Founded by J. L Davison in 1864 near the limestone ford where the Nebraska City to Fort Kearny "Steam Wagon Road" crossed the Blue River, Milford is the oldest town in Seward County and served as the first county seat until 1871. Milford was home to the Shogo mineral water springs and the Quenchaqua flour mills from 1867 to 1934. In 1877 several hundred Ponca Indians passed through Milford when the government forced the tribe to move from their Nebraska homeland to an Oklahoma reservation. Prairie Flower, the daughter of Ponca Chief Standing Bear, died there on June 5 and was buried in an unmarked grave. A sanatorium built in 1889 became a state soldiers' and sailors' home from 1895 to 1939 and is now the location of Southeast Community College. The Nebraska Industrial Home for unwed mothers from 1889 to 1953, the famed Shogo Island pleasure resort, and Cavalry Troop A of the Nebraska National Guard were also located in Milford. The town is the birthplace of Harry Culver, founder of Culver City, California.