Born May 17, 1904, John J, Williams was a native and lifelong resident of Sussex County, Delaware. After completing his education in local public schools, he established the Millsboro Feed Company with his brother in 1922. Rapid growth of the . . . — — Map (db m37936) HM
Site of the first community college in the State of Delaware. Formerly William C. Jason High School, this college was created by the Delaware General Assembly in 1966 and opened the doors to students in September 1967. Because of its central . . . — — Map (db m49022) HM
Town laid out by Joseph Oliver 1787. Village was located on tract then called “Saw-Mill Range.” Named Milford from fording place near mill-dam erected by Rev. Sydenham Thorne across Mispillion Creek, 1787. First incorporated 1807. Old town in Kent . . . — — Map (db m36950) HM
The land upon which this house now stands was acquired in 1675 by Helmanus Wiltbank, a prominent early resident and property owner of Lewes. The oldest portion of the present structure is believed to have been constructed by Cornelius Wiltbank . . . — — Map (db m48936) HM
This home takes its name from the many judges who have lived in it. The Judges was built circa 1809 by Peter Robinson, who served as Secretary of State for Delaware under three governors and was appointed Associate Justice for Sussex County in 1832. . . . — — Map (db m38696) HM
What is a Hundred?
A hundred is an old English subdivision of a county. Although the origin is somewhat shrouded in mystery [,] basically it was a tract of land large enough to provide a hundred men to serve in the king’s wars. In American . . . — — Map (db m156916) HM
Named for the river branch which runs along its northwest edge, Cool Spring Presbyterian Church was established circa 1726. Many of its members were Ulster Scots who had come to America from Ireland seeking religious freedom and economic . . . — — Map (db m150096) HM
Situated on the banks of the Nanticoke River, the town of Blades was first known as "Bladesville" and named for the Blades family. James Blades, an early railroad pioneer, purchased a tract of land which extended to present day High and Market . . . — — Map (db m138274) HM
Ellendale’s Railroad Square was a major rail junction and a beehive of economic activity in Sussex County. The first section of the Junction and Breakwater Railroad from Harrington to Milford was completed in 1859. In March 1860, the Company’s . . . — — Map (db m38647) HM
McColley's Chapel was built and dedicated in 1858 as a Methodist Church. Congregation members had previously worshipped in a small house on the opposite side of the road. James Redden, a member of the board of trustees, sold the property to the . . . — — Map (db m190325) HM
Built in 1917 for the Pennsylvania Railroad, this vintage caboose was operated by Delaware Coast Line Railroad between Georgetown and Lewes from around 1982 until 2017. It was on the last train to leave Lewes in December 2017. Restoration . . . — — Map (db m222499) HM
This house of worship, built in 1805, was first a Preparative Meeting under the care of Motherkiln (Murderkill) Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). In 1830, Camden Monthly Meeting was formed by uniting with Motherkiln and . . . — — Map (db m39513) HM
Delaware State Fair-In 1919 local residents held several meetings to discuss the establishment of a fair. On January 12, 1920, the Kent and Sussex County Fair Association was organized for the purposes of “promoting and encouraging agriculture and . . . — — Map (db m142643) HM
In 1916, two brothers, Drs. James Beebe, Sr. and Richard C. Beebe, had a shared vision to bring modern-day medicine to Southern Delaware. The Beebe brothers started the first hospital in Sussex County on Savannah Road in Lewes. The hospital began as . . . — — Map (db m190352) HM
By the late 1700s the institution of slavery was declining in Delaware. A changing economy and the active efforts of Quakers and Methodists had led to the manumission of many slaves and dramatic growth of the state’s free black population. Though . . . — — Map (db m168333) HM
Charles Mills was a Quaker man who after World War II moved to Rehoboth, Delaware to operate and run one of the few canneries in the area. He bought land which is known today as West Rehoboth. Outraged by the inequalities created by the Jim Crow . . . — — Map (db m315473) HM
Born in Sussex County, Del., Hugh Rodney Sharp spent four happy years at Delaware College, now the University of Delaware, graduating in 1900 at the age of 20. He went on to become a successful business executive, a University Trustee and one of . . . — — Map (db m152661) HM
Before the settlement of the boundary dispute between Delaware and Maryland, this area was considered to lie in Maryland. On July 5, 1755, responding to the request of members of the Church of England residing in the upper portion of Worcester . . . — — Map (db m39556) HM
This memorial statue was commissioned by the Milford Museum to honor and commemorate the 175th anniversary of the birth of Major General Alfred T.A. Torbert, born July 1, 1833. General Torbert, a West Point graduate, class of 1855, served with . . . — — Map (db m286335) HM
Born in Lewes on September 6, 1781, he was the son of John and Mary Marsh Maull. Choosing to become a physician, he studied medicine with Doctor Jacob Wolfe. By 1803 he had moved to Milton, where he served the medical needs of local residents for . . . — — Map (db m228449) HM
"...He] has endeavored to bring on the Inhabitants of our Frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known Rule of Warfare, is an undistinguished Destruction, of all Ages, Sexes, and Conditions."
