Portal:Delaware

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The Delaware Portal

Delaware (/ˈdɛləwɛər/ ^ⓘ DEL-ə-wair) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern region of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey to its northeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state's name derives from the adjacent Delaware Bay, which in turn was named after Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, an English nobleman and the Colony of Virginia's first colonial-era governor.

Delaware occupies the northeastern portion of the Delmarva Peninsula, and some islands and territory within the Delaware River. It is the 2nd smallest and 6th least populous state, but also the 6th most densely populated. Delaware's most populous city is Wilmington, and the state's capital is Dover, the 2nd most populous city in Delaware. The state is divided into three counties, the fewest number of counties of any of the 50 U.S. states; from north to south, the three counties are: New Castle County, Kent County, and Sussex County. The southern two counties, Kent and Sussex counties, historically have been predominantly agrarian economies. New Castle is more urbanized and is considered part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan statistical area that surrounds and includes Philadelphia, the nation's sixth most populous city. Delaware is considered part of the Southern United States by the U.S. Census Bureau, but the state's geography, culture, and history are a hybrid of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the country.

Before Delaware coastline was explored and developed by Europeans in the 16th century, the state was inhabited by several Native American tribes, including the Lenape in the north and Nanticoke in the south. The state was first colonized by Dutch traders at Zwaanendael, near present-day Lewes, Delaware, in 1631. Delaware was one of the Thirteen Colonies that participated in the American Revolution and American Revolutionary War, in which the American Continental Army, led by George Washington, defeated the British, ended British colonization and established the United States as a sovereign and independent nation. On December 7, 1787, Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution of the United States, earning it the nickname "The First State". (Full article...)

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There are eight colleges and universities in Delaware. These institutions include two research universities, one master's university, one baccalaureate college, two associates colleges, and two special-focus institutions. Five of Delaware's post-secondary institutions are private and three are public.

Delaware's oldest post-secondary institution is the University of Delaware, which was chartered by the Delaware General Assembly as a degree-granting college in 1833. The University of Delaware is also the state's largest institution of higher learning in terms of enrollment, with 25,903 students as of 2022. The Delaware College of Art and Design is the state's smallest institution of higher learning with an enrollment of 111. Wilmington University is Delaware's largest private post-secondary institution, with an enrollment of 19,295. (Full article...)

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COVID-19 sign in Rehoboth Beach in June 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic was reported to have reached the U.S. state of Delaware on March 11, 2020, in New Castle County. The following day, March 12, Governor John Carney declared a State of Emergency for the State of Delaware due to a Public Health Threat. As of February 8, 2021, the Delaware Division of Public Health reported 80,594 cumulative COVID-19 cases and 1,208 deaths. , Delaware has administered 904,722 COVID-19 vaccine doses, equivalent to 52.9% of the population. 41.3% of the population is fully vaccinated. (Full article...)

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The following are images from various Delaware-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1The Twelve-Mile Circle (from Delaware)
Image 2Seaford (from Delaware)
Image 3Ethnic origins in Delaware (from Delaware)
Image 4Fort Delaware State Park on Pea Patch Island, a popular spot during the spring and summer; a ferry takes visitors to the fort from nearby Delaware City. (from Delaware)
Image 5Fort Delaware, painted circa 1870 by Seth Eastman. (from History of Delaware)
Image 6Wilmington (from Delaware)
Image 7Map of Delaware (from Delaware)
Image 8NASCAR racing at Dover Motor Speedway in Dover (from Delaware)
Image 9Picking Peaches in Delaware, an illustration in an 1878 issue of Harper's Weekly (from Delaware)
Image 10Nautical chart of the Dutch colony Zwaanendael and Godyn's Bay (Delaware Bay), 1639 (from History of Delaware)
Image 11Wilmington Station in Wilmington (from Delaware)
Image 12Dover (from Delaware)
Image 13Seaford (from Delaware)
Image 14Joe Biden, the 46th president of the United States and a U.S. senator from Delaware from 1973 to 2009 (from Delaware)
Image 15Dover (from Delaware)
Image 16The University of Delaware in Newark (from Delaware)
Image 17A field north of Fox Den Road along the Lenape Trail in Middle Run Valley Natural Area (from Delaware)
Image 18Joe Biden, the 46th president of the United States and a U.S. senator from Delaware from 1973 to 2009 (from Delaware)
Image 19Wilmington (from Delaware)
Image 20Map of Delaware (from Delaware)
Image 21A two-shilling, six-pence banknote issued by Delaware in 1777 (from Delaware)
Image 22Delaware's license plate design, introduced in 1959, is the longest-running one in U.S. history. (from Delaware)
Image 23NASCAR racing at Dover Motor Speedway in Dover (from Delaware)
Image 24Delaware was named for Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, an English merchant and governor of the Colony of Virginia from 1610 to 1618. (from History of Delaware)
Image 25The Delaware General Assembly meets in Delaware Legislative Hall in Dover. (from Delaware)
Image 26Picking Peaches in Delaware, an illustration in an 1878 issue of Harper's Weekly (from Delaware)
Image 27Fort Delaware State Park on Pea Patch Island, a popular spot during the spring and summer; a ferry takes visitors to the fort from nearby Delaware City. (from Delaware)
Image 28A two-shilling, six-pence banknote issued by Delaware in 1777 (from Delaware)
Image 29Delaware Route 1 (DE 1) is a partial toll road linking Fenwick Island and Wilmington. (from Delaware)
Image 30Delaware Route 1 (DE 1) is a partial toll road linking Fenwick Island and Wilmington. (from Delaware)
Image 31Rehoboth Beach, a popular vacation spot during the summer months (from Delaware)
Image 32The Twelve-Mile Circle (from Delaware)
Image 33The Delaware General Assembly meets in Delaware Legislative Hall in Dover. (from Delaware)
Image 34The Köppen climate classification for Delaware (from Delaware)
Image 35The Köppen climate classification for Delaware (from Delaware)
Image 36A field north of Fox Den Road along the Lenape Trail in Middle Run Valley Natural Area (from Delaware)
Image 37Ethnic origins in Delaware (from Delaware)
Image 38Newark (from Delaware)
Image 39Sunset in Woodbrook, Delaware (from Delaware)
Image 40Delaware's license plate design, introduced in 1959, is the longest-running one in U.S. history. (from Delaware)
Image 41The Blackbird Pond on the Blackbird State Forest Meadows Tract in New Castle County, Delaware (from Delaware)
Image 42Rehoboth Beach, a popular vacation spot during the summer months (from Delaware)
Image 43The Cape May–Lewes Ferry (from Delaware)
Image 44Wilmington Station in Wilmington (from Delaware)
Image 45Newark (from Delaware)
Image 46The University of Delaware in Newark (from Delaware)
Image 47The Blackbird Pond on the Blackbird State Forest Meadows Tract in New Castle County, Delaware (from Delaware)
Image 48Sunset in Woodbrook, Delaware (from Delaware)
Image 49The population density map for Delaware (from Delaware)
Image 50The Cape May–Lewes Ferry (from Delaware)
Image 51The population density map for Delaware (from Delaware)

