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4 AREA HISTORY
2019
Founded in 1631, as the Dutch settlement Lewes, Sussex County is the oldest and largest County in the first State of the Nation!
Sussex County, DE
Hudson discovered the River in 1609, and in 1610, the English explorer Samuel Argall
was blown off course and landed in the bay. He named it after the Governor of Virginia, Thomas West, Lord De La Warr. For nearly 400 years the County has been home to rugged, industrious people who built the foundation of Delaware’s modern culture. From its early agricultural beginning, through the arrival of the railroads and the Golden Age, Sussex has had a rich heritage.
www.sussexcountyde.gov
Bethel
The entire charming Victorian town of Bethel is on the National Historic Register. Founded in the late 1700s and incorporated in the 1880s, it’s located on the north bank of Broad Creek near Laurel. Originally a prosperous shipbuilding community in the 1800s, many of the homes were built by ship carpenters for sea captains of that period. It’s well-known as the birthplace of the flat-bottomed Chesapeake Bay Sailing Ram, and was aptly named for the Bible’s “Bethel,” which is referred to as a “sailor’s retreat.” bethel.delaware.gov
Blades Blades dates back to the 1700s, but remained one of the last of Sussex County areas to incorporate. It was named after the James Blades family that once farmed the land upon which it sits. Once a farming and shipbuilding community, today Blades is mostly residential.
blades.delaware.gov
Bridgeville
Bridgeville is one of the oldest and fastest growing communities in
western Sussex County. It began developing in the 1680s along the small
waterway known as Bridge Branch. In 1730 a bridge was built across the
stream and it served as the center of the community. The name Bridgeville
was adopted around 1810 and the town was incorporated in 1871. Today it’s a pleasant agricultural-oriented community known for fine homes, picturesque tree-lined streets, and the delightful annual Apple-Scrapple Festival.
bridgeville.delaware.gov
Elizabeth Slabaugh
Greenwood, DE
Greenwood
The small town of Greenwood was founded in 1856, chartered in 1858, and incorporated in 1901. Shortly after the Civil War, Greenwood consisted of only eight houses, two stores, and a hotel. It has grown since then, but still maintains a delightful small village atmosphere, except for the busy summer months when beach traffic comes through. The town was named for the lush holly forest surrounding it. greenwood.delaware.gov
Bridgeville Historical Society Park
Bethel—Originally Captain J.P. Owens’ Home
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AREA HISTORY