1737 DELAWARE 1837

1. Prince George's Chapel, original log building (1706) replaced by a frame building in Dagsboro, Sussex County Delaware. Named after Prince George, later King George III.

1. Wilmington in Delaware, named to founder Thomas Willings, received royal charter and is renamed Wilmington.

1. January 18, John Dickinson mansion built in Dover Delaware. Penman of the American Revolution and wealthy Quaker tobacco planter.

1. Flour mill built by Oliver Canby in Wilmington Delaware on the Brandywine River.

1. November 24, Francis Alison's "Free School" founded, to become the Academy of Newark, the University of Delaware and Newark College.

1. Jesuits of Old Bohemia established a school for boys in Kent County, Delaware.

1. Dagsboro in Indian River School District founded in Sussex County Delaware, also known as Blackfoot Town, Dagsbury and Dagsborough.
2. Jesuits purchased land at Willow Grove near Dover in Kent County, Delaware.

1. Jacob Broom, born in Wilmington, New Castle County Delaware. Member of the Annapolis Convention and the Constitutional Convention and signer of the US Constitution.

1. Outbreak of the French and Indian War in Delaware. 

1. 1706 built Prince George's Chapel, re-built as an Anglican chapel-of-ease in Dagsboro, Sussex County, Delaware.
2. September 13, Oliver Evans inventor, born in Newport, Delaware.

1. June 30, Prince George's Chapel built and received by the Worcester Parish of the Church of England in Dagsboro, Sussex County, Delaware.

1. First printing press set up by James Adams in Wilmington Delaware and first book published The Child's New Play-Thing.

1. William Penn hired English scientists Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon to survey the Delaware state bounderies.

1. William Penn hired English scientists Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon to survey the Delaware state bounderies.

1. -Masonic lodge established in Cantwell's Bridge, Odessa, New Castle County, Delaware.

1. Colonel John Dagworthy, a native of New Jersey became owner of Dagworthy in Delaware.

1. November 11, the Academy of Newark in Delaware chartered by the colonial government.

1. Jacob Dingee House built in Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware by Jacob Dingee.

1. Old Christ Church built by Robert Houston at Broad Creek, near Laurel and Chipmans mill pond in Sussex County, Delaware.

1. Obidiah Dingee House built by Obidiah Dingee, next to his brother's house Jacob Dingee, in Wilmington New Castle County, Delaware.

1. Pennsylvania took formally possession of Sussex County in Delaware.
2. A law passed in Delaware for an Overseer of the Poor.
3. June 20, Sussex County Militia organized at Broad Creek, near Laurel with John Dagworthy as chairman.

1. Delaware state name derived from Sir Thomas West, Lord De La Warre or baron De La Warr, governor of Virginia.
2. Slave importation outlawed in Delaware by the Constitution.
3. June 15, Delaware identified as 'The Three Lower Counties; Kent, New Castle, Sussex' separated from Pennsylvania.

   JULY 4, INDEPENDENCE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
4. July 4, Caesar Rodney, appointed Speaker of the House of Representatives of Delaware.
5. August 30, George Read, appointed president of the Constitutional Convention of Delaware.
6. September 20, Delaware's first Constitution adopted.
7. September 21, City of New Castle on the Delaware River in New Castle County served as Delaware state capital. Coordinates 39°40'N-75°34'W.
8. October 29, John McKinly and George Read, appointed presidents of Delaware (1776-February 21, 1777).

1. Dover city, seat of Kent County appointed capital of the state of Delaware, replacing New Castle. Coordinates 39°10'N 75°32'W.
2. January 17, Delaware state seal adopted.
3. February 21, John McKinley appointed president of Delaware (1777-April 2, 1778). Born, February 24, 1721 in Northern Ireland, died on August 31, 1796 in Wilmington, Delaware.
4. September, British army occupied Wilmington, Delaware after winning the Battle of Brandywine, the capture of John McKinley, the Delaware state documents and the funds.
5. September 3, the Battle of Cooch's Bridge near Newark, New Castle County, Delaware. The only Revolutionary War battle fought in Delaware.
6. September 8, Aiken's Tavern in New Castle County Delaware, quarters of General William Howe.
7. September 22, Thomas McKean, appointed acting president of Delaware (1777-October 20, 1777).
8. October 20, George Read, appointed acting president of Delaware (1777-April 2, 1778).

