The first settler in Milford Township arrived in 1866 and a large number of homesteaders arrived three years later. On Dec. 2, 1891, a petition signed by 58 residents was filed at the Clerk of District Court’s office. It called for a special election to organize a municipal corporation to be known as Milford. The city of Milford was incorporated with a vote on Jan. 11, 1892. The first meeting of the town council was held on March 14 of that year.
Milford’s population continues to see steady growth. Residents and guests enjoy numerous city parks (Buchanan, Calkins, Florence, and Memorial), great community facilities, a high-quality school system. The proud home of the Okoboji Pioneers is a public power community, proudly served by the Milford Municipal Utility (MMU) System. MMU is proud to be serving our citizens reasonable and reliable service since 1909.
The first library in Milford was started in “Old Town” by the settlers. In the year 1923-1924, the Milford Federated Women’s Club established a town library as one of their projects. Club members went from house to house and solicited books to start the new library. Lumber for the bookcases was donated and the shelves were built by a manual training class. A few years later, a state law was passed allowing towns to levy a tax for libraries, and ever since the town of Milford has maintained an excellent library. The early library was located in the town hall. In 1965, a new building was built at 1020 10th Street. Today, the library is part of the Milford Community Building at 1009 9th St., a project that was completed in the Spring of 1999.