Milford chronicle., 1960-07-08
| Remember Milford
BY George D. Trultt


The following article concerning
Milford was prepared by Mr..
George d. Truitt, native Milford
ian, now residing in Marshfield
Hills, Mass.
He is a brother of Mr.. John G..
Truitt, of Milford, and while IS
years of age, recalls with clarity
Milford of many years ago.
The article was prepared by Mr..
Truitt at the Instance of Rear Ad-
miral ]. Lockwood Pratt, U. S.
Navy retired, a former Milford lad,
and a godson of Mr.. Truitt.
We believe the readers of the
Chronicle, those old enough to re-
member the scenes, persons, etc.,
recalled by. Mr.. Truitt. and those
much younger will all enjoy this
article because of the charming
and interesting style in which it
is written.
The Old Days
Between 1880 and 1890 Milford
was a sleepy town with strong
Southern atmosphere. Because the
roads were poor and there were no
telephones, Milford was a little
world in itself. And so were the
adjacent towns of Dover, Smyrna
Georgetown. and Lewes-each a
little world
In those days, most of Milford,
at least the most important part,
was located north of the MispilliOn
which divided the town. North Mil
ford had the only bank and most
of the stores.
Importance Of the Greek
To Old Milford
When / was a boy, the Mispil-
lions banks had not been filed in
as they are today. Silver Lake was
then known as the pond" and
from this stretch of water all the
way down to the bay, mud fats
were exposed on both sides at low
tide, but the creek had rise and
fall of two feet. Mispillion was a
commercial asset to old Milford,
but also extracted its price. Along
the flats the lush growth of yell
low dock and water hyacinth was
perfect breeding place for mos
quitoes-especial the malaria
carrying Anopheles which wrecked
its vengeance during July, August
and the first weeks of September. |
can vouch for that! AS an annual
victim, suffered along with
others from chills followed by few
er, then chills, then fever, then
chills again. Sprinkled in between
were generous doses of Quinine
which was the only known remedy
at the time. Praise be- With the
filling in of the creek banks, the
mosquito breeding ground has dis
appeared along with most of the
malaria.
But back to the creek itself. 1t
had four bridges connecting the
two sections of the town. A narrow
wooden bridge passed from Kent
County to Sussex at Barber's saw
mill. Another crossed on Church
Avenue. A foot bridge started in
North Milford near the present
site of the Community Center and
the Fire Department and went past
what is now the Draper Canning
Factory. Paralleling the foot
bridge, ford for carriages and
wagons extended about 300 years,
but was usuable only at low tide.
There was also bridge on Walnut
Street.
You may not believe it, but the
MispiIlion carried a lot of traffic
in those days. Why. it wasn't any
thing for two-masted schooners-
sometimes even three-masted
schooners-t0 be on the creek
along with host of oyster sloops.
Yes, the creek was sort of the
backbone of old Milford. 1t gave
us one of the chief industries -
shipbuilding. At Lank's and Re-
ville's yards, two or three schoon-
ers might be under construction at
the same time. Small tugs and
scows were also building, and al
ways of wood. The yards were fo-
cal points of interest where you
could see heavy lumber and planks
steaming in tight wooden recep-
tacles so that they could be bent
into the required shapes. The first
shipbuilding step was to lay the
keel before the ribs were placed
into position to make the skeleton.
The planks were then put on with
heavy spikes which were sunk in
deeply to accommodate wooden
plugs. These were needed for pro
lection against the corrosive ac-
ton of the sea water. Caulking the
seams with oakum was later step.
The sound of the caulking hammers
ringing in our schoolroom win
dows was good indication that a
launching date was not far OF.