2016 (41)
2017 (22)
2018 (7)
2019 (5)
2020 (4)
Previous Posts
2015 (8)
10/24/2015 -- Beginnings….
10/24/2015 -- Retiring the Debt
10/25/2015 -- Sexism and Racism in the Early 20th Century Press
10/27/2015 -- The Sunday School girls
The rightmost window on the east wall of the Lydia B. Cannon Museum was funded by a class of Sunday School students.
11/02/2015 -- The Fire of August 12, 1909
The destructive fire of August 13, 1909 was reported by many newspapers across the country, but not always with the facts straight.
11/18/2015 -- The Beginnings of Milton’s Garment Industry
01/03/2016 -- Photos of N. W. White, daughter and son-in-law surface!
Photographs of N. Wallace White and family members
01/08/2016 -- Before the steeple came down…..
Before the makeover of 1906, the Milton M. P. Church had a tall steeple.
01/12/2016 -- Symbols in the Windows – article available
01/23/2016 -- Captain Lacey’s Narrow Escape
Captain Frank Lacey knew the risks of the mariner's life. In February of 1908, he nearly lost his.
02/04/2016 -- Lydia Ann Black’s Graduation Photo
Lydia Ann Black, later Lydia B. Cannon, graduated Milton High School in 1907. She was photographed with her classmates.
02/10/2016 -- Hints of a life in an album of postcards
Fannie Leonard's postcard collection was large, and clues to her life may be found there.
02/20/2016 -- The “Bathing Machine” – what will they think of next?
It's hard to believe, but modesty demanded a solution for female bathers in Victorian times - the "bathing machine."
02/29/2016 -- The Scribe’s Homestead Still Stands
The residence of David A. Conner, Milton's correspondent for the Milford Chronicle, still stands on Federal Street.
03/08/2016 -- The Bard of Federal Street – D. A. C. Revealed
David A. Conner's foray into "historical fiction" makes for some interesting reading. The line between fact and fancy in his writing is blurry.
03/15/2016 -- The Devil Came Down To Drawbridge
The "Jersey Devil" was sighted in Delaware more than once. In 1909, it returned to Drawbridge.
03/29/2016 -- The M. D. and V. Railroad Schedule, 1910
Railroad service from Milton to Baltimore was a boon, but not without a down side.
04/13/2016 -- The Black Lion Tamer – All The Way From Milton, Delaware
Joseph Ledger, born in Milton, traveled throughout Europe as a renowned lion tamer after the Civil War.
04/16/2016 -- “Seaside” portraits In the late 19th Century
Seaside backdrops were in demand for studio portraits in the second half of the 19th century. Here are a few.
04/20/2016 -- A Pond By Many A Name
Milton's "lake" is a man-made mill pond with a dam, dating to the early 19th century. It's Wagamon's Pond today, but it's had other names as well.
05/06/2016 -- Before there were baseball cards…
Camp meetings invited famous preachers to deliver sermons, and these rock stars handed out their cartes-de-visite to their fans.
05/12/2016 -- Death At The Federal Street R. R. Crossing
On March 17, 1901, John Reed raced the train to the railroad crossing - and lost.
05/22/2016 -- From the ashes of the 1909 fire
Rebuilding the business district after the disastrous fire of 1909.
05/30/2016 -- Riding the Circuit
Rev. Adam Wallace rode the circuit in antebellum Sussex County. Milton was one of his stops.
06/09/2016 -- Meet the Undertaker
Samuel J. Wilson, his son and grandson buried countless Miltonians over an eighty-year period.
06/22/2016 -- A Whirlwind Romance: Dr. Hopkins And Miss Nielsen
"Dr. Bob" quickly won the girl's heart, and Milton was left in a state of astonishment.
07/07/2016 -- Maggie Fisher’s Disappearing Act
Maggie Atkins and John Fisher, from two respected Milton families, eloped; they didn't live happily ever after.
07/24/2016 -- The Duke Came To Milton
The Duke of Windsor came to visit Chandler Orchards in 1944, and picked peaches.
08/16/2016 -- The Chandler Farm
The Chandler Orchards in the northwest corner of Milton were a springtime treasure and a productive enterprise for many decades.
09/03/2016 -- Why was Dr. Bob so suddenly smitten?
Marie Katrine Nielsen, a Dane, would become Mrs. Robert B. Hopkins after a two week courtship; this old photograph shows why.
09/11/2016 -- On “hallowed ground”
Battle of Gettysburg survivor somehow found in a photo album connected to Milton
09/30/2016 -- John Sudler Isaacs and his times (Part I)
John Sudler Isaacs father and grandfather were farmers, but he would be part of the great transformation of 19th century subsistence agriculture to modern farming.
10/13/2016 -- The Pickelhaube In The Attic
A spiked helmet in the MHS attic connects us to Dr. Robert Hopkins and his cornet band.
10/16/2016 -- John Sudler Isaacs and his times (II)
John Sudler Isaacs made a great success out of his cannery at the junction of Cedar Creek and Isaacs Roads just north of Milton.
