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 Facts About
Delaware
 
This beautiful (and bountiful) slice of land
was accidentally discovered by Henry Hudson in 1609. He was looking for
the Far East, when his ship (the Half Moon) sailed into Delaware Bay. In
1638, the Swedes established a permanent colony near present-day
Wilmington, and a few forts along the bay. All were eventually
subjugated by the Dutch, beginning in 1655. Small in physical size, it
has a courageous and distinguished history as the first of the original
thirteen colonies. Its nickname, "The First State" rings true as
Delaware was first to sign the Declaration of Independence and became
the first state in 1787. The Revolutionary War ended, and in 1802, the
famed Du Pont Corporation was formed here. Delaware would soon become a
powerful economic and industrial center. More than 50% of Fortune 500
companies are now incorporated within its borders, and it's a leader in
the production of chemicals and plastics. In fact, Wilmington is known
as the "Chemical
 Capital
of the World." It's also a quiet place with many farms and small rural
communities, and it offers an idyllic recreational area for all to
enjoy.
Capital: Dover
Population:
807,385
Entered the Union:
December 7, 1787
As the: 1st State
Motto: Liberty
and Independence
Nickname: "First
State". It has also been known as the "Diamond State", the "Small
Wonder" and the "Blue Hen State".
Flower: Peach
Blossom
Bird: Blue Hen
Chicken
Song: "Our
Delaware"
Origin of Name:
Named for Thomas West, Lord De La Watt, the first governor of the
Virginia colony.
Points of Interest:
The Delaware Canal historic areas. Delaware Bay and seashore, Dover's
statehouse (the smallest state capital), Fort Delaware and Wilmington's
cultural attractions.
Bordering States:
Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland.
Numerous Facts & Trivia:
Delaware was the first state to ratify the United States constitution. It
did so on December 7, 1787.
Delaware shares a semi-circular border with Pennsylvania. The border was
drawn at the time of the original land grants to William Penn from King
Charles II and the Duke of York.
The nation's first scheduled steam railroad began in New Castle in 1831.
The United States battleship Delaware was commissioned in 1910.
Delaware is the only state without any National Park System units such
as national parks, seashores, historic sites, battlefields, memorials,
and monuments.
Delmar is popularized as the little town too big for one state. The
community has the distinction of being located partly in Delaware and
partly in Maryland.
The most historic site in Frederica is Barratt's Chapel east of town.
The chapel is where the Methodist Church of America was organized in
1784.
Today about 500 descendants of the original Nanticoke Indians reside in
Delaware. They celebrate their heritage each September with the
Nanticoke Indian Pow Wow.
The log cabin originated in Finland. Finnish settlers arrived in
Delaware in the mid-1600s and brought with them plans for the log cabin,
one of the enduring symbols of the American pioneer. One of the cabins
has been preserved and is on display at the Delaware Agricultural Museum
in Dover.
John Dickinson was called the Penman of the Revolution for his writings
on independence. His boyhood home is preserved in Dover.
Tradition holds the first time Betsy Ross's famous flag was flown was at
the Battle of Cooch's Bridge. This historic site is located on route 4
in Newark.
The Blue Hen chicken is the official state bird. The hens were noted for
their fighting ability. Delaware is sometimes referred to as the Blue
Hen State.
The Lady Bug is Delaware's official state bug.
Eleven years after the landing of the English pilgrims the first white
settlement was made on Delaware soil.
In 1785 Oliver Evans of Newport invented the automatic flour-milling
machinery that revolutionized the industry.
"Our Delaware" is the official state song. The words are by George
Hynson, music by William Brown.
In total area Delaware ranks 49th in the nation. It contains 1,982
square miles. It is 96 miles long and varies from 9 to 35 miles in
width.
Ebright Road in New Castle County is the highest state elevation at 442
feet above sea level. The lowest elevation is along the coast at sea
level.
Thomas Garret lost his entire fortune in his battle against slavery. He
was sued by a Maryland slave owner and fined for aiding a black family
in flight. Over his lifetime, Garrett reportedly helped more than 2,000
fugitive slaves move through Delaware, an important stop on the
Underground Railroad.
