Delaware

1. Wilmington is Delaware’s largest city

 

2. Wilmington was once home to Bob Marley, the godfather of Reggae. Moving into the city in 1965, he resided at 2313 N Tatnall for 12 years together with his mom. At some point during this period, Bob worked for DuPont and Chrysler as a lab assistant/forklift driver respectively. Bob’s mom ran the Roots Music Store on market street till 1976.

 

3. Did you know that Del. has only three counties (they are New Castle, Kent, and Sussex), the lowest number of any state? On the other hand, Texas (254 counties) has the most number of counties in the United States.[1]

 

4. Sussex (950 square miles) is the largest county of the three, followed by Kent (594 square miles) and then New Castle (438 square miles).

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5. First settled by the Dutch in 1631, Lewes is the first town in the first state.[23]

 

6. Did you know that in 1638, near the mouth of the Delaware River, Swedish and Finnish people built the first log cabin in North America?[27]

 

7. On December 7, 1787, DE became the first state to ratify the constitution of the United States. The state is also nicknamed the “First State”.[1]

 

8. Dover played a pivotal role in shaping the US Constitution. Delegates from the 13 original colonies often met at the Golden Fleece Tavern to review the draft, eventually coming to an agreement on 7 Dec 1787. The tavern no longer stands, but there’s a commemorative marker on its original site.

 

9. According to legend, Thomas Jefferson called Delaware a “jewel” among states because of its strategic location along the East Coast.

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10. Middletown, despite not having a navigable waterway itself, still traces its roots to water-borne trade. It started as a tavern stop located midway on an old cart road linking Bohemia Landing in Maryland to Appoquinimink Creek in Odessa – hence the name Middletown.

 

11. Henry Hudson, sailing under the Dutch flag, is credited with Delaware’s discovery in 1609.[5]

 

12. Seven of Delaware’s 74 governors to date — just under 10 percent — have come from Milford City. They include Ruth Ann Minner, who served as the first female governor of the state. Milford has also contributed to power elsewhere, being home to the largest solar-harnessing farm in DE.

 

​13. In 1610, Delaware was named after the first governor of Virginia, Sir Thomas West, Lord De La Warr.

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14. Did you know that Sussex County raises more broiler chicken than any other county in the United States? It is home to the headquarters of 3 of the Top 20 broiler-producing companies in the country.[24]

 

15. Did you know that after Rhode Island, Delaware it is the second smallest state in the United States? However, due to its small size, it is also the sixth most densely populated of the fifty states of the U.S.[1,15]

 

16. Interestingly, in 1776, the deciding vote for the American Independence was cast by Caesar Rodney who had to ride eighty miles to Philadelphia through rain and thunder.

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17. Newark witnessed the first flying of the US flag in battle. This happened during the Revolutionary War when British and American forces engaged in the Battle of Cooch’s Bridge. Outnumbered 4-to-1, the Revolutionaries suffered defeat and retreated back to Wilmington. Still, the experience earned in course of the crash did come in handy later on.

 

18. Ebright Azimuth – 447.85 ft. above sea level near Ebright Road in New Castle County is the highest elevation in DE. The lowest point is the Sea level along the coast.[18]

 

19. Delaware has the lowest mean elevation (450 feet) of any state. Colorado has the highest mean elevation (14,440 feet) of all the states.[2]

 

20. Delaware is the third most bike-friendly state in the U.S.

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