09/25/2026
Much of Milton's button-making history can be found in the town's National Register of Historic Places registration form sent to the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Milton is a town that has constantly reinvented itself. Milton’s earliest local economy was based on agriculture and the lumber industry.
With easy access to the mouth of the Delaware Bay, Milton’s location on the Broadkill River made it a prime location for shipbuilding. The decline of the shipbuilding industry in the late-19th century slowed the pace of development in the town, but other industries, such as canning, button-making and garmentmaking eventually took its place.
