New Milford Historical Society opens museum

Hamlet celebrates its connections to local horse races and supplying milk to NYC New Milford - On Sept. 11, residents and guests celebrated New Milford Museum Day with an unveiling of an historical monument and the grand opening of the hamlet’s museum. In 2004, Robert Ritzer, president now and then of the New Milford Historical Society, announced plans for a museum to be housed in one of the buildings on land formerly owned by Roy Vail, a famous gunsmith. Vail lived in what is now the Italian Villa restaurant and worked in a barn on the present site of the museum. Warwick builder Jonah Mandelbaum, who had purchased the land for new home development, donated a potion of the site along Route 94S for the museum project. Two tenant homes were renovated in part by volunteers including Ritzer to form the single building that will serve as the New Milford Museum. Money for the project was obtained through fund-raising events and donations by individuals and organizations including the Warwick Savings Foundation. The facility will be open to the public and the New Milford Historical Society plans to conduct tours for school children. For additional information or to schedule tours call Ritzer at: 986-3947.

From Jockey Hollow to New Milford
Today New Milford is a quiet residential and farm community. But at one time the largest milk shipping point along the Lehigh and Hudson River (L&H) Railroad was located in the hamlet. Much of the milk sent to New York City came from the Borden plant, a major industry and employer in New Milford.
The plant closed in 1920.
The tract along the Doublekill was originally purchased as part of the Wawayanda Patent in 1702.The hamlet, three miles southwest of the Village of Warwick, was originally called Jockey Hollow and some accounts attribute this to a favorite local pastime of racing horses.