In 1874, the original site of Milano was laid out by the International-Great
Northern Railroad
Company, about a mile and a half west of the city's present site. A United States post office
opened there the same year. The community around Milano became a voting precinct in 1880. Local
sources offer several possibilities for the origin of the name "Milano." One story suggests that
the town was simply named after Milan, Italy; another says that the name was supposed to have
been "Milam," but the United States Post Office Department either got it wrong (how is that
possible!!) or changed it intentionally because another Milam, Texas, already existed
Nevertheless, when the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad Company
built the section of track between Brenham and Belton in 1881, it established the town
of Milano Junction at the railway's intersection with the International-Great Northern,
about two miles east of Milano. As the focus of social and economic life shifted to the
new town, Milano became "Old Milano" and Milano Junction became Milano. By the late
1880s, Milano was a commercial hub, with 500 residents, and served as a shipping point
for cotton and hides produced in the area. Truck farming became an important industry
for Milano in the 1920s, with tomatoes, watermelon, and cantaloupes as the principal
crops.
The small city of Milano reached its population peak in 1939, when approximately
920 residents were reported to be living there. The number of residents began to decline in the
early 1940’s, then fell to a low of 380 by the early 1970s, before beginning to slowly grow
again in the late 1970s. By the time Milano was finally incorporated in the early 1980s, the
city officially had 468 residents.
The current population of the city of Milano is 428 made up of hard working and
friendly folks and we are proud to call it Home!