- The Declaration of . . . — — Map (db m245070) HM
All Aboard!
Chartered in 1857, the Junction & Breakwater Railroad (J&BRR) ran the 38 miles from a junction with the Delaware Railroad in Harrington to the Delaware Breakwater in Lewes. The portion of the line from Georgetown . . . — — Map (db m198907) HM
Prior to 1775 this hundred was claimed as part of
Worchester County, Maryland being named for Lord
Baltimore. After boundary line between Maryland
and Delaware was confirmed, Baltimore Hundred became
part of Sussex County, Delaware. — — Map (db m37404) HM
The conflicting claims of the proprietors of Maryland and Pennsylvania resulted in a lengthy and sometimes violent dispute concerning the ownership and boundaries of Sussex County. Residents who had been Marylanders before the controversy was . . . — — Map (db m245096) HM
This house was the home of Colonel David Hall (1752-1817), patriot of the Revolution and Governor of Delaware. Devoted to the struggle for American Independence, he enlisted in the Continental Army in 1776 and was commissioned as a Captain in the . . . — — Map (db m38011) HM
The Zwaanendael Museum was built in 1931 to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the first European settlement in Delaware. The building is a careful adaptation of the town hall in Hoorn, Holland which was constructed in 1613. Exhibits in the museum . . . — — Map (db m198896) HM
In the mid-1800s, Sussex County was mostly farmland, and carts led by goats or oxen traveled to the downtown area. Later, horse-drawn carriages ferried visitors from the railroad station in Lewes, Delaware, about 7 miles away. Passengers . . . — — Map (db m198882) HM
Stanhope was a major port of commerce on the Morris Canal in Sussex County, enabling the expansion of the ironworks industry. The Morris Canal, a man-made engineering achievement, operated 1831-1924, and linked the Hudson and Delaware Rivers, . . . — — Map (db m27299) HM
This monument sheds light on the facts that citizens here felt so strongly during the Civil War that they left their state, farms, businesses and families to head south to enlist. Delaware men served in units from Virginia to Texas. The journey . . . — — Map (db m199250) HM
This monument sheds light on the facts that citizens here felt so strongly during the Civil War that they left their state, farms, businesses and families to head south to enlist. Delaware men served in units from Virginia to Texas. The journey . . . — — Map (db m258114) HM
The origin of this congregation can be traced to the days of the American Revolution, when Methodist pioneers such as Francis Asbury and Freeborn Garrettson
traveled throughout this area organizing groups or “societies” for worship. Many of the . . . — — Map (db m60461) HM
Thomas H. Draper began his broadcasting career in 1967 with the purchase of his first radio station WTHD in Milford, Delaware, which bore his initials as its call letters. Five years later, he signed on another Milford station, WAFL-FM. In 1980, . . . — — Map (db m244423) HM
A native and lifelong resident of this area, Samuel Paynter was born at Drawbridge on the Broadkill River on August 24, 1768. He was a successful merchant, farmer, and mill-owner, whose prosperity was closely linked to the commerce of the river. . . . — — Map (db m37562) HM
Originally named for early settler and surveyor Peter Van Neste in 1761. Nicknamed Hen's Foot, The Corners, and finally Bevans for its Postmaster James C. Bevans in 1829. The Peter's Valley Society for Literature was est. Jan. 1, 1813. The Dutch . . . — — Map (db m36284) HM
On March 16, 1920, Sussex County's members of the Delaware General Assembly held a conference in Georgetown to hear opinions for and against women's suffrage. Suffragists and anti-suffragists organized similar gatherings throughout the state that . . . — — Map (db m190431) HM
Built in 1892, the Blackwater Colored School is one of the last remaining post-Civil War era colored school buildings in Sussex County. Beginning in the 1920s, schools like Blackwater were replaced by new structures funded by Pierre S. du Pont, who . . . — — Map (db m258119) HM
Though the tracks are gone, this trail follows the path of an early railroad that once helped to join northern and southern Delaware. The Junction and Breakwater Railroad Company opened in 1857. The "junction" was in Harrington which connected with . . . — — Map (db m245057) HM
Casper Shafer, a German emigrant settled this area circa 1742. By 1750, he built this stone house, later fortifying it with a stockade during the French and Indian War. His first grist mill, built 1743, was located upstream, replacing it in 1764 . . . — — Map (db m26448) HM
For those
who served
1941 - 1945 WWII
Delaware State University
Tuskegee
Airmen
Lt. Luna I. Mishoe, Photographic Intelligence Officer •
Lt. Maxwell Honemont, Tuskegee Trained Observation Pilot •
Airman Nathan O. Thomas, 99th . . . — — Map (db m273486) HM WM
The Plank House
The Plank House, with its exposed timbers and dovetail joints, resembles structures built by Swedish immigrants who settled near New Castle, Delaware, in the 17th century. In fact, this log house was initially . . . — — Map (db m315428) HM
The Stockley-Street House
The Stockley-Street House, previously known as the Rabbits Ferry House, was built in the 1740s on the southwest side of Love Creek, in Sussex County, Delaware, by attorney Woodman Stockley II, of Accomack, . . . — — Map (db m315422) HM
Has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior Plaque placed Return Day 2000 — — Map (db m38695) HM
Originally known as Broadkill Hundred, after creek of that name, kill being Dutch work for creek. Name changed by General Assembly 1833 when Georgetown Hundred was set off. In 1835 Act was repealed, and Broadkiln Hundred embraced same territory as . . . — — Map (db m36881) HM
1952: Mr. & Mrs. Richard Hall purchase 130 acres and name it South Bethany
1952: Construction of the South Bethany canals begins and lasts until 1962
1959: Property owners number 500
1962: "The Perfect Storm" aka . . . — — Map (db m150152) HM
In 1787 the Golden Fleece Tavern owned by Elizabeth Battell, stood facing Court House Square on a property that included this site and there the Constitution of the United States was ratified by the Delaware state.