1. The Cook-Simms House built by William Cook in Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware.
2. Selbyville founded, Sussex County in Delaware.
3. April 2, Caesar Rodney, appointed president of Delaware (1778-November 13, 1781).

1. Delaware Assembly ratifies the Articles of Confederation.

1. Barratt's Chapel built on land of Philip Barratt near Frederica, Kent County in Delaware. The craddle of Methodism in America.

1. November 13, John Dickinson appointed President of Delaware (1781-January 31, 1783).

1. January 31, John Cook appointed acting president of Delaware (1783-February 8, 1783).
2. February 8, Nicholas Van Dyke, appointed president of Delaware (1783-October 27, 1786).

1. Methodist Church established by Thomas Coke and Francis Asbury as a result of their meeting at Barratt's Chapel in Frederica, Kent County, Delaware.
2. Automatic flour mill prototype built and demonstrated by inventor Oliver Evans on Red Clay Creek in Newport, New Castle County, Delaware.
3. June 29, Caesar Rodney died and buried in Byfield, Kent County, Delaware. Signer of the Declaration of Independence for the state of Delaware.

1. Appoquinimink Friends Meeting House built by David Wilson in Delaware. One of the smallest Quaker meeting houses in the nation.
2. Blackfoot town became Dagsborough in Sussex County, Delaware.
3. Quaker petition to abolish slavery sent to the General Assembly of Delaware.
4. June 14, Delaware's first newspaper established, The Delaware Gazette.

1. John Dickinson, signed the U.S. Constitution as delegate from Delaware.
2. North Milford on the Mispillion River, Kent County in Delaware, established. Milford city coordinates 38°55'N-75°25'W.
3. Old State House, Delaware's first capitol building, rebuilt in Dover housing the Delaware state government center.
4. -The State of Delaware passed a law to weaken slavery.
5. December 7, Delaware DE, 1st state admitted to the Union

   Delaware Today : the first of the original 13 states to ratify the Federal Constitution of the United States. Nickname 'The First State', capital Dover. Area 2,489 sq.mi.(6.446km²) 49th largest state. Delaware is the name of Indians who lived in the region, however the state was named after baron De La Warr, governor of Virginia. Counties 3 : Kent, New Castle, Sussex. Attractions & Recreation : Bellevue State Park, Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, Brandywine Creek State Park, Brandywine Zoo, Cape Henlopen State Park, Delaware National Estuarine Research Reserve, Delaware Seashore State Park, Fenwick Island State Park, First State Heritage Park and Dover, Fort Delaware State Park, Fort DuPont State Park,, Fox Point State Park, Holts Landing State Park, Indian River Marina, Killens Pond State Park, Lums Pond State Park, Port Penn, Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, Trap Pond State Park, White Clay Creek State Park, Wilmington State Park.

1. Abolition societies established in Dover and Wilmington, Delaware.

1. Delaware barred slave ships from his ports.
2. James Adams and his son Samuel published the Delaware and Eastern Shore Advertiser in Wilmington, Delaware.
3. March 29, Jehu Davis, appointed acting president of Delaware (1789-June 2, 1789). Born 1738 in Worcester County, Maryland, died on May 11, 1802 in Kent County, Delaware.
4. June 2, Physician Joshua Clayton, appointed president of Delaware (1789-1793). Born on July 20, 1744, near Wyoming in Kent County, Delaware. Delaware's last president and first governor, major in the Bohemia Manor Battalion Militia and member of the Delaware General Assembly. Died on August 11, 1798 in New Castle County, Delaware.

1. Delaware population, 59,096 residents.
2. Old Presbyterian Church built in Dover, Delaware housing the Delaware State Museum.
3. Jacob Broom signer of the US Constitution, appointed first postmaster of Wilmington, New Castle County in Delaware.

1. Georgetown, seat of Sussex County Delaware, founded and incorporated.
2. Old Swedes Church (1698 oldest building in Delaware) in Wilmington, placed under the jurisdiction of the Protestant Episcopal Church.
3. Sussex County seat moved from Lewes to Georgetown, Delaware.
4. Trustees of the Poor, created under the Levy Court in Kent County directed to establish a Poor House in each Delaware county.

