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History of Milford, Ohio

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The village of Milford was built on a survey belonging to John Nancarrow a Revolutionary War veteran from Virginia. Nancarrow had a grant of 230 acres but never came here. Due to financial difficulties he sold his Milford survey to Phillip Gatch, on Dec. 20, 1802, for $920.00. In 1806 Gatch sold 125 acres to Ambrose Ransom and two days later Ransom sold 64 1/2 acres to John Hageman. John Hageman was the first permanent settler and named this area Hageman's Mills.

Hageman laid out a village of 46 lots. There were three streets parallel to the river Water St., High St. and Main St. The streets running toward the river were Mill, Cross, (later named for President Garfield), Elm, Locust, and the last was merely known as County Road. County Road ran to the river and connected with the ford across the Little Miami River. The choice lot was No. 1 where the Millcroft now stands. The price was $35.00. Most of the lots sold for the sum of $25.00.

Although Milford's beginnings were religious in nature it was the waterpower that would insure the growth of the community. The first improvement of the water power here was made in 1803 by John Hageman, who put up a small mill. It was rudely built being enclosed with slabs.

Ethan Stone of Cincinnati had an oil mill at Milford soon after 1805, on the mill-race above a small bridge, which was operated until 1817. In this building carding was also done by Rust and Dimmitt, and later, John Eldridge there distilled liquor.

The first postmaster and the first cooper was A.M. Matson, Sr. whose old stone house was built on the corner of Main and Garfield, in 1807. John Losh, who had a few vats in a yard above the Catholic Church, carried the first tannery at Milford on about 1808. It passed into the hands of Daniel McCelland, who greatly increased the capacity, and had in connection a large shoe shop. After John Kugler became the owner, the business was carried on much more extensively for a few years, when the industry was discontinued. The first frame house was built opposite the "brick row" near the present location of the Odd Fellows Hall, and was built about 1809 by a man named McFeeney, who was John Hageman's miller. Sometime about 1810 William Embly had a small distillery where the Jackson Stables stood long after. In 1811, Stephen Madaris erected one of the first brick houses in Milford on High St., opposite the entrance to Riverside Park. Therefore, the "brick row" located on Main St. was in all probability not begun before 1811.

By 1815, John Hageman had departed for Indiana and the name of Milford had come into use. The name Milford itself was given to the town because it was the first safe ford north of the Ohio River across the Little Miami. This ford is a shallow place in the river today, as it was when one had to ford the stream to get to the mill. In 1815 a wooden bridge was planned and completed by 1818. The immediate effect of the bridge on travel was so great that other towns made a stir for bridges. Morgan's Raiders burned the single span Bridge built to replace this one that was swept away by the flood in 1858 on July 15, 1863.

About 1815, Hortshorn and Sanders built the frame of the mill that would survive the better portion of the century. In 1828 Mathis Kugler bought the Mill, mill race and the mansion "now known as the Millcroft" for $12,000. His son, John, took charge and greatly expanded the operation. All the stone buildings on Mill St. and adjacent to it were built by John. The building now housing the Vilardo Agency was the distillery; the building east of it was the corn warehouse.

The long stone building on Main Street was the whiskey warehouse and had the cooperage shop on the second floor. The Milford Library building was built by Kugler about 1835; the first floor was a warehouse, the second floor a public meeting place. The stone used to build the library was collected by John Kugler. A toll was charged to cross the bridge from Clermont to Hamilton County and Kugler, thinking the toll too high, decided to collect these stones from the East Fork to build his own bridge to avoid paying the exorbitant fee. The toll collectors, finding out about a rival span, dropped their toll in order not to lose Kugler and the rest of Milford's business. Thus, with all these stone gathered, Kugler did himself a service and erected these buildings for storage of his distillery and gristmill's products.

John Kugler raised pigs on his farm south of the village and he operated a pork packing plant on Water Street where the Masonic Temple now stands. At Kuglers death in 1868 all operations except the mill ceased.

Thomas and John Cook were among the early settlers of Milford. The former was a man of prodigious strength, and once accomplished the feat of pulling off a greased gander's head, the goose being suspended just low enough to admit of being reached while galloping by on horseback. From this circumstance Milford was sometimes called "Gandertown" by the inhabitants of rival villages, but soon outgrew this nickname.

Milford was incorporated by an act of the General Assembly, passed Jan. 23, 1836, and on the 26th of March of the same year the first election of the village officers was held at the public-house of Emanuel Hawn, with the following result: Mayor, William Williams; recorder, Thomas M. Brown; Trustees, John Kugler; John Ray Britton Loming, Emanuel Hawn, and Simon Ramsety; Treasurer Edward Hughes; Marshal, James Dennisse; Street Commissioner, William Conklin.

The marshal was also appointed Nuisance-master at the salary of $5.00 a year. A tax of five mills on the dollar for all purposes was levied, and brought into the village treasurer $113.20; as license fees there were received $5.00, and as road tax $82.00 more, making the total receipts of $200.20. Of this amount there were paid out to defray the current expensed of the village government $104.24, leaving a neat balance in the treasury. For fire protection the trustees provided eight ladders, which were to be placed in pairs at John Kuglers, William Conklin's E. Hawn's and William Riggs.

The first and, for a time, only telephone in town was in Adams Bakery at Main and Garfield. When general service was installed in town, the telephones were wall-mounted hand-cranked, party-line type.

In 1906, the C.M. & L. Traction Co. laid tracks up the middle of Main Street. The company provided transportation from Cincinnati to Blanchester.

