200-Year-Old Milford School Opening To Public

MILFORD, MA — To understand Milford's first school built in 1832, you have to go all the way back to 1691.

That year, a group of settlers from Mendon — which was decimated and then rebuilt after the King Philip War — bought a few square miles of land north of their settlement from the Nipmuck Indians for about 3 pounds of silver. It was known as the "north purchase."

Over the next hundred or so years, Milford — whose inhabitants were called the "Mill River people," according to the Milford Historical Commission — built up the town, and in 1832 constructed the first school: the North Purchase District School.

Now, 330 years after Milford's founding and nearly 200 years after the school was built, you can take a peek inside the North Purchase District School. On Sunday, the Milford Historical Commission will lead tours of the building, located at 261 Purchase St., from 2 to 4 p.m.

The tours will include views of the schoolhouse, plus stories about the early days of Milford. For more information about the event or to ask questions, email the Milford Historical Commission or call 774-462-3316.