Jesus Love Temple, Parson Thorne Mansion, Milford Museum.
The Milford Historic Preservation group made a walking tour pamphlet showing off all the small, historic town of Milford, Del. has to offer.
According to Terry Rogers, commissioner for the Milford Museum, the idea for the walking tour pamphlet came to fruition before the 11th annual Milford Holiday Stroll.
“Before the stroll, we walked down Walnut Street and researched each place we passed and learned about the history,” Rogers says.
After distributing the guides during the holiday stroll, the Milford Historic Preservation group received numerous comments from participants about how much they enjoyed the tour.
Although the pamphlets are relatively new, they have been a topic of conversation for about three years now. According to Rogers, the group has spent a great deal of time updating and correcting information as more people offer up details.
“It’s important because Milford has a very rich history,” Rogers says. “Downtown Milford was and is a big deal. That’s where we went shopping, there was nothing on the highway back then.”
Rogers, who has lived in Milford for most of her life, remembers many of the destinations in the pamphlet from her childhood.
She recalls walking past the Jesus Love Temple, formerly known as the Schine Theater, located on 106 S. Walnut Street, and thinking how beautiful the old fashioned theater was. At the time, the Schine Theater was the largest theater in Delaware containing 19,000 seats.
Although a lot has changed, Rogers says Milford has done a great job focusing on preserving the historical aspects of the town.
“I think it’s great we are improving downtown, although it’s important to have shops and businesses on the highway for travelers, it’s also important to have a vibrant downtown,” Rogers says. “You need to preserve the history of downtown, you want something unique and you want people to want to come downtown and look at things.”
The guides are currently accessible at Downtown Milford Inc. and the Milford Museum and will hopefully be professionally printed in the near future.
In addition to the guides, the Milford Museum offers guided tours several times a year and the Milford Historic Preservation group is currently working on porch walking tours of historic businesses and houses.
To view the walking tour pamphlet, click here.
