World Country Guide

General Information

Nickname
Diamond State

State bird
Blue Hen Chicken

State flower
Peach Blossom

Capital
Dover

Date of admission to the Union
December 7 1787 (original 13 States; date of ratification of the Constitution)

Population
830,364 (official estimate 2004)

Population density
125.5 per sq km

2003 total overseas arrivals
Under 38,000

Time
Eastern (GMT - 5). Daylight Saving Time is observed.

The State
This small State’s administrative and commercial centre is Wilmington. Founded in 1638, the city includes museums, galleries, a port and a new trolley car system modelled on the world-famous cable cars in San Francisco. Fort Christina Historic Park is the site of Delaware’s first permanent settlement, when Finns and Swedes landed here in 1638, while the Delaware Art Museum exhibits a permanent collection of 19th- and 20th-century American art and Pre-Raphaelite English art of the 19th century, including works by Edward Hopper, Howard Pyle and Andrew Wyeth. The nearby Brandywine Valley is home to the Du Pont mansions, as well as the Hagley Museum, which explains how this powerful family’s fortune was made. The capital, Dover, is home to numerous museums, including the Air Mobility Command Museum, which exhibits planes and military artefacts. The rest of the State is mostly rural. Lewes is a quaint seaside historic town with some delightful beaches. East of Lewes is the Cape Henlopen State Park, Delaware’s largest State Park, with its seabird nesting colony and white sand dunes. Nearby, Rehoboth Beach is a seaside resort popular with families for its amusement park, 1.6km- (1 mile-) long boardwalk, fine restaurants and shops. Bargain hunters will be enticed by the retail outlet shopping that is available in the vicinity. Dewey Beach is a lively holiday spot with plenty of bars and clubs to keep youthful holidaymakers happy, as well as opportunities for watersports. Historic New Castle includes some wonderfully preserved buildings, such as the 1732 Old Court House, which served as the first state capitol, and the Colonial style George Read II House.