Delaware
Delaware names 3 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below. 1 of them is described by more than one encyclopedia.
Delaware a State in the South Atlantic Division of the North American Union
Described by 2 of the 6 encyclopedias.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a State in the South Atlantic Division of the North American Union; bounded by Pennsylvania, Delaware river and bay, the Atlantic Ocean, and Maryland; area, 2,050 square miles; one of the original 13 States; number of counties, 3; pop. (1890) 168,493; (1900) 184,735; (1910) 202,322; (1920) 223,003; capital, Dover. Topography.-Delaware lies on a level plain, the highest elevation being less than 300 feet above the sea. The N. part is hilly, with a rolling surface, but below Newcastle the ground is flat and sandy and in some parts swampy. A ridge about 70 feet in altitude extends along the W. boundary of the State and is the watershed for the affluents of the Delaware in the E. and of several streams falling into Chesapeake Bay. The principal streams are the Christiana and the Brandywine rivers. The Christiana is navigable for large steamers as far as Wilmington. The coast of Delaware Bay is marshy; the Atlantic coast has many sand beaches, inclosing shallow lagoons. The largest of these are Rehoboth Bay, Indian River Bay, and a portion of St. Martin's Bay. The only harbors of consequence are Wilmington, Lewes, and Newcastle. Mineralogy and Geology. - Geologically, the State is divided into three divisions, the cretaceous in the N.; tertiary in the Central, and post-tertiary or alluvial in the S. Bog iron ore, found in all the swamps, shell marl in the greensand region, and kaolin or porcelain clay, are abundant. Soil. For eight or ten miles inland from Delaware Bay the soil is for the most part a rich clayey loom; but W. of this it is light and sandy, and productive when well fertilized. The swamps where reclaimed are also very productive. In them are extensive forests of cypresses and other evergreen trees, and shrubs of a semi-tropical character, as well as bogoak, hackmatack, etc. The remainder of the State has been cleared of its forests and is under cultivation. Agriculture.- The State is highly agricultural, ten-thirteenths of its entire area being under cultivation. It is pre-eminently a fruit-growing region, peaches, apples, pears, quinces and other small fruits are extensively raised, and the annual peach crop alone averages 4,000,000 baskets. The acreage, production, and value of the principal crops in 1919 was as follows: corn, 230,000 acres, production 6,900,000 bushels, valued at $10,005,- 000; wheat, 145,000 acres, production 1,740,000 bushels, valued at $3,706,000; potatoes, 11,000 acres, production 915,000 bushels, valued at $1,141,000; sweet potatoes, 7,000 acres, production 966,000 bushels, valued at $1,063,000; hay, 82,000 acres, production 105,000 tons, valued at $2,730,000. Manufactures. - Delaware has extensive manufactures. In 1914 there were man 808 manufacturing establishments in the State. The average number of wage earners was 22,105, and the capital invested amounted to $69,320,000. There was paid in wages $11,382,000. The value of the materials used was $31,649,- 000, with the finished product valued at $56,035,000. Banking. In 1919 there were 19 National banks in operation, having $1,429,cir 000 capital, $885,256 in outstanding circulation, and $1,327,750 in reserve. There were also 5 State banks, with $620,000 capital, $8,833,000 in deposits anu $10,847,000 in resources. Education. The total enrolment in the duc public schools in 1919 was 37,440, with an average enrolment of 30,024, and an average attendance of 28,216. There were about 1,120 teachers employed, receiving an average annual salary of $662.10. The educational conditions in the State have for many years been unsatisfactory, but in 1919 there was passed and approved an elaborate school code providing for for county and district administrative machinery, and making radical reforms and changes in the conduct of the schools. This code resulted from a study of a school survey commission appointed in 1917. Churches. The strongest denominations numerically in the State are the Methodist Episcopal, Roman Catholic, Protestant Episcopal, Lutheran, Baptist, and Presbyterian. Railways. The roads having the longest mileage in the State are the Wilmington, Philadelphia Traction Company, the Wilmington, Newcastle, and Delaware City, and the People's Railway Company. The total railway mileage operated in or through the State is about 350 miles. Finance. The receipts for the fiscal year 1918 amounted to $1,428,848, and the expenditure to $1,311,404. There was a balance at the end of the fiscal year of $571,195. The State had an outstanding indebtedness in 1919 of $1,581,- 785. State Government. The governor is elected for a term of four years. Legislative sessions are held biennially. The Legislature has 35 members in the House and 17 in the Senate, members of the House are elected for a term of two years, and members of the Senate for four years, each receiving a salary of $5 per day for 60 days. Delaware sends one Representative to Congress. Charities and Corrections. The charitable and correctional institutions of the State include the State Hospital for the Insane at Farnhurst, Delaware Hospital at Wilmington, Physicians' and Surgeons' Hospital at Wilmington, Hope Farm Sanitarium at Marshallton, State Penitentiary at Wilmington, Ferris Industrial School at Marshallton, and the Industrial Schools for Girls at Wilmington. History. Delaware was named after Lord Delaware, governor of Virginia, who sailed up the bay in 1610. The first settlement was made by the Dutch in 1631, and in 1638 a colony of Swedes and a fort on Christiana creek Finns built and called the country New Sweden. There was constant friction between the Dutch and Swedes until 1664, when all the Dutch settlements came under English rule. For over 20 years Delaware was part of Pennsylvania, known as the "three lower counties on the Delaware." The State became independent during the Revolution, and her soldiers, known as the "Blue Hen's Chickens," did admirable service during the war. Delaware was the first State to ratify the Federal Constitution, Dec. 7, 1787. Although a slaveholding state, Delaware did not seede in 1861, but cause and furnished nearly 14,000 troops.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
