| Delaware |
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| Delaware is America's second smallest state and is located in the Mid Atlantic region. It carries the state nickname 'The First State" because it was the first to ratify the Constitution. Even though the state is only 2 hours away from me, I have never bothered to visit it and didn't know anything about it. After I traveled through the entire state, I now think of Delaware as being a developed area in the northern part of the state and a more rural beach town area in the south. |
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| Delaware Links |
| The capital of Delaware is the small town of Dover which is located in the center of the state. There isn't too much to do in Dover, as most of the historic towns are located directly on the coast, and most of the population lives in the north. On the left is a picture of the Delaware State Capitol building taken during the early spring. Below are two photos of the state's largest city, Wilmington. Wilmington is located right on the New Jersey and Pennsylvania border so other major cities are close by such as Philadelphia. Wilmington has a waterfront with many nice stores and dining. I went to Wilmington on a Sunday so I didn't expect to see a lot going on, but for some reason everything seemed to be deserted! |
| The Delaware River runs down the entire eastern part of the state, and separates Delaware from New Jersey. On the left is a photo of the Delaware Memorial Bridge that is located just outside Wilmington. It was built a few years after world war 2 so it was also made a memorial to all who served in the war. Further south down the Delaware River is Fort Delaware which is located outside Delaware city. Fort Delaware is a large fort that was built in the early 1800s and at the time was the largest fort in the United States. During the Civil War it was converted into a prison and held up to 30,000 prisoners who were mostly made up of Confederates soldiers but also included their supporters as well. The conditions for the prisoners were very bad and almost 3,000 died in captivity. Today the fort is a museum and is only visitable by taking a ferry for a half a mile ride. |
| Delaware's first colonies were not British and were actually built by the Dutch and later by Sweden. In 1631 the Zwaanendael colony was founded by the Dutch and only one year later, the colony was massacred by local Indians. Everyone was killed except for one man who had escaped. All buildings were looted and destroyed so nothing remains of the original colony. The Dutch returned a few decades later in force and reclaimed Delaware and also took over a Swedish colony that had been started. The upper left photo is a museum in the town of Lewes which was where the original Zwaanendael colony had been located. On the upper right is a building in another former Dutch colony that is present day New Castle. |
| The top two photos above are both from the town of New Castle. The home on the left is known as the 'Dutch House' because it is a typical home built when the colonies were first started. The Dutch house on the left was built in the 1600s while the Protestant church on the right was built by the English just after the turn of the century. |
| Less than 10 years after the Dutch had created their colonies in Delaware, they were forced to give them up to the British. The British colonies lasted until the American Revolution. The only fighting in Delaware during the American Revolution took place at Cooch's Bridge seen in the upper left photo. This is also the first time the Stars and Stripes were flown into battle. On the right is a memorial for the battle of Cooch's Bridge with the Stars and Stripes flag. |
| All of the above photos are from the northern part of Delaware where most of the history and population can be found. The shores of Delaware are mostly tidal marshes and wetlands with some good beaches at the very southern part of the state. On the left is a photo of some cattails along the coast. On the right are some large houses built near the wetland areas as well. |
| Here you can see some photos from the tidal marshes in the center of the state. These are great for bird watching and is the best place to see any wildlife in Delaware. On the right is a large turtle who is head deep in some mud. |
| Along the southern part of the state the shore areas were drier than the northern areas. On the left you can see some sand and shrubs growing only a few hundred feet from the coast. On the right is the Atlantic Ocean. |
| Delaware's main beach town is Rehoboth Beach which I had never heard of until this trip. I had always gone to Ocean City which is only a short drive to the south and is located in Maryland. I was pretty surprised about the size and number of people in Rehoboth Beach. I had expected there to be few people there, but even though the beach area itself was small the large boardwalk and plenty of stores and restaurants make it a beach worth visiting. |
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