Page 10 - Austin Road Flipbook

The Story of Milford

The land which today
comprises Milford, Orange, and
West Haven was “purchased” on
February 1, 1639 from
Ansantawae, chief of the local
tribe, by English settlers affiliated
with the contemporary New Haven
Colony. Originally, the area was
known as “Wepawaug”, after the
small river which runs through the
town. During the Revolutionary
War, the Milford section of Boston
Post Road, a vital route connecting
Boston, New York and other major
coastal cities, was blockaded by
Continental forces and Fort During the next century and a Milford’s Devon neighborhood
Trumbull was constructed to half, Milford became known as a is located at the mouth of the
protect the town. The site of the beach resort for residents of New Housatonic River near Stratford,
blockade is commemorated by the Haven and Bridgeport. In 1903 the and features the Connecticut
Liberty Rock monument. southeastern portion of the town Audubon Coastal Center
was incorporated as the Borough overlooking the estuary. Milford
By 1822, the town had grown
large enough that residents of Woodmont. In 1959, the town of also has over 14 miles of shoreline
chartered their own independent Milford was incorporated as the facing Long Island Sound, the
course as the town of Orange. City of Milford. most of any town in Connecticut. A
large portion of Milford’s shoreline
forms the Silver Sands State Park.
A newly built mile-long
boardwalk was opened in 2011
that connects Silver Sands to
Walnut Beach in Devon. Charles
Island is also a part of the park and
is a protected bird nesting ground.
There is a sand bar (more correctly
called a tombolo since it is
perpendicular, not parallel to the
coast) accessible during low tide
that people can walk on from
Silver Sands Beach to Charles
Island.