The Milton Man

In a little riverside park here sits a statue with a sense of humor about itself. This is the Milton Man, a bronze likeness of the English poet John Milton, author of Paradise Lost, who lived in the sixteen hundreds and never set foot anywhere near Delaware. The town took his name anyway.

First settled in sixteen seventy-two, this place was once called Head of Broadkill, for its spot at the head of the Broadkill River, a fine location for shipbuilding near the Delaware Bay. In eighteen oh seven the state legislature renamed it Milton, honoring the great poet. The statue is a recent arrival, and almost at once a charming local tradition took hold.

Anonymous townsfolk dress him for the seasons, a winter coat in December, something tropical in July, a single tulip in spring, a pumpkin at Halloween. No one will admit to doing it. Poor blind Milton, in life so severe, now keeps a strangely festive watch over the town that borrowed his name.