"Fully, freely . . . — — Map (db m142494) HM
The present inlet was formed in 1929 and was widened and stabilized by the Corps of Engineers from 1938-1940. The first three bridges that spanned the inlet were plagued by a series of failures due to environmental and meteorological conditions. . . . — — Map (db m108109) HM
Settled at the site of a gristmill on Pepper Creek,
this village was originally known as Blackfoot
Town. The present name of the community is
derived from that of John Dagsworthy. A New
Jersey native who moved to this area in the
mid- 18th . . . — — Map (db m37239) HM
Constructed in 1791 at the direction of the State Legislature, this structure served as the seat of Sussex County government until 1837, when it was sold and moved to this location to make way for the construction of the present County . . . — — Map (db m243003) HM
Bridge Mechanics
The Lewes Swing Bridge (Bridge 3-928R) was a center-bearing bobtail swing bridge. The bobtail name comes from the bridge span's asymmetrical design, where the span's longer "arm" extended approximately 60 feet while the . . . — — Map (db m244433) HM
Preservation of the Bridge
The federal government is frequently engaged with projects that affect historic properties. Sometimes these projects result in the deconstruction or altering of properties. In 1966 Congress established the . . . — — Map (db m244447) HM
On May 17, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the case of Brown v. Board of Education, declaring racially segregated public schools unconstitutional. In August 1954, a petition was submitted to the Milford Board of Education requesting . . . — — Map (db m142583) HM
In the early 1800s the headquarters of the notorious Cannon/Johnson Kidnapping Gang was located close to this site. After the importation of African slaves was legally outlawed in 1808, demand for slave labor in the expanding states of the Deep . . . — — Map (db m67262) HM
On this site, Delaware became the first state to ratify the Constitution of the United States. December 7, 1787. We, the deputies of the people of the Delaware state, in Convention met, having taken in our serious consideration the Federal . . . — — Map (db m39074) HM
In an effort to remedy deplorable school facility conditions, philanthropist P.S. du Pont dedicated a substantial portion of his wealth towards the construction of African American schools during the 1920s. Milton Public School #196-C, which stood . . . — — Map (db m142586) HM
Wallpack Township, formed in 1731 out of Hunterdon County, included the present townships of Montague, Sandyston and the former Pahaquarry.
The Delaware River forms the western boundary and the Old Mine Road, supposedly built by Dutch miners . . . — — Map (db m49024) HM
Here lie the remains of 70 early setters of Sussex County.
This burial site was owned by Revolutionary War veteran, Nathaniel Hays (1744-1810) and served as a family burial plot until donated to the Methodist Church by John W. . . . — — Map (db m245143) HM
Tower Hill was a 400-acre land grant made to Daniel Browne in 1676 from the English Duke of York, James II. The tract moniker was most likely to honor Tower Hill, a garden square of the same name, and located northwest of the Tower of London.
— — Map (db m301078) HM
The Milton Library Association was organized in
January 1875, and incorporated in March 1883. The
first library consisted of one bookcase in Welch’s
Store. Books were donated by members who paid
an annual fee for user privileges. In later . . . — — Map (db m37729) HM
Total Pencader Population: 2,132 100%
Number of Free Black Residents in Pencader:201 9% of Total Population
Number of Free Black Persons Living in Free Blk. . . . — — Map (db m238418) HM
Thin black lines indicate changes in relevance. Between each pair of lines entries are ordered geographically but all have the same relevance.
* Inflectional forms of words are their plurals, singulars, and possessives as well as gramatical tenses and similar variations.
