Milroy is located in Anderson Township and is full of rich farmland on the banks of the Little Flat Rock River and was established in 1830 by Nathan and Julian Tompkins, who laid out a town and offered lots for sale. Nathan was also the first merchant in town, although William J. Brown did have a store prior to Tompkins, located about a mile south of Milroy present-day.
Milroy, like many other small towns located near water, saw its share of mills. The first mill was located on the north side of Main Street on the east river bank and was built by Gosset and Miller in the early 1820s. The second was built in 1832 by Thomas J. Larimore. However, around the turn of the century, Milroy received a “modern” mill located on the railroad south of the state road. This mill was the biggest yet and was a 200-barrel operation. The mill was powered by the newly discovered gas and, during this time in Milroy’s history, it is said wagons could be seen lined up down Main Street as they waited to unload their wagons. Unfortunately, the mill would burn down in 1928 and would never be rebuilt.
The first newspaper in Milroy was started by Charles F. Plitt in 1882. It was called the “Advertiser,” then the name soon changed to the “Times.” After five years, Plitt sold the newspaper to George Rowe who named it simply, “News.” It wasn’t until F.C. Green bought and renamed the newspaper that it received a name that would stick, the Milroy Press.
At times, is was called the “Milroy Squeeze” as news wasn’t always readily available for print. Milroy Press would switch hands a few more times before radio and mail delivery took its toll on small town papers. The paper shortage during WWII was what finally brought the Milroy Press to a close.
Source: Milroy Sesquicentennial Book