The Neighborhood

Houston sits quietly between Milford and Harrington in the rolling farmland of central Kent County. But "quiet" doesn't mean "far from everything."

Downtown Milford is barely ten minutes east, and what's happening there would surprise anyone who hasn''t visited lately. The Mispillion Riverwalk threads a mile-long path along the river through the heart of town, connecting parks, public art, and painted model ships that nod to Milford''s shipbuilding past. On Saturday mornings from May through December, the Riverwalk Farmers Market takes over South Walnut Street with local produce, baked goods, and the kind of unhurried pace that makes small-town living worth it — it''s been running for thirty years now, which tells you something about this community. Just south of downtown, Mispillion River Brewing pours inventive craft beers out of an unassuming taproom on Mullet Run Street, while the Second Street Players stage year-round musicals and dramas at the intimate 140-seat Riverfront Theater on the banks of the Mispillion. For the outdoors-inclined, this area punches well above its weight. Abbott''s Mill Nature Center sits on 376 acres of the Milford Millponds Preserve just minutes away — trails through cedar woodlands, a 200-year-old working gristmill on the National Register, a 20-acre pond for kayaking, and an accessible boardwalk along a clear coastal plain stream. Killens Pond State Park is a short drive north with a 66-acre freshwater pond, paddlecraft rentals, over 17 miles of trails, and a waterpark that runs all summer. Head east toward the bay and you''ll hit Slaughter Beach, where every spring thousands of horseshoe crabs come ashore to spawn — a prehistoric spectacle that draws migrating shorebirds and nature lovers from around the world. The Delaware beaches at Rehoboth and Lewes are about 40 minutes east. Dover is 20 minutes north.