The small wonderDelaware
may be the second smallest US state, but it has immense historical significance as one of the 13 original US colonies and a key player in the Revolutionary War. This was finally recognised with the March 2013 creation of the First State National Monument, 1,100 acres of historic sites and stunning landscapes located throughout Kent and Newcastle Counties. The designation means that Delaware is the last of the 50 states to be admitted into the US National Park System, ensuring federal funds for trail maintenance and preservation, as well as giving the monument the same level of protection as other national treasures such as Yellowstone National Park or the Grand Canyon. Moreover, it celebrates the mid-Atlantic state’s unique history and the integral role it played in the creation of the United States.
Revolutionary roots
The colony of Delaware was born in the 17th Century, and in 1776 it joined the 12 other Atlantic coast colonies in the Revolutionary War, fighting for independence from Great Britain. Crucially, it was in Delaware that the first delegates ratified the US constitution and voted for the Bill of Rights in 1787. The First State National Monument honours this history, from the Newcastle Courthouse – one of the oldest in the US – to the beautiful Woodlawn Tract, whose extensive trails around the legendary Brandywine River preserve how Delaware looked at the time.
Driving history downstream
Although the Brandywine River is not grand in scale, its impact has far exceeded its size. Oliver Evans, the son of a Delaware shoemaker, changed the course of history in 1780 with his invention of an automated flourmill. Using the river, he was able to easily turn wheat into flour on a large scale – and before long automated mills became the norm, adapting the process to manufacture paper, textiles and other indispensable goods for the new nation. Pictured here is Walker’s Mill near Wilmington, which produced cotton and is now part of the National Register of Historic Places.
Explosive business
By 1860, the DuPont Powder Mill, just downstream from Walker’s Mill, was the largest manufacturer of gunpowder in the US. For better or for worse, its products made entire chapters of 19th-century American history possible: the destruction of Indian tribes and buffalo herds; the Erie Canal, which allowed goods to pass from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes; the transcontinental railroads; the California and Nevada gold rushes; and the defeat of the Confederate States Army. Today the legacy of the DuPont family can be seen in the mansions that lord over the Delaware landscape. The Granogue, a 1923 Dupont mansion (pictured in the fog), is an extravagant reminder of one of the US’ first industrial families and the fortune they amassed.
A serene beauty
The meadows and forests of the Woodlawn Tract (pictured) comprise the vast majority of the First National Monument. From biking and hiking to kayaking and fishing, visitors can experience the untouched countryside that the original settlers, the Lenape Native Americans, would have known.
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