 Delaware
Information
Capital
City: Dover
Economy: Industry,
manufacturing, agriculture and tourism.
Population: 753,538
Time Zone: 5 hours
behind Greenwich Mean Time (-5 GMT). Daylight Saving Time is observed
from the first Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October
Delaware's Flag:
Adopted on July 24, 1913, the state flag has a background of colonial
blue surrounding a diamond of buff color in which the coat of arms
of the state of Delaware is placed. Below the diamond are the words
"December 7, 1787," indicating the day on which Delaware
was the first state to ratify the federal Constitution. Because
of this action, Delaware became the first state in the Union, and
is, therefore, accorded the first position in such national events
as presidential inaugurations. According to members of the original
commission established to design the flag, the shades of buff and
colonial blue represent those of the uniform of General George Washington
as shown on a specific plate from an official U.S. Army publication
History
of Delaware: 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' Gov. Peter Stuyvesant in 1655. England took over
the area in 1664 and it was transferred to William Penn as the southern
Three Counties in 1682. Semiautonomous 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, ?leuth?re Ir?n?e 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, Trapp Pond State
Park, and Rehoboth Beach.
Other Delaware Links:
Delaware
Department of Education
Delaware State Library
Delaware Tourism Office
Delaware State Chamber of Commerce
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