Delaware is America's second smallest state and is located in the mid-Atlantic region and carries the state nickname 'The First State" since 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 and honestly I knew little about it. After I traveled through most of Delaware, I know see the state as filled with small historic towns and quiet family beaches with more development in the north. This trip was just on a spring weekend, so I'd like to revisit during different times of the year.
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 the state 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; located outside Delaware city. Fort Delaware is a large fort that was built in the early 1800s and at the time it was the largest in the United States. During the Civil War, it was converted into a prison and held up to 30,000 people who were mostly made up of Confederates soldiers but also included the politicians as well. The conditions for the prisoners were bad and nearly 3,000 died in captivity. Today the fort is a museum and is accessible by ferry.
Like all of the 13 original colonies, Delaware has plenty of history along its shores where many first Europeans first settled. William Penn, who had the state of Pennsylvania named after him, first stepped foot into Delaware in the late 1600s. Above is a historic marker describing William Penn's arrival and some old English that I can't quite understand. On the right are modern houses several centuries later.
	Delaware's first colonies were actually not British but created by the Dutch and later a new colony by Sweden. In 1631 the Dutch founded the Zwaanendael colony but only one year later, the colony was attacked and massacred by local Indians. All colonists were killed except for a single man who had managed to escape. All buildings were also looted and destroyed, so nothing of the original colony remains. Despite losing an entire colony, the Dutch did not yet give up and returned a few decades later in force, reclaiming Delaware and also taking over a nearby Swedish colony. 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.
These two photos show some of New Castle's streets that by American standards are ancient. The cobblestone has vegetation growing out of it both on the road and sidewalks. The tree above has grown big enough that it's roots have started to displace the brick sidewalk.
Less than 10 years after the Dutch had founded their colonies in Delaware, they were forced to give them up to the British, and of course the British colonies only lasted until the American Revolution. Fought on September 3, 1777, the sole battle in Delaware during the American Revolution took place at Cooch's Bridge. The battle here was small, but is significant because it was the first time the Stars and Stripes were flown into battle. On the left is the bridge itself, 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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Delaware Travel

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