Milford Museum Reports to Council

Milford Museum Executive Director Tom Summers reported to Milford City Council as part of their annual funding request. Summers started with a photo of the current museum, located in the former Milford Post Office. The museum is requesting $50,000 from council, higher than last year due to the opening of their new building.

“This is our current location, but hopefully, in about a month, we’ll be moving to the new museum in the former police station,” Summers said. “We now have a sign out front and it will house the museum and the Milford Chamber of Commerce. It’ s been a long haul. Originally, we were going to get an addition on the building but once the old police station came available, we looked a little further and the decision was made to move there.”

Summers explained that the old police station needed a lot of work. It was not insulated and that was something that had to be addressed so that collections could be stored. They were also required to get a sprinkler system.

“There was a lot that had to be done at that point,” Summers said. “We did have money from the reinvestment fund from the state, but that is almost gone. They’ve been very supportive. We had a total of about $950,000 and it took more than the three years they generally allow to use those funds. They are telling us we should be in the building in April.”

The entire building will not be completed, according to Summers, as there is still work to be done in the basement where the collections will be stored, but it will be done enough for the museum to move. Summers also stated that someone from out of state had donated about 12 black and white photos of the Milford Victory, a ship built during World War II in Milford. She also provided details on the ship.

“We are doing the American History series at the library on the second Saturday of every month,” Summers said. “Our next one is this Saturday, and it is called “Glamour Girls,” the portrayal of women in World War II propaganda posters, movies and Vogue magazine. We’ve had over 3,300 people attend this series in under three years.”

Summers mentioned that Representative Charles Postles attended one of the programs on Pickett’s Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg. Postles had a relative who won the Medal of Honor at Pickett’s Charge, so it was fitting for him to introduce the speaker.

“We also have a Traveling Trunk where we take different items into classrooms,” Summers said. “We take various toys that kids used to play with, things like candles because you just couldn’t go buy candles in a store, so we show them how a candle is made. It helps kids see how life used to be.”

Another program that is popular is the “This Week in Milford” video. Summers and other volunteers use editions of the Milford Chronicle, choosing four facts from each month and bringing in a guest host. The museum has almost completed their “Colored Balcony” film and it should be released next month.

“Our volunteers are really a core part of what we do at the museum,” Summers said. “We have docents that come in every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. We also have people that do things from home, that do transcriptions of oral histories, people that actually go through the Chronicles of the Library of Congress site and look for articles for this month in Milford History.”

A class reunion was held at the museum in 2025 and guests enjoyed going through some of the old yearbooks and newspapers. Summers provided the annual budget for the museum to council. He also showed a photo of their biggest fundraiser, Hippiefest, held on the grounds of Causey Mansion.