Delaware was discovered as early as 1609 and there were Dutch and Swedish settlements during the early 1600's. The English finally took over the area in 1664 and by 1704, it was a semi-autonomous colony. Delaware calls itself "The First State" because it was the first state to ratify the US Constitution in 1787 following the American Revolution. During the Civil War, Delaware did not secede from the Union, though it was a slave state.
In 1802 Mr du Pont established a gunpowder mill near Wilmington that was to lay the foundations for Delaware's huge chemical industry. Today du Pont has a large factory located in Dover.
We've made a couple of trips to Delaware so far. The first was to watch Marcus Ambrose race in a Busch Series NASCAR race. What a spectacle that is!!!! The second trip we were passing through on our north east trip and decided to take the Cape May-Lewes ferry from Delaware to New Jersey.
Though it's only small and relatively sparsely populated when compared with some of its neighboring states, it is a beautiful area and well worth a visit if you have some time to spare.