Delaware - Contact a mobile notary in the cities below:
Cities in Delaware:
Bear | Brookside | Claymont | Dover |Glasgow | Hockessin | Middletown | Milford | Newark | North Star | Pike Creek | Seaford | Wilmington | Wilmington | Manor
About Delaware
Because it was the first of the thirteen original colonies to ratify the United States Constitution, Delaware is known as the ‘First State.’ As the second smallest state in the Union, Delaware sits between Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, in New England. The state is situated on the Delmarva Peninsula.
Delaware is divided into three counties. The first, New Castle, is mostly industrialized and contains more than two-thirds of the population, who primarily live in and around Wilmington, the states only large city. New Castle is industrialized mainly because of the du Pont family. In 1802, Eleuthere du Pont built a gunpowder mill near Wilmington, laying the foundation for Delaware’s huge chemical industry. Delaware’s manufactured products now also include vulcanized fiber, textiles, paper, medical supplies, metal products, machinery, machine tools, and automobiles.
The second and third counties, Kent and Sussex, are primarily agriculturally based, though some industrial plants have been built in these counties. Kent County is home to Dover, the capital of Delaware
Delaware inhabitants divide the state into two regions, ‘north of the canal,’ in which the industrialized and developed areas of the state are, and ‘south of the canal,’ where the state is agricultural and more lightly populated. The canal they are referring to is Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, a body of water that divides New Castle County.
The state is named after Virginia’s first colonial governor, Thomas West, the Third Baron De La Warr.
Before the Civil War, Delaware was a slave state, but by the early 1800s, the number of free blacks grew while the number of slaves decreased. There were sympathizers to the abolitionist movement in the state, but also a strong desire for segregation. While Delaware never left the Union, sentiment for the Confederacy increased, rather than decreasing.
Racial tension stayed with the state, and came to a head in the 1950s and 60s, when Delaware’s schools were integrated. In 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated, and rioting erupted in Wilmington.
Today, Delaware grows many fruits and vegetables, and pioneers the food-canning industry. Also important to Delaware’s agricultural fair are corn, potatoes, soybeans, and hay. Delaware poultry farmers supply much of the north-eastern markets.
Popular recreation areas include Cape Henlopen, Delaware Seashore, Trap Pond State Park, and Rehoboth Beach.
There are more chickens living south of the C&D canal than there are people living north of it. At the Delaware History Museum in Wilmington, visitors can view the world’s largest frying pan. The pan was used to cook chicken from 1950 through 1988 at the Delmarva Chicken Festival. It holds 180 gallons of cooking oil, and can cook up to 800 quarters of chicken at one time. The Wagon Wheel Restaurant in Smyrna is one of the few restaurants in the country where muskrat is served. This backwater delicacy is trapped locally in January and February and served — par-boiled and sautéed — to adventurous diners.
At Mike’s Famous Harley-Davidson in New Castle, visitors can see the only Harley-Davidson® motorcycle to be ridden around the world.
Horseshoe crabs flock to the Delaware coast every May to mate.
Those interested in learning more about Delaware, including how to become a notary public in the state, should visit Become A Notary Public.
