MILFORD

city, coextensive with the town (township) of Milford, New Haven county, southwestern Connecticut, U.S. It lies on Long Island Sound northeast of the mouth of the Housatonic River. Settled in 1639 on land bought from the Paugusset Indians, it was probably named (1640) for Milford Haven, Wales, or Milford, Eng. In 1643 it became a part of New Haven colony, which in turn united with Connecticut colony in 1664. During the American Revolution Milford militia drove off a small British landing force. Oysters and clams from Long Island Sound have always been important commercially. Agriculture, some light industry, and summer tourism provide the basis of the economy. Simon Lake invented his even-keel submarine torpedo boat there in 1894. Milford was chartered as a city in 1959, the year of town-city consolidation. Pop. (1990) 49,938; (1996 est.) 49,773. city, Kent and Sussex counties, central Delaware, U.S., on the Mispillion River, which divides the city into northern and southern sections. Northern Milford, established in 1787 on the site of plantations settled about 1680, was named for a gristmill and sawmill built on the river; southern Milford was laid out in 1819. Shipping and shipbuilding were important factors in the community's early growth. Milford is now a processing and shipping point for poultry and seafood. Manufactures include dental supplies. A number of historic buildings have been preserved, including the Parson Thorne Mansion, which was built in the 1730s. Inc. 1867. Pop. (1990) 6,032; (1996 est.) 6,557.