National Register Listing

North Milford Historic District

a.k.a. PH0507474,PH0001279

Roughly bounded by Mispillion River, Silver Lake, N. Walnut and NW 3rd Sts., Milford, DE

The North Milford Historic District lies on the north side of the Mispillion River, on land that slowly rises as it moves north away from the river. The western edge lies near Silver Lake and its eastern boundary is N. Walnut Street; it extends as far north as N.W. Third Street. This area includes the original town, as well as the less-altered buildings from the later building periods. The district does not contain any significant intrusions. Also, the historic fabric of the buildings has not been affected by the introduction of contemporary building materials. The Delaware Bay is about 15 miles east as the Mispillion River flows. The surrounding land is used for agricultural purposes.

N. W. Front Street serves as the center of the district from its western end at Mill Street, which marks the limit of the surviving early nineteenth-century structures in North Milford, to North Walnut Street. This includes a part of the business district that remains in its original condition and which has not been changed by the introduction of modern buildings. Also included are a number of Greek Revival structures located near the intersection of N. W. Second Street and N. Walnut Street, the northeast corner of the historic district. The northern limit of the historic district is N. W. Third Street, in order to include examples of early nineteenth-century Gothic Revival and vernacular architectural styles.

West Street and Truitt Avenue form the western boundary of the historic district in order to include Christ Church and cemetery, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, as well as a number of mid-to-late, nineteenth-century vernacular buildings. Those structures beyond the district have either been built within recent times or have been so altered from their original appearance and form so as not to contribute to the historic resources of the district.

The town is laid out in a modified grid pattern with most of the blocks having four sides. The area is primarily residential, with some commercial and ecclesiastical structures. It contains 94 principal structures. The majority of these are frame buildings set on brick foundations. About 23% of the structures are brick. Balloon framing is the basic structural system of frame buildings. Within the historic district, 60% of the buildings were built by 1860. An additional 25% were constructed from 1861 to 1890. A good number of the houses from the second building period replaced early structures and reflect the renewed prosperity that the post-Civil War economy brought to Milford. The total area within the district is 21.5 acres.

N. W. Front Street Three Hundred Block & Mill Street: With the exception of the "Billy Welch House" (.2), most of the houses on this block are replacements for earlier homes built as the town first developed. The Mill Street House was at one time a rear addition to the "Billy Welch House." Even though they were built later in the nineteenth century, the plans of the other houses still exhibit traditional forms, being 3 or 5 bays across the front and one room deep in the main block. The changes come in easily-arrived-at methods. The use of cross gables and lancet windows in 315 N. W. Front Street, built during the mid-years of Gothic Revival architecture's popularity, highlights the ease with which more up-to-date styles could be turned out by local builders. This structure also looks back to earlier styles with the use of Greek Revival trim details. Later modifications could also be easily added, as shown by the decorative bargeboard trim added to the "Billy Welch House," and the Queen Anne porch added to the "Welch/Hart House. Even later structures, such as 314 N. W. Front Street, show the adaptability of earlier forms. Built around 1890, it has Gothic Revival windows and an Eastlake porch.

Local significance of the district:
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1983.