Delaware (state): description, sights, history and interesting facts

This article will interest those who want to learn more about life in the United States. The United States of America is the greatest state with a strong economy. But it is a commonwealth of smaller regions, each with its own laws, tax policies, etc. Our article is devoted only to one such region called Delaware. This staff is very interesting. Its area of five thousand square kilometers is slightly larger than Rhode Island. According to this indicator, Delaware is the second smallest US state. But very often it is called the very first. Why? Like Kiev, from which the Russian land went, so did Delaware play a key role in the formation of American statehood. There are many interesting facts about this state, and we will give them below.

Where is Delaware located?

It occupies a small Delmarva peninsula, which projects into the Atlantic Ocean. Its width is from fourteen to fifty-six kilometers with a length of 155 km. The penultimate (in front of Rhode Island) state is bounded from the west and south by Maryland, from the east by New Jersey, and from the north by Pennsylvania. With the latter, Delaware has a very interesting boundary. It is an ideal arc. If you isolate the center of this circle, then it is located directly in the building of the City Court of New Castle. This boundary is called the Twelve mile arc. As for the population, Delaware is a state where there are fewer than one million people. However, in terms of density, it ranks sixth in the United States. From south to north, the state is divided into three districts: Sussex, Kent and New Castle. The name Delaware received not from the name, and not from the tribe inhabited here by the Indians, but from the title. The first governor of the local lands was Thomas West, the Third Baron de la Warre.

History of colonization

Prior to the arrival of the Europeans, these lands belonged to Algonquian sedentary tribes of Lenape and Nantikok. The first settlers were the Dutch, who in 1631 founded the fort Svanendal ("Valley of the Swans") on the site where the city of Louis is now located. Thus, Delaware is a state, one of the first in the country, populated by Europeans. But a year later all the colonists died at the hands of warlike Indians. In 1638 the Swedes founded the trading post of Christina, from which the city of Wilmington later developed. And in 1651 the Dutch built the fort Casimir, now turned into the city of New Castle. Sweden and the Netherlands have long argued over this territory and even waged war among themselves. The Dutch won, but they did not celebrate their triumph for long. In 1664, the British, without declaring war, took the province of New Netherlands.

History in the United States

Delaware - state, one of the first to ratify the Constitution (in 1787). He was one of thirteen rebels against Britain colonies. When the war for independence from England began in 1776, the three counties became known as the "Delaware State." Another interesting fact. During the Civil War, Delaware acted on the side of the North, although it was a state in which slavery was legal. And when Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, this territory as a result of the referendum spoke out against the 13th amendment to the US Constitution. Of course, this did not have a practical result. But legally, Delaware ratified the clause that abolished slavery only in 1901, forty years after Lincoln's proclamation.

Geography and climate

This is the lowest state of the country. Its highest point is a hill in the foothills of the Appalachians (136 meters above sea level). Located in the Delaware on the Atlantic Lowland. The climate here is mild, since the mountains of Pennsylvania cover the flat territory from the cold winds from the north. The best time to visit Delaware is summer. After all, in addition to the hot subtropical summer tourists get a bonus - a long coastline with wonderful beaches - South Bethany, Dewey Beach, Lewis, Rehoboth. At the same time, the Atlantic Ocean has a huge impact on the climate. In this regard, Dover is the administrative center of the state of Delaware, and other cities have different weather indicators. Far from the coast, the climate is not subtropical, but continental, with a cold (up to -20 degrees) in winter and hot (up to +40 degrees) in summer. Near the same Atlantic seasonal fluctuations are not so sharp.

Cities of Delaware

Given the small population of the state, it is not necessary to expect to meet large megacities in it. But there are still big cities in it. These are Wilmington, New Castle, Georgetown, Smyrna, Milford, Middletown, Seaford, Ellesmere and Newark. The capital of the state of Delaware, Dover, is by no means the largest city. Its population is only thirty-two thousand people. But the largest city of the state - Wilmington - has only seventy thousand inhabitants. Lovers of quiet provincial life. It is here that you can see "one-story America": no crime, most of the townspeople know each other in person, small shops, cozy cafes ... Looking at the map of Delaware, you can spot the town of Odessa in the north. It was named after the Ukrainian city on the Black Sea coast.

Dover and Wilmington

The capital of the state is a small and quiet town. He literally grew up around the district court building. There are many historical buildings in this city. And not far from Dover is located one of the largest US air bases. It is interesting because apart from direct destination, it is used as a temporary mortuary for Americans who died abroad. The Economic and Cultural Center of the State of Delaware is the city of Wilmington. It also lacks historical buildings. Tourists are attracted by the manor of Dupont (the founder of the chemical concern), the Art Museum, Copeland Sculpture Park. Along the small river Kristin preserved several blocks, built by the first Swedish settlers, with Scandinavian colors. In this city is one of the oldest churches in the country - Holi Trinity (Holy Trinity). It was erected in 1698 and, what is most interesting, still works. In the northern suburbs of Wilmington is the Hagley Museum. His exposition tells about the life of workers hired by Dupont in the nineteenth century.

Delaware: attractions

Each town in this administrative unit of the United States has its own color. Newark is famous for its state university and figure skating school. Milford - museums and ancient buildings. Also in Delaware is the second longest in the world suspension two-span bridge. Fans of beach holidays should visit the resort towns of the Rehoboth Riviera (Bethany, Dewey Beach, Fenwick Island and Lewis) in the last days of August, when there are funeral jazz celebrating the end of the summer season. Also, Delaware is famous for its cockfighting. Tourists from different parts of the United States come to these gambling competitions. For this, Delaware is also called the "State of the Blue Rooster."