one of the original thirteen states. It lies on the west shore of Delaware Bay. Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York are its neighbors. Area, 2,050 square miles. It is intermediate in size between Rhode Island and Connecticut. By the twelfth census the population was reported at 168,493. The state consists of three counties--Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex. The capital is Dover, situated near the central part of the state. Wilmington, the metropolis, is a manufacturing city. It has an excellent harbor. It has long been noted as a shipbuilding center. The first iron sailing vessel built in this country left the docks of Wilmington in 1854. The style of making printers' paper in large rolls instead of sheets was introduced here in 1817. The greatest powder works in America, those of the Du Ponts, are located near Wilmington. Large canning works, flour mills, boiler factories, car shops, and tanneries are among the manufacturing industries. Morocco leather is dressed in large quantities. The northern county is rough or rolling. Granite, kaolin, suitable for porcelain, and brick and terra cotta clays are among the most prominent mineral productions. The shipbuilding industry has about exhausted the white oak of the region. Valuable cypress is still found around the edges of the swamps, in which wild fowls abound. Delaware is the most decidedly agricultural state in the Union. The three counties represent roughly quite distinct physical regions. The farther south, the more level the surface and the sandier the soil. Eighty per cent of the entire state is included in farms. Sixty per cent is under actual cultivation, a greater proportion than in any other state of the Union. Grain raising and general farming are carried on to some extent in Newcastle County, but the greater part of the state is devoted to gardening and raising of fruit for the markets of Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York. In some years as many as 4,000,000 baskets of peaches are marketed, with other orchard fruits, as pears, apples, and plums in proportion. Immense quantities of blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries are raised. Tomatoes and sweet corn are put up by the million cans. The dairy interests of the state are also important. The first settlement in Delaware was made by the Dutch in 1631. In 1638 the Swedes colonized this region, the only attempt made by them to gain a footing in the New World. An old Swede church built in 1698 still stands in Wilmington. In 1655 Governor Stuyvesant of New Amsterdam, now New York, required the Swedes to submit to Dutch control. In 1682 the colony passed with New Amsterdam under English rule. In 1683, in order to control the Delaware River, William Penn bought the colony. It was a part of Pennsylvania until the time of the Revolutionary War. Delaware was the first state to ratify the national Constitution. At the outbreak of the Civil War it was a slave-holding state, but, being under Northern rather than Southern influence, did not secede. The state is represented in Congress by one representative and, of course, two senators. The name is derived from that of the river and bay, which were named for Lord de la Warr. STATISTICS. The following statistics are the latest to be had from trustworthy sources: Land area, square miles 1,960 Population 197,000 Wilmington 88,000 Dover 3,500 No. counties 3 Members of state senate 17 Representatives 35 Salary of governor $4,000 U. S. representatives 1 Presidential electors 3 Assessed valuation of property $76,000,000 Bonded indebtedness $816,785 Acres under plow 754,010 Agricultural Products-- Corn, bushels 5,000,000 Wheat, bushels 1,800,000 Oats, bushels 131,000 Barley, bushels 40 Tobacco, pounds 2,000 Fruits, sales $961,000 Butter, pounds 2,000,000 Eggs, dozen 35,000,000 Domestic Animals-- Horses 35,000 Mules 5,000 Cattle 55,000 Sheep 12,000 Swine 46,000 Goats 143 Peach trees 2,500,000 Tomatoes, acres 16,000 Miles of railway 335 Manufacturing establishments 1,417 Capital invested $50,000,000 Operatives 20,567 Wages $9,000,000 Raw material $24,000,000 Output of manufactured goods $41,000,000 Output of leather $10,000,000 Lumber products $250,000 Output of minerals $431,000 Teachers in public schools 822 Pupils enrolled 35,239 Percentage of male teachers 17.4 Average monthly salary of men teachers $72.82 Average monthly salary of women teachers $40.22 Average annual expenditure per pupil $17.93
Delaware a city and county-seat of Delaware co.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a city and county-seat of Delaware co., O.; on the Olentangy river, and the "Big Four," Pennsylvania Company and several other railroads; 24 miles N. of Columbus. It is the trade center of Delaware and surrounding counties, and has manufactures of iron, flour, woolen, lumber, furniture, agricultural implements, etc. It is the seat of Ohio Wesleyan University. There are sulphur, magnesia, and other mineral springs near by, and the city has large railroad repair shops, hotels, daily and weekly newspapers and 2 National banks. Pop. (1920) 9,076; (1920) 8,756.
Delaware a river of the United States which rises in the Catskill Mountains in New York
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a river of the United States which rises in the Catskill Mountains in New York; separates Pennsylvania from New York and New Jersey, and New Jersey from Delaware; and empties into Delaware Bay. It has a course of about 300 miles, and is navigable for large vessels to Philadelphia, and for smaller craft to the head of tidewater at Trenton (155 miles).
What Has Changed in the Last Century
When Collier's wrote this in 1921 Delaware had 223,003 people, three counties and a capital at Dover; the counties and capital are unchanged, but the population passed 989,000 in the 2020 census and the state still sends just one representative to Congress, now the most populous single at-large district in the country. The "pre-eminently a fruit-growing region" with its 4,000,000 baskets of peaches is gone: peach disease wrecked the orchards, and Sussex County became one of the nation's leading producers of broiler chickens instead. The manufacturing Collier's counted has been overtaken by finance and corporate law — Delaware's Court of Chancery and its business statutes have made the state the legal home of a majority of large U.S. public companies, with more registered business entities than residents. Delaware also supplied a president: Joseph R. Biden, its senator from 1973 to 2009, took office in 2021.
Written for this edition, 2026.