Milton DelawareThe Quietude of Small Town

America

“This tranquil town seems worlds away

from the bustle of

Delaware’s other coastal communities.

”

Best Places To

LiveMarch 2011

Milton #19

out of 35 towns in

DE

“Lavender Fields Forever”

Milton DelawareHolly Capital of the World

“Sweet is the breath of morn, her rising sweet,With charm of earliest

birds.” John Milton

Slide 1 Intro slide: What makes a neighborhood great and what are the characteristics that make people want to live there?

Slide 2 Featured in May 2007 Southern Living Mid-Atlantic Living Section

Slide 3 Featured in March 2011 DE Today Magazine, Best Places to Live: Rating: School district; Median home price, Property Taxes, Safety, Commuting time, Arts and Culture, Shopping and Dining, Nightlife. Lewes #1

Slide 4 Street slide. It starts with Design. Traditional Neighborhood Design/New Urbanism/Smart Growth Planning Theories: Core philosophy of creating sustainable and livable communities. Concepts that date back centuries to the “old town” pattern of development when the primary mode of transportation was walking.

Slide 5 Broadkill River Slide. Tidal estuary of the Delaware Bay. Originally settled in 1672, it was once known as "Head of the Broadkill" for its geographic location at the head of the Broadkill River. This location, just a few miles from Delaware Bay and Atlantic Ocean, was ideal for shipbuilding in days of old. Many shipbuilders and sea captains lived and worked in Milton, and evidence of this life is still visible in some of the historic homes and landmarks in town. 1862-1892 were the golden years of shipbuilding on the Broadkill. More than 200 ships were built.

Slide 6 Governor’s Walk Slide: Brick pathway that runs along the Broadkill’s banks. Milton is the birthplace of five governors, a town divided in allegiance during the Civil War, home to many officers who participated in the famous War of 1812.

Slide 7 Governor’s Walk Slide. Residents enjoy being close to the beach towns, yet avoid the beach town hassles 20 minute drive to DE beaches including Lewes/Rehoboth

Slide 8 Wagamon’s Pond Slide: Mix of people..NJ, MD, DC, VA

Slide 9 Town Slide. Good Neighborhood Design: Discernible center such as a main street or public square with government buildings, shops and homes surrounding; compact in nature so residents can walk. Farmer’s Market. In 1950, Milton Business Association goes on the record as opposing the idea of parking meters in the main business section of town.

Slide 10 Town Slide: Children can walk to school; Parks and open spaces; Tree lined streets and landscaping; Streets smaller; Sidewalks larger; Street parking as opposed to lots/garages

Slide 11 Historic Home Slide: Variety of housing types. Neighborhoods are laid out where speed limits average 15-20MPH. Buildings are place close to the street and fosters a sense of community.

Artful mix of beautifully preserved homes from several eras including: Victorian, Gothic, Federal and Colonial. Participated in “Prettiest Painted Places” including 200 participants.

Other cottage industries have blossomed in Milton throughout history and following the wooden shipbuilding era, including that of button making! Large mother-of-pearl shells were once shipped to many Milton sites from the South Pacific for just this purpose.

A group of enterprising men set up shop in homes and garages throughout town, where they cut and polished the button blanks and then shipped them to the northeast for further decoration and use on garments of all kinds. Dig up the rich dark soil in many a backyard garden in Milton today and you will still find sparkling pieces of mother-of-pearl in all shapes and sizes!

Slide 12 New Homes Slide Back to great neighborhoods…Town designs were purposeful and deliberate, intending to create compact communities where residents could easily get to schools, churches, shopping and other homes. Reflected in new neighborhood cropping up with conformity to town standards.

Slide 13 Gallery Slide: Gary Merz, owner of Federal Street Gallery and Espresso Bar combines his artistic expertise with his love for a good cup of coffee. Produced the documentary, Dancing on a Volcano which features Nadja Merino, fashion artist for the NY Times who fled Hitler’s Europe and helped hundreds of others escape.

Slide 14Finest art in DE. Gary has helped put his adopted hometown on the artistic map by featuring world renowned artists. Former hardware store, post office, drug store, bank, and one room school house.

Slide 15Historical Society Slide: Collects household artifacts and records oral histories from local residents. Milton Fire of 1909. Entire town fought the blaze. Milton Flood of Nor’easter 1962. Blue Hawaii was playing in the local theatre when the flood waters came.

Slide 16 King’s Ice Cream Slide: Tom King Owner. Inherited his father’s recipes. The front of the shop was built in the 1830’s as a general store. His dad bought it in 1972 and turned it into an ice cream shop. Tom took over the business in 1982 and cranks out more than 600 gallons of frozen sweets a week in the spring and summer.

Slide 17Events Slide. Community is a big part of life. Garden and home tours Spring/Christmas) and annual events such as the Horseshoe Crab Festival, Farmer’s Market, Shorebird Festival, and Bargains on the Broadkill, Summer Free Concerts, and Holly Festival.

Slide 18Lavender Fields SlideForget an expensive trip to Provence, France. A day trip to Lavender Fields Farm is all you need if you long to wander through blooming rows of purple lavender. The historic five-acre property is all that remains of a large tract of land deeded to the Warrington family in 1776. The old farmhouse, built over the foundation of a previous dwelling, dates from the 1890’s and is being beautifully restored. The quaint cottage store and greenhouse were completed in the spring of 2004 and the old barn and milk house were restored in the fall of 2005. Everything is done by hand from planting to harvesting, to hanging the lavender in bundles to dry and creating value added products from the flowers in their workshop. You can cut your own flowers in the fields, check out the quaint cottage store which offers everything from potted plants to scented soaps or attend one of a dozen demonstrations on lavender’s many uses in the farm’s restored nineteenth century barn.

Slide 19Holly Slide: The American Holly is Delaware's State Tree - and residents are certainly proud of the role it has played in Milton's history! Once known as the "Holly Capital of the World", Milton at one time in history produced more Christmas and holiday holly wreaths and decorations than any other location.

Slide 20DogFish Head Brewery Slide The story of Dogfish Head began in June of 1995 when they opened Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats, the first state's first brewpub opened in the resort beach community of Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. The plan was to bring original beer, original food, and original music to the area. They outgrew our distributing brewery in a couple years and in the summer of 2002; moved the entire production brewery up the road to Milton, Delaware into a 100,000 square foot converted cannery. Fast forward to today: they built a distillery on the second floor of the Rehoboth Beach brewpub, so they could make vodka, rum and gin. Dogfish Head continues to grow today! nearly 20 styles of beer that are sold in more than 25 states, and a half–dozen kinds of hand–crafted spirits. International beer writer Michael Jackson calls Dogfish Head "America's most interesting and adventurous small brewery." Offer kayaking/brewery tours.

Slide 21 Wrap Up Slide: Population=1657. The town is named for the English Poet who wrote Paradise Lost. Many residents say they actually found it in Milton.

Slide 22-23 Wrap Up Slide: People are still reading John Milton’s poems after all these years. And like the poet, they are holding their own