Milford
Milford is a borough in Pike County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,104 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Pike County. It is served by the Delaware Valley School District.
Milford was the home of noted forester and conservationist Gifford Pinchot. A former Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, his home Grey Towers has been under the control of the U.S. Forest Service since 1963. It now serves as a training and educational center for future conservationists and interested tourists.
Milford served as setting for a number of silent films directed by D.W. Griffith in the early 1900s (including The Informer starring Mary Pickford, Lillian Gish and Lionel Barrymore).
Milford was the original home of the Milford Science Fiction Writers Workshop, founded in 1956 by Damon Knight, James Blish and Kate Wilhelm, all residents of Milford at the time.
Milford is also the home of Camp Nah-Jee-Wah, Cedar Lake Camp, and Teen Camp operate through the NJY Camps.
Milford is also home to Pike County Arts and Crafts, an arts education organization that was chosen by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts as winner of the 2007 Pennsylvania State “Creative Community Award.”. Since 1950, Pike County Arts and Crafts has also hosted an annual art show each July in Borough Hall.
An important American artifact is housed in the Pike County Historical Society Museum in Milford – the Lincoln Flag, which is the actual flag that had draped on President Abraham Lincoln’s booth at Ford’s Theatre the night he was shot. The flag was bundled up and placed under the President’s head, and still bears his blood. The flag was kept by stage manager Thomas Gourlay, and eventually passed down to his daughter Jeannie, an actress who had been in the play, Our American Cousin, at the theatre that night; she moved to Milford and the flag was donated to the museum after her death.
In September 2007, Frommer’s Budget Travel named Milford, Pennsylvania, second on its list of “Ten Coolest Small Towns in America”.
According to the various welcome signs on the outskirts of the town Milford was founded between 1733 (route 206/209 north) and 1798 (route 6 south).
Geography
Milford is located at 41°19′27″N 74°48′10″W (41.324169, -74.802839).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 0.5 square miles (1.2 km²), all of it land.
Annual events
The Black Bear Film Festival is an annual event that takes place to acknowledge the independent film world. The festival is the weekend after Columbus Day in October primarily at the historic Milford Theater, and includes many free films and lectures in the Film Salon as well as paid feature films.
Milford Music Festival takes place each June. It is a free weekend event sponsored by Altec Lansing, whose headquarters are in Milford Township. The 2009 Milford Music Festival was headlined by Milford’s very own Vanessa Carlton, Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter/pianist.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,104 people, 522 households, and 281 families residing in the borough. The population density was 2,318.1 people per square mile (888.0/km²). There were 560 housing units at an average density of 1,175.8 per square mile (450.5/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 96.20% White, 1.36% African American, 0.45% Native American, 0.54% Asian, 0.54% from other races, and 0.91% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.45% of the population.
There were 522 households out of which 22.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.0% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.0% were non-families. 40.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.11 and the average family size was 2.87.
In the borough the population was spread out with 20.7% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 25.5% from 45 to 64, and 20.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 90.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.4 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $33,571, and the median income for a family was $46,136. Males had a median income of $40,500 versus $28,333 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $21,011. About 4.0% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.1% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.
Appearances
Milford was shown in the 2008 comedy film, Step Brothers, when Dale Doback (John C. Reilly) wears an orange shirt with the words Milford, PA written on it.
Famous residents
• Louis Allen, a New York Army National Guard officer killed in a fragging incident in 2005 during the Iraq War.
• The family of Gifford Pinchot, including Mary Pinchot Meyer.
• The polymath Charles Sanders Peirce lived on a farm 3 miles from Milford, from 1887 until his 1914 death.
• Writer Frank McCourt
• The science fiction authors James Blish, Damon Knight, Judith Merrill and Kate Wilhelm (Mrs. Knight)
• Vanessa Carlton, singer/pianist
• Allyn Joslyn, stage and screen actor
• Mary Pickford, silent film actress
• Al Pitrelli, guitarist
