Milford

Milford: city hall

Milford, city, coextensive with the town (township) of Milford, New Haven county, southwestern Connecticut, U.S. It lies on Long Island Sound northeast of the mouth of the Housatonic River. Settled in 1639 on land bought from the Paugusset Indians, it was probably named (1640) for Milford Haven, Wales, or Milford, England. In 1643 it became a part of New Haven colony, which in turn united with Connecticut colony in 1664. During the American Revolution, Milford militia drove off a small British landing force. Oysters and clams from Long Island Sound have always been important commercially. Agriculture, some light industry, and summer tourism provide the basis of the economy. Simon Lake invented his even-keel submarine torpedo boat there in 1894. Milford was chartered as a city in 1959, the year of town-city consolidation. Pop. (2000) 52,305; New Haven–Milford Metro Area, 824,008; (2010) 52,759; New Haven–Milford Metro Area, 862,477.