1. Damming of the head waters of the Indian River in Millsboro, Sussex County, Delaware.
2. Printer James Adams, died in Wilmington Delaware.
3. The second state Delaware constitution changed the name of its government from 'The Delaware State' into 'State of Delaware'.

1. Joshua Clayton, elected governor of Delaware (1793-January 19, 1796).

1. The French Engineer Pierre Charles L'Enfant, identified a small island in the middle of the Delaware River, an ideal place for seacoast fortification, what should become the site of Fort Delaware on Pea Patch Island in Delaware. (credit NJ resident)

1. Bank of Delaware Delaware's first state bank founded in Wilmington, New Castle County.

1. January 19, Gunning Bedford, elected governor of Delaware (1796-September 28, 1797).
2. July 24, John Middleton Clayton, born in Dagsboro, Delaware. Delaware Secretary of State and U.S. senator.

1. Delaware laws published at New Castle Delaware, by the printers John and Samuel Adams, the sons of printer James Adams.
2. All Delaware slaves sold out of the state were declared automatically free.
3. September 28, Daniel Rogers appointed acting governor of Delaware (1797-January 15, 1799).

1. Old Town Hall built in Wilmington city, New Castle County in Delaware.
2. Yellow fever epidemic spreads in Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware.
3. May 25, British ship the brig HMS De Braak sinks off Lewes, Sussex County in Delaware.

1. Seaford town on the Nanticoke River in Sussex County, Delaware, laid out and named after Seaford UK. Coordinates 38°39'N 75°37'W.

2. James Wilson started the publication of the semi-weekly Federal party supporting paper the Mirror of the Times, in Delaware.
3. January 15, Richard Bassett, elected governor of Delaware (1799-February 20, 1801).

1. Delaware population, 64,273 residents.

1. The Newbold family purchased land in Delaware, known as Newbolds Landing, today Delaware City.
2. The Coxe Houses built in Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware, by brickyard owner Thomas Coxe for his daughters.
3. March 4, James Sykes, appointed acting governor of Delaware (1801-January 19, 1802).

1. Laurel town on the Laurel River in Sussex County, Delaware laid out. Named for the local laurel bushes along the Broad Creek. Coordinates 38°33'N-75°34'W.

2. New Castle County elections at New Castle town in Delaware.
3. January 19, David Hall, elected governor of Delaware (1802-January 15, 1805).
4. July, Irénée Eleuthère Du Pont constructed powderworks in Brandywine Creek, Wilmington, Delaware.

1. Eleutherean Mills Mansion in Delaware, built by the du Pont company founder frenchman Irénée Eleuthère du Pont.
2. The Wilmington newspaper Federal Ark published in Delaware.

   NOVEMBER 30 - LOUISIANA PURCHASE

1. Ashley Mansion built near Richardson Park in Newport, New Castle County, Delaware, by a prominent Quaker AshtonRichardson.
2. June 30, start of the weekly paper Museum of Delaware by Joseph Jones.

1. First Methodist camp meeting held near Smyrna, in Kent County, Delaware.
2. January 15, Nathaniel Mitchell, elected governor of Delaware (1805-January 19, 1808).

1. Salisbury in Delaware or Duck Creek town name, changed into Smyrna.

2. February 5, Robert Montgomery Bird; born in New Castle, Delaware. Dramatist and novelist.

1. Milford incorporated in Delaware on the Mispillion River in Sussex County. Named for the English poet John Milton.

1. Frankford founded in Sussex County, Delaware.

2. First toll road in Delaware, the Newport and Gap Turnpike.
3. January 19, George Truitt, elected governor of Delaware (1808-January 15, 1811).
4. February 14, American statesman 'Penman of the Revolution' John Dickinson died in Wilmington, Delaware. Governor of Pennsylvania (1782-1785).

1. Editor James Wilson, changed the name of his Mirror of the Times paper into American Watchman to become a Delaware anti-Federal journal.

1. Delaware population, 72,674 residents.

1. January 15, Joseph Haslet, elected governor of Delaware (1811-January 18, 1814).

1. Peter Spencer, a Maryland born slave, founder of the African Union Methodist Protestant Church in Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware.