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... that the 2024 inductees to the Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame include a man with Down syndrome who has lifted 425 pounds (193 kg), an "average gymnast" turned Olympics judge, a "preeminent sportswriter", the state's "greatest high hurdler", the "inventor" of the modern sports mascot, a record-setting 10-year-old, a champion gymnast, an Olympic field hockey player, and a pro baseball player in five countries?
... that Paul Chadick performed so well in the Delaware River Basketball League that a sportswriter said it would "benefit the league if he retired"?
... that Delaware politician Armwell Long was said to have once outranked his close friend, George Washington? (See discussions regarding this hook at Talk:Armwell Long.)
... that the only purpose of the Delaware Straight-Out Truth Teller was to promote a political candidate?
... that Dave Frederick has been referred to as the "Sussex County humorist-teacher-writer-radio-host-philosopher dude"?
... that The Breakwater Light was the first newspaper in the first town in the first state?

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Interstate 95 (I-95) is an Interstate Highway running along the East Coast of the United States from Miami, Florida, north to the Canada–United States border in Houlton, Maine. In the state of Delaware, the route runs for 23.43 miles (37.71 km) across the Wilmington area in northern New Castle County from the Maryland state line near Newark northeast to the Pennsylvania state line in Claymont. I-95 is the only primary Interstate Highway that enters Delaware, although it also has two auxiliary routes within the state (I-295 and I-495). Between the Maryland state line and Newport, I-95 follows the Delaware Turnpike (also known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway), a toll road with a mainline toll plaza near the state line. Near Newport, the Interstate has a large interchange with Delaware Route 141 (DE 141) and the southern termini of I-295 and I-495. I-95 becomes the Wilmington Expressway from here to the Pennsylvania state line and heads north through Wilmington concurrent with U.S. Route 202 (US 202). Past Wilmington, I-95 continues northeast to Claymont, where I-495 rejoins the route right before the Pennsylvania state line.

Plans for a road along the I-95 corridor through Wilmington to the Pennsylvania state line predate the Interstate Highway System. After the Delaware Memorial Bridge was built in 1951, the Delaware Turnpike was proposed between the bridge approach near Farnhurst (present-day interchange between I-95 and I-295) and the Maryland state line near Newark in order to alleviate traffic congestion on parallel US 40. With the creation of the Interstate Highway System in 1956, both these roads were incorporated into I-95. Construction on the Delaware Turnpike began in 1957 and ended in 1963. Construction on building I-95 through Wilmington began in the early 1960s. I-95 was completed from Newport north to downtown Wilmington in 1966 and from Wilmington north to the Pennsylvania state line in 1968. Between 1978 and 1980, I-95 was temporarily rerouted along the I-495 bypass route while the South Wilmington Viaduct was reconstructed; during this time, the route through Wilmington was designated as Interstate 895 (I-895). Improvements continue to be made to the highway including widening projects and reconstruction of sections of the road and interchanges. (Full article...)

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Largest cities

Largest cities or towns in Delaware 2018 United States Census Bureau Estimate
	Rank	Name	County	Pop.
Wilmington Dover	1	Wilmington	New Castle	70,635	Newark Middletown
	2	Dover	Kent	38,079
	3	Newark	New Castle	33,673
	4	Middletown	New Castle	22,582
	5	Smyrna	New Castle/Kent	11,580
	6	Milford	Kent/Sussex	11,353
	7	Seaford	Sussex	7,861
	8	Georgetown	Sussex	7,427
	9	Elsmere	New Castle	5,981
	10	New Castle	New Castle	5,529

See List of municipalities in Delaware for a full list.