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American Shores Maps of the Middle Atlantic Region to 1850 The New York Public Library
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Delaware



Delaware, 1838.
catalog record

Virtually identical to the neighboring map on this page, this map has been colored differently to highlight the “hundreds.” The county names are inscribed on the map, but the coloring obscures them almost completely.

Delaware is the second smallest state in the Union; its breadth ranges from only 9 to 36 miles. The area was visited in 1609 by Henry Hudson, in the service of the Dutch East India Company, as he sought a water route west to Asia. In 1611, Thomas West, Lord de la Warr, governor of Virginia, scoped out the region, which was later named for him. Settled early on by Dutch and Swedish colonizers, the area was in dispute for decades, but was eventually purchased by the English and sold off to William Penn. Delaware remained legally a part of Pennsylvania until 1776, but had long claimed independence, and had its own legislature. In 1802, E. I. DuPont established a gunpowder mill on the Brandywine River, the beginning of the DuPont firm we know today.

Delaware, 1824.
catalog record

On this map, color differentiates the three counties of Delaware: New Castle, Kent, and Sussex. The counties are further subdivided into “hundreds,” which are colonial-era divisions into districts that could theoretically supply 100 troops for military activity when needed.

 


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