Milton was settled in 1785 and founded in 1789, at which time it was still part of Virginia. A ferry with Madison, Indiana, on the opposite side of the Ohio began service in 1804. A bridge connecting them was constructed in 1929. One of Milton's earliest newspapers, the Milton Free Press, was established in 1879 by Lewis P. Sarlls. The city has endured many floods and most of its riverside downtown has been repeatedly destroyed, leaving little historic architecture. Two exceptions are Ginn's Furniture Store and the building housing Rowlett's Grocery, both of which are located on Main Street. Milton was hit by a tornado on March 2, 2012. The Milton Fire and Rescue firehouse #2 was destroyed.
Geography
Milton is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, all land.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 525 people, 233 households, and 143 families residing in the city. The population density was 441.5 people per square mile. There were 266 housing units at an average density of 223.7 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 98.29% White, 0.19% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.57% from other races, and 0.76% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.95% of the population. There were 233 households out of which 26.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.2% were married couplesliving together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.2% were non-families. 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.84. In the city, the population was spread out with 19.4% under the age of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 25.0% from 45 to 64, and 19.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 81.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.9 males. The median income for a household in the city was $23,250, and the median income for a family was $34,688. Males had a median income of $27,500 versus $14,875 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,264. About 12.2% of families and 19.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.3% of those under age 18 and 22.5% of those age 65 or over.