Rehoboth Beach is the state's largest coastal resort town. Methodists
who purchase the land for a summer camp and meeting place originally
constructed it.
The 87-foot Fenwick Island Lighthouse was painted in 1880 for a total
cost of about $5.00.
Twelve concrete observation towers along the coast were constructed
during World War II to protect the state's coastal towns from German
u-boat attacks.
Fisher's popcorn is a famous coastal caramel corn. It has been ordered
from as far away as Vietnam and Indonesia.
The American holly is the official state tree. The tree can reach a
maximum of 60 feet in height and a trunk diameter of 20 inches.
The peach blossom is Delaware's official state flower and has prompted
Delaware's nickname as the peach state.
New Sweden was founded as a colony in 1638 and is recognized as the
first permanent colony on Delaware soil.
Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library, six miles northwest of Wilmington
features one of the world's finest naturalistic gardens.
Hagley Museum was originally the du Pont black powder manufactory,
estate, and gardens.
The state's Coastal Heritage Greenway consists of a corridor of open
space running along 90 miles of coast and spanning the area between Fox
Point State Park and the state line at Fenwick Island.
Thousand Acre Marsh is the largest freshwater tidal wetland in northern
Delaware. The Chesapeake and Delaware Canals border the marsh.
In 1812 Port Penn was considered the best port in Delaware.
Augustine Beach was named for Augustine Hermann. He was a Bohemian
adventurer who mapped the Delmarva Peninsula and surrounding areas in
the mid-1600s.
Odessa possesses one of the finest collections of late 18th- and early
19th-century architecture in the middle Atlantic region. The center of
town is on the National Register of Historic Places and the entire town
has been zoned as historic.
Barratt's Chapel is known as the Cradle of Methodism. It was built in
1780 and is the oldest surviving church built by and for Methodists in
the United States.
The 80-food Great Dune is the state's highest. It is located at Cape
Henlopen State Park in Lewes.
The Maryland/Delaware boundary and the Mason-Dixon Line divide Delmar. A
double crown stone marker was erected in 1768 as the southern end of the
only North-South portion of the Mason-Dixon line.
Horseshoe crabs may be viewed in large numbers up and down the Delaware
shore in May. The crabs endure extremes of temperature and salinity.
They can also go for a year without eating and have remained basically
the same since the days of the dinosaur.
The Du Pont Laboratories first produced nylon at its plant in Seaford.
This earned the town the distinction of being the Nylon Capital of the
World.
In recognition of sportfishing's overall recreational and economic
contributions to the state of Delaware and of the specific values of the
weakfish (Cynoscion genus) as a game and food fish, the state
Legislature adopted the weakfish as Delaware's State fish in 1981. This
fish is also known as sea trout, gray trout, yellow mouth, yellow fin
trout, squeteague, and tiderunner.
Colonial blue and buff are Delaware's official state colors.
Delaware was named for Lord de la Warr. He was the first governor of
Virginia.
The sheaf of wheat, ear of corn, and the ox on the state seal symbolize
the farming activities of early Delaware.
The Delaware Indians were one of the most advanced tribes of the eastern
United States.
New Castle County includes the largest population and smallest area of
Delaware's three counties.
Wilmington's Delaware History Center is housed in a renovated, art deco
former Woolworth five-and-ten-cent store.
America's newest tall ship is ten stories high and 139 feet long. The
recreation is the Kalmar Nyckel that landed on the Christina River in
1638.
Quaker merchant Thomas Garret is thought to be the model for a Quaker
farmer in the novel, "Uncle Tom's Cabin." Garret and famed abolitionist
Harriett Tubman worked closely with Delaware's anti-slavery forces.
The frying pan built in 1950 for use at the Delmarva Chicken Festival is
10 feet in diameter and holds 180 gallons of oil and 800 chicken
quarters.
The Delaware Breakwater at Cape Henlopen State Park was the first
structure of its kind in the western hemisphere.
The town of Milton was named after the English poet John Milton in 1807.
Learn more at 50states.com
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