Wilmington

Wilmington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware, and serves as the county seat of New Castle County. It lies at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. The population was 70,898 at the 2020 census. Located thirty miles southwest of Philadelphia, Wilmington originated as a colonial trading area and ferry crossing, and later became one of the country's most vital industrial and chemical-producing centers. Today, more than half of all Fortune 500 companies call Wilmington their corporate home, and the city offers a dynamic environment for more than 40,000 workers as the corporate, financial, and governmental hub of the state and region.

Early Settlement and Colonial History

Prior to Swedish and Dutch colonization in the early 1600s, the area that became Wilmington contained a vast population of Lenni Lenape Indians scattered in villages along the Delaware River. When settlers and traders from the Swedish South Company under Peter Minuit arrived in March 1638 on the Fogel Grip and Kalmar Nyckel, they purchased the land from Chief Mattahorn and built Fort Christina at the mouth of the river, which the Swedes renamed the Christina River after Queen Christina of Sweden.

The oldest permanent European settlement in the Delaware River valley was established on this site by Swedes in 1638. Called Fort Christina, it was captured by Peter Stuyvesant's Dutch forces in 1655. The Dutch, who named the place Altena, were ousted by the English in 1664. A small agricultural hamlet for its first hundred years, it developed into a prosperous port and market town after the Quakers moved there in the 1730s. The Quakers secured a borough charter from Thomas Penn, the proprietor of Pennsylvania, who named the town in 1739 for his friend Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington.

The land was subsequently granted by James, Duke of York, to William Penn, who would establish the colony of Pennsylvania, which included what came to be known as the "Three Lower Counties on Delaware." In the early eighteenth century, Thomas Willing, an Englishman, laid out lots and streets for a village known as Willingtown, which was located near the site of the old Swedish fort, and in 1739, a petition was filed to request that a letters patent be issued to establish a Charter for a Borough to be called Wilmington.

Holy Trinity Church, now known as Old Swedes Church, a Swedish Lutheran church until it was sold by the dwindling Swedish congregation to an English Anglican community in 1792, still stands with its original walls and pulpit, dating from 1698. The Swedish settlers also introduced log cabins into Delaware. The Dutch, who succeeded the Swedes, endowed early Wilmington with an important industry — brickmaking — which would play a major role in the city's economy until the coming of the Industrial Revolution in the 1840s.

The American Revolution and Early Republic

By the time of the American Revolution, Wilmington was the largest town in Delaware. Following the Battle of the Brandywine (September 11, 1777), the British captured John McKinly, the state president, in Wilmington and occupied the town. Despite this setback, the city's geographic advantages would fuel rapid growth in the decades that followed.

Subsequent growth was due to accessibility to other ports (especially Philadelphia, 25 miles northeast), abundance of waterpower in nearby creeks, and the fertility of nearby farmlands. Sawmills, gristmills, and paper mills were built along Brandywine Creek, just north of Wilmington, and by the 1790s its flour mills were the largest in the United States.

In 1802, a French immigrant, Eleuthère Irénée du Pont, established a gunpowder mill, the forerunner of the modern gigantic and diversified DuPont industries with their experimental laboratories in Wilmington. The du Pont enterprise would shape the city's industrial character for generations. In 1783, engineer Oliver Evans introduced his automatic flour mill to the Brandywine Village complex, a system that later revolutionized the industry.

The borough of Wilmington officially became a city in 1832, when a charter was granted by the State legislature. With the completion of the Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore Railroad five years later, the city's riverfront advantages merged with the Northeast's burgeoning rail network.

Industrial Growth and the Civil War Era

Shipbuilding, carriage making, and iron founding flourished during the 1840s, generating demand for raw materials and skilled workers. Railroad cars and their related components generated much of the city's nineteenth-century economic activity. Between the Civil War and World War I, more new industries developed and the greatest increases in population occurred. In 1860 there were 21,250 people living in the city.

The Civil War had a profound effect on the economy of the city. Delaware, though officially a Union State, was divided in its support of both the Confederate and the Union soldiers. Wilmington was the center of the northern partisans in Delaware. The outbreak of the Civil War found Wilmington with a strong industrial base which responded to meet the great demands of waging war. Older establishments expanded, and many new industries were attracted to the city. Wilmington products included ships, railroad cars, gunpowder, shoes, tents, uniforms, blankets and other war-related goods.

