Delmarva Back Roads

  A delightfully detailed gable window in South Milford  Milford has so many historical gems that it has not one, not two, but three separate historic districts. I’ve talked about the Shipyard Historic District in this blog post and North Milford Historic District in this blog post . We also explored  South Milford Historic District , also known as Victorian Historic District. Milford first developed on the north side of the Mispillion River, then spread to the south side in the mid-1800s. So many of South Milford’s buildings were built in the mid to late 1800s.  Unlike some other towns along the Delaware Bayshore Byway. Milford’s economy boomed in the late 1800s. One reason is that its shipbuilding industry continued until the early 20 th century. Another reason is that, unlike most towns along the Delaware Bayshore Byway, Milford had a railroad running through it. Milford was a major shipping point for peaches until they were hit by a blight  in the very ...

Broadkill Beach Broadkill Beach is the southernmost beach along the Delaware Bayshore Byway , about five miles up the coast from Lewes and a half hour drive from Rehoboth (depending on traffic). Like most other Bayshore communities along the Delaware Bay, Broadkill Beach is a single road (Bayshore Drive) running parallel to the shoreline, with homes lining the beachfront. Also like several other Bayshore communities, Broadkill Beach is a horseshoe crab sanctuary . And like many other shorefront communities, Broadkill Beach is unincorporated, which means there’s no town government or local municipal services, including public restrooms or trash cans.   But Broadkill Beach is different from other beaches along the Delaware Bayshore Byway. Here the beach has been rebuilt with impressive dunes and a wider beach. This makes the homes here much less susceptible to storm or tidal flooding than many of those to the north.   Broadkill Beach's rebuilt dunes Broadkill Beach's reb...

  Hazzard House in Milton Milton has too many things to see to cover in one blog post! My last blog post  focused on its delightful Victorian architecture. Here I’ll cover some of its earlier buildings. Milton was founded in 1686, when James Gray “patented” 100 acres at the navigable head of the Broadkill River. He named the town Milton after the English poet John Milton, who had died a few years earlier. I don’t think much more happened until the mid-1700s, when George Conwell and William Perry owned the land—Conwell on the north side of the Broadkill River and Perry on the south side. They laid the land out in lots that they sold. By the late 1700s, Milford was a small village, with mills and ports for lumber and agricultural products. Probably the oldest house we saw was  Hazzard House , also known as  Governor David Hazzard Mansion  and Governor’s Bed & Breakfast at 327 Union St. It’s pictured above. Its “core” was built around 1790 by Governor Hazza...