20 Delaware facts

  1. The State of Delaware is located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.
  2. Total Area: 49th among states, 6,206 sq km (2,396 sq mi).
  3. The state takes its name from Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, a British nobleman and Virginia's first colonial governor, after whom (what is now called) Cape Henlopen was originally named.
  4. Among Delaware's many historic churches is Old Swedes Church and Hendrickson House Museum, in Wilmington, which has been in use since its completion in 1698.
  5. Delaware is located in the northeastern portion of the Delmarva Peninsula and is the second smallest state in area (after Rhode Island).
  6. Delaware was the first state to ratify the United States constitution. It did so on December 7, 1787.
  7. The history of the state's economic and industrial development is closely tied to the impact of the Du Pont family, founders and scions of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, one of the world’s largest chemical companies.
  8. Eleven years after the landing of the English pilgrims the first white settlement was made on Delaware soil.
  9. Capital: Dover
  10. The sheaf of wheat, ear of corn, and the ox on the state seal symbolize the farming activities of early Delaware.
  11. John Dickinson was called the Penman of the Revolution for his writings on independence. His boyhood home is preserved in Dover.
  12. Before its coastline was first explored by Europeans in the 16th century, Delaware was inhabited by several groups of Native Americans, including the Lenape in the north and Nanticoke in the south.
  13. 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.
  14. Delaware was one of the thirteen colonies participating in the American Revolution and on December 7, 1787, became the first state to ratify the Constitution of the United States, therefore becoming known as The First State.
  15. Hagley Museum was originally the du Pont black powder manufactory, estate, and gardens.
  16. The state of Delaware, together with the Eastern Shore counties of Maryland and two counties of Virginia, form the Delmarva Peninsula, which stretches down the Mid-Atlantic Coast.
  17. John Dickinson was a signer of the United States Constitution, but he didn’t sign his own name. Dickinson had to leave the meeting, so George Read signed for him.
  18. Delaware’s northern border is curved. It is called the Twelve-Mile Circle.
  19. The United States flag was reportedly first flown in the Battle of Cooch’s Bridge in Delaware on Sept. 3, 1777.
  20. 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.
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