Delaware

Delaware State Facts

Entered Union: December 7, 1787 (1st State)
Present constitution adopted: 1897

Fun Facts

State abbreviation/Postal code: Del./DE
Nicknames: Diamond State; First State; Small Wonder
Origin of name: From Delaware River and Bay; named in turn for Sir Thomas West, Baron De La Warr
Motto: "Liberty and independence"
Slogan: "Like No Place on Earth"
State symbols:
Bird: Delaware blue hen (1939)
Butterfly: Eastern tiger swallowtail (1999)
Fish: Weakfish (1981)
Insect: Ladybug (1974)
Marine Animal: Horseshoe crab (2002)
Macroinvertebrate: Stonefly (2005)
Wildlife Animal: Gray fox (2010)
Flower: Peach blossom (1895)
Fruit: Strawberry (2010)
Herb: Sweet goldenrod (1996)
Tree: American holly (1939)
Fossil: Belemnite (1996)
Mineral: Sillimanite
Soil: Greenwich loam (2000)
Star: The Delaware Diamond (2000)
Beverage: Milk (1983)
Colors: Buff and Colonial Blue
Dessert: Peach custard pie (2009)
Sport: Rodeo (2003)
Song: "Our Delaware" (1925)
Tall Ship: The Kalmar Nyckel (2016)

Government

Capital: Dover
State Website: https://delaware.gov/
Governor: John C. Carney Jr., D (to Jan. 2021)
Lieut. Governor: Bethany Hall-Long, D (to Jan. 2021)
Secy. of State: Jeffrey W. Bullock, D (appt'd. by gov.)
Treasurer: Ken Simpler, R (to Jan. 2019)
Atty. General: Matthew Denn, D (to Jan. 2019)
U.S. Representatives: 1
Senators: Chris Coons, D (to Jan. 2023); Thomas R. Carper, D (to Jan. 2019)
See Also: Historical biographies of Delaware Congress members

Population

Residents: Delawarean
Resident population: 945,934 (45th Largest State, 2015)
10 largest cities (2014): Brandywine, 82,672; Wilmington, 71,292; Pike Creek-Central Kirkwood, 44,493; Lower Christiana, 38,118; Dover, 37,089; Central Pencader, 33,750; Newark, 32,367; Piedmont, 30,902; Upper Christiana, 25,793; Central Kent, 21,857; Middletown, 19,483
Race/Ethnicity: White (68.9%); Black (21.4%); American Indian (0.5%); Asian (3.2%); Other race (3.4%); Two or more races (2.7%); Hispanic/Latino (8.2%).
Religion: Protestant (43%); No religion/Unaffiliated (26%); Catholic (14%); Mormon (9%); Jehovah's Witness (3%); Other Christian (1%); Buddhist (1%); Other (3%).
Sex: Male (48.4%); Female (51.6%).
Age: Under 18 (21.3%); 18-64 (64.3%); 65 and over (14.4%). Median Age: 36.0
See Also: Additional Delaware Census Data

Economy

GDP: 74 billion dollars (41st in U.S., 2017)
Unemployment: 5.1% (2015)
Overview: Despite being the nation's second smallest state by area, Delaware is densely populated and affluent. Delaware is technically the incorporated home of 1 million corporations due to its tax codes. In terms of real, physical employers in the state, Delaware has a very large chemical industry. Delaware is the home of DuPont, the world's largest chemicals manufacturer. The state also houses one of the country's largest Air Force bases.

Geography

Land area: 1,954 sq mi. (5,161 km²)
Geographic center: In Kent Co., 11 mi. S of Dover
Number of counties: 3
Largest county by population and area: New Castle, 538,479 (2010); Sussex, 938 sq mi.
State forests: 3 (over 15,000 ac.)
State parks: 14 (over 20,000 ac.)
Area codes
Tourism office

See more on Delaware:

Encyclopedia: Delaware
Encyclopedia: Geography
Encyclopedia: Economy
Encyclopedia: Government
Encyclopedia: History
Monthly Temperature Extremes

Printable Outline Maps
 

Map of Delaware

Delaware State History

Henry Hudson, sailing under the Dutch flag, is credited with Delaware's discovery in 1609. The following year, Capt. Samuel Argall of Virginia named Delaware for his colony's governor, Thomas West, Baron De La Warr. An attempted Dutch settlement failed in 1631. Swedish colonization began at Fort Christina (now Wilmington) in 1638, but New Sweden fell to Dutch forces led by New Netherlands' governor Peter Stuyvesant in 1655.

England took over the area in 1664, and it was transferred to William Penn as the lower Three Counties in 1682. Semi-autonomous after 1704, Delaware fought as a separate state in the American Revolution and became the first state to ratify the Constitution in 1787.

During the Civil War, although a slave state, Delaware did not secede from the Union.

In 1802, Éleuthère Irénée du Pont established a gunpowder mill near Wilmington that laid the foundation for Delaware's huge chemical industry. Delaware's manufactured products now also include vulcanized fiber, textiles, paper, medical supplies, metal products, machinery, machine tools, and automobiles.

Delaware also grows a great variety of fruits and vegetables and is a U.S. pioneer in the food-canning industry. Corn, soybeans, potatoes, and hay are important crops. Delaware's broiler-chicken farms supply the big Eastern markets, and fishing and dairy products are other important industries.

Points of interest include the Fort Christina Monument, Hagley Museum, Holy Trinity Church (erected in 1698, the oldest Protestant church in the United States still in use), and Winterthur Museum, in and near Wilmington; central New Castle, an almost unchanged late 18th-century capital; and the Delaware Museum of Natural History.

Popular recreation areas include Cape Henlopen, Delaware Seashore, Trap Pond State Park, and Rehoboth Beach.

In 2000, Ruth Ann Minner was elected, becoming Delaware's first woman governor.

In 2008, Joe Biden became the first Delaware senator elected to the vice presidency of the United States, as well as the first Roman Catholic to hold that office.