silver Sands to Walnut Beach in Devon.
- Charles Island is also a part of the Silver Sands State Park and is a protected bird nesting ground. There is a sand bar (called a tombolo since it is perpendicular, not parallel to the coast) accessible during low tide that people can walk on from Silver Sands Beach to Charles Island.
- The Connecticut Audubon Coastal Center at Milford Point offers views of the estuary and Long Island Sound and their inhabitants and an educational program to explain all.
- Liberty Rock: During the Revolutionary War the Milford section of the Boston Post Road, a vital route connecting Boston, New York and other major coastal cities, was blockaded by Continental forces, and Fort Trumbull was constructed to protect the town. The site of the blockade is commemorated by the Liberty Rock monument.
- Memorial Bridge: A “stone bridge and tower commemorating the town’s history and founders” was built 1899 at the site of the last mill over the Wepawaug after it was closed in 1894. “The stone bridge is simple in design, its broad copings surmounted with roughhewn blocks of granite, bearing the names of the first settlers.” It is located where Broad Street crosses the Wepawaug River.
- The Milford Cultural Center: Operated by the Milford Council for the Arts, offers various events throughout the year.