The town bought electricity from the traction company's powerhouse on Wooster Pike. An interesting fact about that is that the electricity was turned off about midnight when the last car returned to the car barn for the night and was resumed when the first car went into the service the next day. With electricity available, houses were wired right and left.

The following year, streetlights were installed. A large celebration was held with the town band marching from light to light while they played.

The first village owned fire-fighting equipment, other than ladders, was a pumper, which operated like a railroad handcar. It was stored at the town hall. An alarm sounded, someone ran to the livery stable near the bridge, got a horse, ran back to the hall, hitched the horse to the pumper and took off for the fire. Prior to that, the bucket brigade was the only fire protection.

Until the early 1900's, road and streets in and about town simply were dust in summer and mud in winter. Until 1910, sidewalks were do-it-yourself propositions. They were made of cinders, gravel, planks, or what-ever-you have. The new sidewalks were made of a relatively new material called artificial stone cement.

The devasating flood of 1913 struck Milford destroying the funeral parlor and livery stable at the bridge and washing our a pier of the traction company's trestle in the river.

In 1916, Chris Ernst built the Family Theater on Garfield between Main and Water Streets. Admission was 10 cents for adults and 5 cents for children.

The "roaring 20's" roared into Milford on New Year's Day 1920, when fire completely destroyed Scott's Mill. It was never rebuilt. So ended Milford's more than 100 years as a mill town.

In 1922 the inauguration of home mail delivery began in the village. A new steel bridge was the occasion for a large celebration in 1925.

In 1939, the building we call the "Millcroft Inn" was first opened as a tea room and was called the "Millcroft" thus ending the building's long history as a private home.

In 1956, Gallensteins opened the first Milford Shopping Center.

In 1961, a new sanitary sewer system came into operation: 1971 was the year the village government was voted changed to a charter form with a city manager.

In 1980, with a census count of 5,232, Milford attained city status.

So, we have recalled a few of the many events and changes of the past years. We look to the future with optimism engendered by the past.

We've come a long way indeed from our beginning all those years ago...

The Little Miami Railroad

The Little Miami Railroad was chartered by the Ohio Legislature in 1835 to build a railroad between Cincinnati and Springfield Subscriptions for stock in the new venture were taken in all the towns on the route of the railroad. Mathias Kugler of New Germany (Camp Dennison) agreed to purchase $10,000 worth if the railroad would run within 80 rods of his mills. At the organization meeting of the stockholders, Mathis was elected director.

Because of the countrywide depression, it was 1841 before the railroad was able to build the track as far as Milford. The first passenger train arrived on Dec. 14, 1841 after a trip of 1- 1 1/2 hours from Cincinnati. The train consisted of the locomotive and 2 passenger cars. The wood-burning locomotive was named the Governor Morrow and cost $7,000. The locomotive was shipped by boat from New Orleans at the cost of $732.00. One passenger car was named James Madison. It had the capacity of 30 passengers; 16 on the inside and 14 on top. The second passenger car was named the Little Miami and carried 20 passengers, 10 on each side facing each other. The line also owned 8 freight cars.

By 1842 the line was bankrupt. In 1842 John Kugler of Milford succeeded his father as a director of the railroad, and helped get the line back on its feet. The line reached Xenia in 1845 and Springfield on August 10, 1846.

1851 saw the beginning of through service to New York. A passenger could leave Cincinnati in the morning, arriving in Cleveland in the evening and take a night boat to Buffalo. Arriving at Buffalo you traveled by rail to Albany during the day reaching the city in the evening in time to get the night boat to New York City.

When the railroad was completed to Xenia, there were 54 Flour Mills, 26 Saw Mills, and 3 Paper Mills served by the road.

On December 1, 1869 the Pennsylvania Railroad leased the Little Miami Railroad for an annual rental of $300,590.80. No rent has been paid since 1970.

Milford Seminary

Education above the grade school level was first available in Milford in 1848 at the Milford Seminary. D.W. Stevens, M.A., who was principal and professor, ran the Seminary in general. The first classes were held on the second floor of the Masonic Hall at corner of Main and Cross Streets (now Garfield Ave.) in 1848. After a few years the school was moved to the second floor of the Kugler Store on Water Street.

The school ran for 4 eleven-week quarters. It was divided into six departments. Primary, Common English, Intermediate, Higher, Classical, and Ornamental. Primary department taught reading, writing and mental arithmetic. The tuition was $2.50 for 11 weeks. Common English department tuition was $4.00 for eleven weeks. Intermediate department tuition was $5.00 with $1.00 extra if you took bookkeeping. Higher department taught Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, surveying, chemistry, geology, botany, theology, rhetoric, logic, domestic economy, anatomy, physiology, and legal rights of women. Tuition was $6.00 each quarter. Classical taught Latin and Greek equivalent to modern high schools fours years of each. Tuition was $6.00 per quarter. Ornamental department taught singing, piano and art. Piano lessons were $10.00 for each quarter while crayoning was $3.00, painting in watercolors was $2.50 and penciling for beginners was $2.00.

The records for 1855-56 show an enrollment of 35 boys and 25 girls for the first session and 36 boys and 28 girls for the second session.

The school was closed in 1870 with the opening of Milford's new Union School in East Milford D.W. Stevens was principal of the Union School starting in 1870.

In reviewing, Milford's past, two appropriate titles came to mind; the little town and how it grew; and you've come a long way, baby!!

Copyright © 2001 by Milford Miami Township Chamber of Commerce. All Rights Reserved.
Milford Miami Township Chamber of Commerce
100 Cemetery Road, Milford, Ohio 45150
Phone: (513) 831-2411