By 1868, Wilmington was producing more iron ships than the rest of the country combined, and it rated first in the production of gunpowder and second in carriages and leather. This industrial dominance cemented Wilmington's reputation as one of the most productive manufacturing cities in the northeastern United States.

The late nineteenth century saw the development of a comprehensive park system, championed by William Bancroft, a Wilmington businessman with a concern for the preservation of open parkland who was influenced by the work of Frederick Law Olmsted. Rockford Park and Brandywine Park owe their creation to his generous donation of land and efforts. In 1864, the first horsecar line was initiated, assisting development of residential areas outside the city boundaries. The first "suburban" area to be developed was centered around today's Delaware Avenue.

Economy and the Corporate Capital

While many corporations sought the benefits of Delaware's liberal tax structure and located themselves in or near Wilmington, firmly establishing the city as a "Corporate Capital" even after the decline of large-scale manufacturing, the burgeoning number of automobiles and roadways in the 1950s made living in the suburbs and commuting into the city to work possible, and contributed to significant population losses in Wilmington.

Projects such as urban renewal in the 1960s and 70s, which cleared many blocks of housing, and the construction of I-95, which cut a swath through several of Wilmington's most stable neighborhoods, also left their mark on the city. Numerous banks and financial institutions relocated to the area after the Financial Center Development Act of 1981 substantially liberalized the laws governing banks operating within the state.

With the decline of manufacturing near the close of the twentieth century, the city emerged as America's "corporate capital." Despite the city's industrial might and corporate wealth, its history also reflected the spatial, economic, and racial disparities seen in cities across Greater Philadelphia and the nation.

Today, the city is a hub for financial services, home to major institutions like JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America. Healthcare and biotech industries are also prominent, with ChristianaCare and AstraZeneca among the region's top employers. Because Wilmington is right in the middle of the Northeast Corridor, the city boasts excellent connections to the region as well as to national and international destinations from Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), Wilmington Airport (ILG), Amtrak/SEPTA Wilmington Station, I-95, and I-495.

Landmarks, Culture, and Historic Sites

Wilmington is home to a range of nationally recognized historic sites and cultural institutions. Among the city's historic sites and museums are the Fort Christina Monument (by Swedish sculptor Carl Milles), marking the site of the original settlement; Old Swedes (Holy Trinity) Church (1698); Old Town Hall Museum (1798), with exhibits about Delaware's history; Hagley Museum and Library, occupying the original Du Pont gunpowder mill complex and featuring exhibits dramatizing the industrial history along the Brandywine; and the Delaware Art Museum, noted for its collections of Pre-Raphaelite English art and American art.

Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library houses one of the foremost collections of American decorative arts, and its library is a renowned research center, while Nemours Estate is Wilmington's very own Versailles, with its elaborate French-style gardens, magnificent fountains and gilded sculptures.

Old Swedes Church was erected in 1698 and is still in use, and the Harriet Tubman Byway of the Underground Railroad runs right through downtown Wilmington. On Market Street, Willingtown Square hosts several of the oldest residential structures, and Rodney Square is the city's central public space that honors Delaware's vote for colonial independence.

For live entertainment, visitors can catch a performance at the 1871 Grand Opera House or the Delaware Theatre Company. The City of Wilmington designates nine areas as historic districts and one area as a conservation district. The historic districts include Baynard Boulevard, Kentmere Parkway, Rockford Park, Cool Spring/Tilton Park, the tri-part sections of the Eastside, St. Marys and Old Swedes Church, Quaker Hill, Delaware Avenue, Trinity Vicinity, and Upper/Lower Market Street.

Wilmington's historic significance is further preserved through its downtown districts, including the Market Street Multiple Resource Area and the Lower Market Street Historic District, both listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Outdoor enthusiasts have 552 acres of parks at their fingertips, ranging from neighborhood pocket parks to Brandywine Park's winding trails through thick forest. The Wilmington Riverfront has transformed into one of the city's top destinations. Once an industrial hub, it now offers waterfront dining, boutique shopping, and scenic walking trails along the Christina River. Popular attractions include the Delaware Children's Museum, Constitution Yards Beer Garden, and the Riverfront Market.