Milford is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States, on the Souhegan River. The population was 13,575 at the 2000 census. It is the retail and manufacturing center of a six-town area known informally as the Souhegan Valley.
Milford separated from neighboring Amherst in 1794. Like most towns named Milford in the United States, its name comes from the fact that it grew around a mill built on a ford - in this case on the Souhegan River.
Milford was once home to numerous granite quarries, which produced a stone that was used, among other things, to make the pillars for the Treasury building in Washington, D.C. - pillars that can still be seen on the American $10 bill. Its nickname remains "The Granite Town," although only one small quarry is in operation as of 2007.
Milford was a stop on the underground railroad for escaped slaves. It was also the home of Harriet E. Wilson, who published the semi-autobiographical novel Our Nig: Or, Sketches in the Life of a Free Black in 1859, making it the first novel by an African-American published in the country.
Milford was once home to numerous granite quarries, which produced a stone that was used, among other things, to make the pillars for the Treasury building in Washington, D.C. - pillars that can still be seen on the American $10 bill. Its nickname remains "The Granite Town," although only one small quarry is in operation as of 2007.
Milford was a stop on the underground railroad for escaped slaves. It was also the home of Harriet E. Wilson, who published the semi-autobiographical novel Our Nig: Or, Sketches in the Life of a Free Black in 1859, making it the first novel by an African-American published in the country.
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