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Harrington
harrington.delaware.gov
Formerly known as Clark’s Corner, the roots of this community can be traced to settlement by the Clark family in the 1730s, and the subsequent establishment of an inn, tavern, store, and mill nearby. The village was little more than
a country crossroads before the coming of the railroad in 1856. In that same year Matthew J. Clark subdivided a portion of
his lands into town lots, which would form the nucleus of the growing community. In 1859 the state legislature renamed the town in honor of Judge Samuel M. Harrington, a prime mover in the effort to bring the railroad to southern Delaware.
Kenton
kenton.delaware.gov
The origin of this community can be traced to the mid-18th-century when growing travel between Dover and the head of the Chester River resulted in establishment of a “Public House” to support the needs of travelers. First known as Grog- Town and Lewis’ Crossroads, the village was formally named Kenton in 1806. With the arrival of the Maryland and Delaware Railroad following the Civil War, the town became an important shipping point for local goods and products. By the 1880s, the town was home to 300 residents and a number of thriving businesses. The Town of Kenton was formally incorporated by the Delaware General Assembly on April 22, 1887.
Milford
www.cityofmilford.com
Henry Bowan first settled the Kent County side of Milford in 1680
on what was known as the Saw Mill Range. A century later the Reverend Sydenham Thorne built a dam across the Mispillion River to generate power for his gristmill and sawmill. Soon a number of homes and businesses appeared along Front Street and Milford was born. In the 1770s a ship building industry was already flourishing on the Mispillion River. Shipbuilding continued to be the major industry of Milford through World War I. When the last of the area’s giant white oaks were cut down in the 1920s, the shipyards quickly went out of business, although the Mispillion ships sailed on for many years.
Smyrna
smyrna.delaware.gov
According to early history,
Smyrna was first settled before
the American Revolution on the southern bank of Duck Creek. Duck Creek soon became a thriving community of merchant vessels and shipbuilding. Two major thoroughfares formed what was known as “Duck Creek Crossroads” and later came to be called the “Four Corners” of the town. In 1806, the Delaware Assembly changed the name of the town to “Smyrna.” The original boundaries were one- fourth of a mile in each direction from the Four Corners. In 1857, the
AREA HISTORY 5
town limits were extended another one-fourth mile in each direction, making the town equivalent to one square mile.
Wyoming
wyoming.delaware.gov
The construction of the Delaware Railroad in the 1850s led to the establishment of the Delmarva Peninsula’s first and most important north-south railway. Proximity to the nearby community of Camden resulted in the location of a station there when the railroad arrived
in 1856. Settlement of “West Camden” quickly expanded with the construction of homes and businesses. In 1865 the Rev. John J. Pierce migrated here from the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania. Rev. Pierce purchased lands and subdivided them into building lots. Other residents of Wyoming Valley followed Rev. Pierce and settled in and around the thriving village. Desiring to sever any shared connection with Camden, residents chose to honor the new citizens by changing the name
of the community to Wyoming. Surrounded by some of the state’s most productive farmlands, the Town of Wyoming was a major point for the shipping of peaches and other agricultural products.
Wyoming - Undated
AREA HISTORY
Smyrna - Undated
2019