Milton Historic District listing is amended

The original Milton Historic District in southern Delaware has been amended and expanded thanks to extensive research and an enhanced historic context.

Analysis and research by the University of Delaware’s Center for Historic Architecture and Design, in collaboration with the Town of Milton’s Historic Preservation Commission, reaffirmed the district’s local level of significance while also expanding the period of significance from 1763, when Milton was founded, to 1962. The effort also differentiated between “contributing” and “noncontributing” resources and addressed other definitions and characteristics of note.

The District has been amended according to National Park Service (NPS) National Register of Historic Places standards through a comprehensive resurvey of previously listed resources as well as 36 new properties. The effort also recalculated the estimated acreage cited in the original 1982 nomination and verified the current acreage by using land assessment records.

The amended listing, officially added to the National Register on July 21, 2022, now includes 233 town parcels spanning 76.4 acres, 199 of which are considered “contributing” properties. A contributing property is one that has been found to add to the historic significance of the district. Each property may include multiple buildings, structures or sites.

Resurveyed properties that complement the expanded period of significance now include main buildings and structures, as well as ancillary buildings such as barns, carriage houses, corn cribs, garages, guest houses, outhouses, sheds, summer kitchens and other miscellaneous properties including a bridge, pump house and a well.

Funding was provided by NPS through a Historic Preservation Fund Grant sub-grant and managed by the Delaware State Historic Preservation Office.

Click HERE for more details about the amended Milton Historic District.