Milford - 2

Between shipbuilding and local commerce, the Milford hotel would

have been a lively place.

While the hotel now houses mostly state agency offices, the beauty

of the interior woodwork is still evident.

The Thorne Mansion stands on a knoll called Silver Hill, near the west end of Milford. The land is part of the original Duke of York land grant of 1680. John Cullen bought 263 acres of this land, and built the center section of the home in 1746. The Rev. Syndenham Thorne, an Episcopal clergyman, who was instrumental in Milford’s development, bought the home in the 1780’s, and is interred on the grounds. The Thorne Mansion was also the boyhood home of future Secretary of State John M. Clayton.

The rear of the Thorne Mansion.

 

Highlighting some of the beautiful woodwork.

 

The Mispillion through Milford looks like a nice canoeing stream, making it hard to envision it as a shipbuilding center. Yet, shipbuilding began making use of the huge stands of white oak in Southern Delaware as early as the 1770’s, and at one time there were six large shipyards along Milford’s banks. The highpoint was 1917 when the Abbott yard launched the 174-foot four-masted schooner “Albert F. Paul,” which was sunk by a German torpedo in 1942 with the loss of all hands. Although the shipyards continued to build submarine chasers during both WWI and II, with the oaks gone by the 1920’s, shipbuilding quickly disappeared.

 

 

Credit: Google.com

The Albert F. Paul