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Nifty Fifty United States

Delaware

Geography

Located on the Atlantic coastline, Delaware shares the Delmarva Penisula with parts of Virginia and Maryland. Pennsylvania is to its northwest. Delaware is only 35 by 96 miles in size. It is the second smallerst state. Only Rhode Island is smaller. Much of Delaware is located on the Delmarva Peninsula, a large body of land shared by Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia.

State Map

state Capital Dover state
state Area 2,045 sq miles
Ranks 49th		 state
state Date Admitted
to Union		 December 7, 1787 state
state Nickname Diamond State
First State
Small Wonder		 state
state Motto "Liberty and
Independence"		 state
state Stste Bird Blue Hen state
state State Tree American Holly state
state State Flower
Peach Blossom		 state
state State Song "Our Delaware" state

Interesting Facts and Trivia

The name Delaware comes from Delaware Bay and River, which were named for Thomas West, Lord de La Warr.

Delaware was first discovered by Henry Hudson for the Dutch in 1609. It was settled by the Swedish in 1638, in Wilmington, and called New Sweden. The Dutch forces took over, led by New Netherlands Governor, Peter Stuyvesant, in 1655. The English seetled here in 1664.

Delaware is the only state to have had three European flags-the Dutch, English, and Swedish-fly over its original colony.

Delaware is the second smallest state, but the first to ratify the Constitution of the United States in 1787.

Delaware is the only state that has a boundary formed by the arc of a perfect circle.

Much of Delaware's history has been shaped by the du Pont family. Around 1800, Frenchman Eleuthere Irenee du Pont and his family moved to America and settled near Wilmington. They built and operared a gunpowder mill on Brandywine Creek.

The business was very successful. and generations of the du Pont family went on to establish the world's largest chemical research company.

Today, Delaware is known as the chemical capital of the world.

Agriculture

Broiler Chickens
Corn
Soybeans
Milk
Broccoli

Sports and Recreation

Delaware has miles of coastline, many lakes, pond, attractive resorts, amusements, and water sports. Clamming and crabbing are especially popular. Many museums add cultural interests.

Official Song of the
State of Delaware

Our Delaware Written by George B. Hynson
Composed by M. S. Brown

Chorus

Oh our Delaware!
Our beloved Delaware!
For the sun is shining over
our beloved Delaware,
Oh our Delaware
Our beloved Delaware!
Here's the loyal son that pledges,
Faith to good old Delaware.

First Verse

Oh the hills of dear New Castle,
and the smiling vales between,
When the corn is all in tassel,
And the meadowlands are green;

Where the cattle crop the clover,
And its breath is in the air,
While the sun is shining over
Our beloved Delaware.

Second Verse

Where the wheat fields break and billow,
In the peaceful land of Kent,
Where the toiler seeks his pillow,
With the blessings of content;

Where the bloom that tints the peaches,
Cheeks of merry maidens share,
And the woodland chorus preaches
A rejoiceing Delaware.

Third Verse

Dear old Sussex visions linger,
Of the holly and the pine,
Of Henlopens Jeweled finger,
Flashing out across the brine;

Of the gardens and the hedges,
And the welcome waiting there,
For the loyal son that pledges
Faith to good old Delaware.

Fourth Verse

From New Castle's rolling meadows,
Through the fair rich fields of Kent,
To the Sussex shores hear echoes,
Of the pledge we now present;

Liberty and Independance,
We will guard with loyal care,
And hold fast to freedom's presence,
In our home state Delaware.


Click for Dover, Delaware Forecast

For further information contact:

Chamber of Commerce
One Commerce Center
Wilmington, DE 19801


peach blossomPage created on June 28, 1999



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