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Ellis County TX
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MILFORD, TEXAS

Ellis County, Central Texas North

32°7'22"N 96°56'48"W (32.122701, -96.946553)

Highway 77
1 mile off I-35
20 miles SW of Waxahachie the county seat
50 miles S of Dallas
14 miles NE of Hillsboro
ZIP code 76670
Area code 972
Population: 722 (2020)
728 (2010) 685 (2000) 711 (1990)

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Milford Texas main street, 1908 vintage photo
Milford Main Street circa 1908
Click on image to enlarge
Old photo courtesy Bill Parrish

History in a Pecan Shell

Cheap land prices (.50 an acre) in the 1850s attracted an influx of settlers who migrated from Cherokee County.

In 1854, a townsite was set up on high ground and named Milford.

William R. Hudson, the town's developer had read about a thriving town in Massachusetts and named the community after it. Hudson's combined residence and general store, was built; Hudson built a store/residence/post office.

In 1892 Milford's population reached 800. It was home to a community-financed school called the Milford Academy and the other with the seemingly fictitious name of Mollie Poe's Private Lone Star Institute.

A two-story building serving multiple community functions was burned during the Civil War. The Dallas and Waco Railway reached Milford when they had a population of just 150 and in the 20th Century, Milford became a stop on the Waco - Dallas Interurban (1926).

In 1902 a Presbyterian College for women opened although it closed in 1929 - an early victim to the Great Depression.

The population peaked at 1,200 in 1929 - falling to just 717 in 1931. It reached rock-bottom in 1968 when only 490 Milfordians called the town home.

St. James AME Church in Milford Texas
St. James A.M.E. Church
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark

Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, 2005

MILFORD, TEXAS PHOTO GALLERY

Milford in 2017
Milford in 1908


Milford in 2017
Historic churches & downtown


Photo essay by Texana Pictures - Frank R. Brown

Milford Texas - St. James AME Church
St. James A.M.E. Church
Photo courtesy Texana Pictures - Frank R. Brown, April 2017

Historical marker

Saint James A.M.E. Church

This church was organized by the Rev. Joshua Goins, Sr., in 1883. Services began in the home of Pleasant Zollicoffer and moved to the Odd Fellows' Hall before this church structure was erected in 1907. This building exhibits exceptional craftsmanship and incorporates Gothic Revival style details such as twin towers and gabled facade and Romanesque style rounded windows. Saint James is Milford's oldest African - American church and building.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
1992

Milford Texas - St. James AME Church  historical marker
Photo courtesy Texana Pictures - Frank R. Brown, April 2017


Milford Texas - St. James AME Church
FM 308 and Bois D'arc St.
Photo courtesy Texana Pictures - Frank R. Brown, April 2017


Milford Texas - downtown main street
Downtown Milford
Photo courtesy Texana Pictures - Frank R. Brown, April 2017


Milford Texas - downtown main street
Photo courtesy Texana Pictures - Frank R. Brown, April 2017


Milford Texas - downtown main street
Photo courtesy Texana Pictures - Frank R. Brown, April 2017


Milford Texas - downtown main street
Photo courtesy Texana Pictures - Frank R. Brown, April 2017


Milford Texas - downtown main street
Photo courtesy Texana Pictures - Frank R. Brown, April 2017


Milford TX - Old Presbyterian Church
Milford Presbyterian Church
Photo courtesy Texana Pictures - Frank R. Brown, April 2017
More Texas Churches


Main Street Milford, Texas
Circa 1908

Milford Texas icehouse and Dr. Pepper sign
Hanging out at the icehouse, Milford, Texas
Note Dr. Pepper sign
Photo courtesy of Bill Parrish, Meadow Vista, CA.


Milford Texas downtown sidewalk and pedestrians, 1900s
Pedestrians, sidewalk, and dentist office
Photo courtesy of Bill Parrish, Meadow Vista, CA.


Milford Texas corner drug store and church, early 1900s
Corner drug store and church
Photo courtesy of Bill Parrish, Meadow Vista, CA.


TX -Milford Cemetery , Ellis County
Photo courtesy Jen Basham, April 2023
Milford Cemetery

Take a road trip
Central Texas North

Milford, Texas Nearby Cities &Towns:
Waxahachie the county seat
Dallas
Hillsboro
See Ellis County

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