Just Listed in the Poconos: Classic Foursquare in Milford
This “American Gothic” work of art has had owners who have had the good sense to leave well enough alone when they updated it.
While it’s more than 1,000 miles from Iowa, where painter Grant Wood lived, there’s a touch of “American Gothic” about this picture-postcard-pretty 1816 foursquare house at 209 3rd St., Milford, PA 18337 | Pike Wayne Association of Realtors MLS images via Keller Williams Real Estate — Milford
Milford, the Pike County seat, is one of the most charming towns in the Poconos. It’s also arguably the most historic one: John Biddis, one of Pennsylvania’s first four circuit judges, founded it in 1796 and laid it out in the manner of Philadelphia, right down to the central intersection of Broad and High streets, on which the Pike County Court House sits. (We call our High Street Market Street now.)
Milford also has a large historic district for such a small town. It encompasses 655 buildings in all, 400 of them historically significant themselves. And many more historic buildings, like the courthouse, lie outside it.
Foyer
This Milford Foursquare house for sale is another of those. It dates to 1816. And, as would befit a house in the birthplace and of the American conservation movement and the home of one of its founders, conservationist and Pennsylvania Governor Gifford Pinchot, it too has conservation protection from the Historic Preservation Trust of Pike County.
Stairwell showcasing original woodwork
The owners of this house have kept its historic character in mind as they have updated and added amenities to it over the years, for the most part. Its original woodwork and door hardware has been lovingly maintained and preserved, for instance.
Living-dining room
Its main floor consists of four rooms and a full bath. The main room is an open living-dining room whose brick fireplace has a wood-burning stove insert. It also has built-in bookshelves at the living-room end.
Kitchen
To this room’s left and directly behind the foyer is the kitchen. This space got a major upgrade with stainless-steel appliances and granite countertops, but its cabinetry channels the character of 19th-century design. A door leads from the kitchen to a covered back porch.
Home office
Behind the living-dining room is a room that now serves as a home office. French doors lead from it to the backyard.
Bedroom
The upstairs floor contains three bedrooms and the second bathroom. The smallest of the three bedrooms currently serves as a den.
Bathroom
The upstairs bathroom, with its modern vanity and subway-tile-lined stall shower, is the one exception to the historically sensitive updating.
Front porch
Milford being a small town, it should come as no surprise that this house sits on a classic small-town residential street. You can enjoy it and the passing scene from your covered, slate-floored front porch.
Backyard and pool
And in back, the backyard contains a swimming pool for even more enjoyment.
Milford makes a great home base for exploring both the Poconos and the Delaware River National Recreation Area, part of which abuts the borough. Just outside the town, a short distance down Route 209, you’ll even find a beach: Milford Beach, where you can go boating, canoeing, hiking, picnicking and even sunbathing and swimming at its three sandy beaches.
And in and around the town, you have a wealth of historic sites, shops and eateries to explore.
Milford is also where Route 6, Pennsylvania’s most scenic highway, really begins its journey westward across the state. (The highway east from here to the New York state line at Matamoras parallels I-84 most of the way and isn’t all that scenic.)
Which makes this Milford Foursquare house for sale a perfect house for anyone who wants to explore the Poconos while experiencing small-town life.
THE FINE PRINT
BEDS: 3
BATHS: 2
SQUARE FEET: 2,086
SALE PRICE: $375,000
209 3rd St., Milford, Pa. 18337 [Theresa Rocco | Keller Williams Real Estate, Milford]