10/25/2016 -- Thank you to readers of Blogger on the Broadkill!
10/26/2016 -- Two fires and five years of debate
It took a great deal of doing, even after two disastrous fires, to get a water system built for Milton...
10/30/2016 -- Where did all those photo postcards come from?
Dr. William E. Douglas, amateur photographer, took many of the photographs that became popular postcards in Milton...
11/09/2016 -- View from the top: photos from the cupola
Several photographs were taken from the cupola of the Milton Public School on Chestnut Street; here are a few.
11/30/2016 -- Beardsley Bricks, not Lofland!
R. C. Beardsley was the first successful brick maker in Milton, not Lofland.
12/09/2016 -- Milton’s Chippewa Tribe (No. 28)
Once there were Red Men in Milton, and once there was a Jester Hotel.
12/14/2016 -- Was this a pricey funeral?
Were simple funerals that much cheaper back in the day? A look at S. J. Wilson and Son's itemized list of funeral expenses from 1927 may shed some light on the matter.
12/22/2016 -- The 500: How Cecile Steele began a multi-billion dollar industry
A young woman from Ocean View DE finds an opportunity in a mistake made by her supplier - and starts a multi-billion dollar industry.
12/26/2016 -- Wallace’s Memorial to the Hon. David Hazzard
A rare eulogy in print for a Milton resident, the Hon. David Hazzard.
12/30/2016 -- Rare Photo: The Schooner Edward J. Berwind and Its Captain, Frank Lacey of Milton
A photograph on the deck of the sloop Edward J. Berwind, taken around 1906, was recently discovered in the MHS collection.
01/07/2017 -- A New Look For The Blog
01/08/2017 -- Films: Sailing Ships in Rough Seas
Old film footage of sailing ships in rough seas: a schooner and a clipper.
01/23/2017 -- John Sudler Isaacs (Part III)
John S. Isaacs took a risk in growing chickens and buying a majority stake in a poultry processing plant. The risk paid off handsomely.
03/03/2017 -- “Paradise Frost” – What Are We Looking At?
Close examination of a photograph identifies the precise location from which it was shot.
03/11/2017 -- Opium, Cannabis, and Other Victorian Wonder Drugs
Late 19th century America was, according to one write, a "drug fiend's paradise" with an amazing array of legally obtainable, non-prescription opiates for pain relief and cannabis-infused cough syrups. In this post, a sampling of the Milton Historical Society's medicine bottle collection helps us learn the story.
04/12/2017 -- All Aboard?
A look at the story of this particular photograph of the Milton train station.
04/21/2017 -- The Seven Wise Men
06/01/2017 -- Murder Most Foul on the Broadkill, Part I
06/04/2017 -- Murder Most Foul On the Broadkill – Part II
06/06/2017 -- The Harbor
Read the story of the launch Avarilla, shown in the harbor photograph at right.
06/25/2017 -- A Grand Time For All
06/27/2017 -- A new search engine
07/01/2017 -- And you thought corsets were bad…
07/14/2017 -- A baby linked to Delaware history
The story of Lillian Lewis Postles, her ancestors and descendant, is on a continuum of over three centuries.
07/30/2017 -- Milton’s hidden railroad bridges
Railroad buffs and everyone else can read about two hidden railroad trestle bridges along the abandoned track between Federal Street and Route 30 in Milton.
07/31/2017 -- Satellite View: Milton’s Hidden Bridges (addendum)
Satellite imagery of the two hidden bridges in Milton
08/29/2017 -- The Milton Camp Meetings , Part I
10/01/2017 -- New Wine In An Old Bottle
The latest business to open at 108 Federal Street in Milton, DE occupies a historic building with an interesting past.
10/13/2017 -- Charley, David and Etan
10/31/2017 -- Romantic notions of a cruel disease
Tuberculosis, or "consumption,"was once the leading killer in the U. S. and Europe. It was also considered a source of creative drive among artists, writers, and musicians. For an Indian River Hundred family, it was simply a devastating series of blows.
11/05/2017 -- The House That Hats Built
12/08/2017 -- A Cold War Casualty From Milton
Capt. Edward J. Connard, USAF, died during the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962,
01/02/2018 -- Seven Thousand Shaves
05/01/2018 -- The Mansion Farm Inn – Part 1:
05/27/2018 -- New Market – All But Vanished
07/21/2018 -- John Coard Hazzard and his map of Milton
08/14/2018 -- Honeymoon From Hell: William and Mollie’s Story
11/25/2018 -- The Butcher of Union Street
04/03/2019 -- Compass Rose Windows See The Light Of Day
05/23/2019 -- Russia On The Broadkill
08/10/2019 -- The Milton Times
10/23/2019 -- Twentieth Century Fox
12/19/2019 -- The Samuel Shapiro Story
01/06/2020 -- Young, lovely, ill-fated: the Atkins sisters
02/06/2020 -- Portrait of a Yankee on the Broadkill
02/07/2020 -- The Welch Family
03/24/2020 -- A little nonsense now and then…