1. Lewes oldest and first town in Delaware in Sussex County, bombarded by the British. Coordinates 38°47'N-75°08'W.

1. Big Quarterly or August Quarterly, America's first major black religious festival, started by Peter Spencer, founder of the African Union Methodist Protestant Church in Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware.
2. January 18, Daniel Rodney, elected governor of Delaware (1814-January 21, 1817).

1. Citizens of Smyrna in Kent County, Delaware, protested against John McWorther's request to open a publick house.
2. The Methodist Episcopal Church founded in Dover, Kent County, Delaware, by slave born Richard Allen, becoming the first Bishop of the church.

1. January 21, John Clark, elected governor of Delaware (1817-January 15, 1820).

1. Construction started on the mile-long Delaware Breakwater.

1. South Milford in Delaware on the Mispillon River in Kent County, laid out. Coordinates 38°55'N-75°25'W.

1. Delaware population, 72,749 residents.
2. January 18, Jacob Stout, appointed acting governor of Delaware (1820-January 16, 1821).

1. January 16, John Collins, elected governor of Delaware (1821-April 16, 1822).

1. Thomas Garrett moved to Wilmington, New Castle County in Delaware. Quaker, abolitionist and secret worker of the anti-slavery network Underground Railroad.
2. Start of the weekly paper Museum of Delaware published by Joseph Jones in Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware.
3. April 23, Caleb Rodney, appointed acting governor of Delaware (1822-January 21, 1823).
4. December 11, George David Cummins, born near Smyrna in Delaware. Clergyman, founder and first bishop of the Reformed Episcopal Church.

1. January 21, Joseph Haslet, elected second-term governor of Delaware (1823-June 20, 1823).
2. June 24, Charles Thomas, appointed acting governor of Delaware (1823-January 20, 1824).

1. The 'Great Fire' destroyed many homes, inns and warehouses in the city of New Castle, Delaware.
2. January 20, Samuel Paynter, elected governor of Delaware (1824-January 16, 1827).

1. Construction started of the 14-mile Chesapeake Bay & Delaware River Canal (C&D) in Delaware.

1. January 16, Charles Polk, elected governor of Delaware (1827-January 19, 1830).

1. Steamboat line opens between Philadelphia and New Castle in Delaware.

2. October 29, Thomas Francis Bayard, born in Wilmington, Delaware. Diplomat, lawyer and statesman.

1. Chesapeake and Delaware Canal opens in Delaware.
2. Dover town incorporated, seat of Kent County in Delaware.
3. First public schools in Delaware established, after the Free School Act passes in legislature.
4. Perkins School for the Blind started in Delaware, the first school for the blind in the United States.

1. Delaware population, 76,748 residents.
2. January 19, David Hazzard, elected governor of Delaware (1830-January 15, 1833).

1. Delaware states adopts third constitution.
2. Fort Delaware on Pea Patch Island in Delaware, destroyed by a fire.
3. Wilmington in Delaware incorporated, port city and seat of New Castle County. Coordinates 39°44'N-75°33'W.
4. First peach orchard planted, the start for Delaware as major commercial producer of peaches.
5. New Castle and Frenchtown Railroad in Delaware opens with horse cars, later switching to steam.

1. University of Delaware's name changed into Newark College.
2. January 15, Caleb P. Bennett, elected governor of Delaware (1833-July 11, 1836).

1. Newark College opened in Newark, Delaware.

1. July 11, Charles Polk, appointed second-term acting governor of Delaware (1836-January 17, 1837).

1. January 17, Cornelius P. Comegys, elected governor of Delaware (1837-January 19, 1841).

1. Prince George's Chapel, original log building (1706) replaced by a frame building in Dagsboro, Sussex County DE. Named after Prince George, later King George III.

1. Dagsboro in Indian River School District founded in Sussex County DE, also known as Blackfoot Town, Dagsbury and Dagsborough.

1. 1706 built Prince George's Chapel, re-built as an Anglican chapel-of-ease in Dagsboro, Sussex County, DE.

1. Pennsylvania took formally possession of Sussex County in Delaware.