New Castle County, Delaware

New Castle County is the northernmost of the three counties of the U.S. state of Delaware (New Castle, Kent, and Sussex). As of the 2020 census, the population was 570,719, making it the most populous county in Delaware, with nearly 60% of the state's population of 989,948. The county seat is Wilmington, which is also the state's most populous city. New Castle County is included in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county is named after William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle (–1676). New Castle County has the highest population and population density of any Delaware county, and it is the smallest county in the state by area. It has more people than the other two counties, Kent and Sussex, combined. It is also the most economically developed of the three.

History

The first permanent European settlement on Delaware soil was Fort Christina, resulting from Peter Minuit's 1638 expedition on the Swedish vessels Fogel Grip and Kalmar Nyckel. The Swedes laid out the town at the site of modern-day Wilmington. They contracted with the Lenape Native Americans for land of Old Cape Henlopen north to Sankikans (Trenton Falls), and inland as far as they desired. However, a dispute ensued between the Swedes and the Dutch, who asserted a prior claim to that land.

In 1640, New Sweden was founded a few miles south of Christina. In 1644, Queen Christina appointed Lt. Col. Johan Printz as Governor of New Sweden. She directed boundaries to be set and to reach Cape Henlopen north along the west side of Godyn's Bay (Delaware Bay), up the South River (Delaware River), past Minquas Kill (Christina River), to Sankikans (Trenton Falls). Printz settled on Tinicum Island, as the seat of government and capital of the New Sweden colony.

Peter Stuyvesant, Governor of New Netherland, sailed up the South River in 1651. He purchased land from the Lenape that covered Minquas Kill to Bompties Hook (Bombay Hook); the Lenape had sold part of the property to the Swedes in 1638. Stuyvesant began to build Fort Casimir (contemporary New Castle).

In 1654, Johan Risingh, commissary and councilor to the governor Lt. Col. Printz, officially assumed Printz's duties and began to expel all Dutch from New Sweden. Fort Casimir surrendered and was renamed Fort Trinity in 1654. The Swedes had complete possession of the west side of the Delaware River. On June 21, 1654, the Lenape met with the Swedes to reaffirm the purchase.

Having learned of the fall of Fort Casimir, the Dutch sent Stuyvesant to drive the Swedes from both sides of the river. They allowed only Dutch colonists to settle in the area and on August 31, 1655, the territory was converted back to Fort Casimir. Consequently, Fort Christina fell on September 15 to the Dutch, was renamed Fort Altena and New Netherland ruled once again. John Paul Jacquet was immediately appointed governor, making New Amstel the capital of the Dutch-controlled colony.

The Dutch West India Company conveyed land from the south side of Christina Kill to Bombay Hook, and as far west as Minquas land. This land was known as the Colony of The city. On December 22, 1663, the Dutch transferred property rights to the territory along the Delaware River to England.

In 1664, the duke of York, James, was granted this land by King Charles II. One of the first acts by the Duke was to order removal of all Dutch from New Amsterdam; he renamed New Amstel as New Castle. In 1672, the town of New Castle was incorporated and English law ordered. However, in 1673, the Dutch attacked the territory, reclaiming it for their own.

On September 12, 1673, the Dutch established New Amstel in present-day Delaware, fairly coterminous with today's New Castle County. The establishment was not stable, and it was transferred to the British under the Treaty of Westminster on February 9, 1674. On November 6, 1674, New Amstel was made dependent on New York Colony, and was renamed New Castle on November 11, 1674.

On September 22, 1676, New Castle County was formally placed under the Duke of York's laws. It gained land from Upland County on November 12, 1678.

On June 21, 1680, St. Jones County was carved from New Castle County. It is known today as Kent County, Delaware. On August 24, 1682, New Castle County, along with the rest of the surrounding land, was transferred from the Colony of New York to the possession of William Penn, who established the Colony of Delaware.

In September 1673, a Dutch council established a court at New Castle with the boundaries defined as north of Steen Kill (present-day Stoney Creek) and south to Bomties Hook (renamed Bombay Hook). In 1681, a 12-mile arc was drawn to specifically delineate the northern border of New Castle County as it currently exists. In 1685, the western border was finally established by King James II; this was set as a line from Old Cape Henlopen (presently Fenwick) west to the middle of the peninsula and north up to the middle of the peninsula to the 40th parallel.

Geography

thumb|right|Chesapeake and Delaware Canal

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (13.8%) is water. The boundaries of New Castle County are described in § 102 of the Delaware Code. The county is drained by Brandywine Creek, Christina River, and other channels. Its eastern edge sits along the Delaware River and Delaware Bay.

Two small exclaves of the county and the state lie across the Delaware River, on its east bank on the New Jersey side, Finns Point adjacent to Pennsville Township, New Jersey, and the northern tip of Artificial Island, adjacent to Lower Alloways Creek Township, New Jersey.

New Castle County, like all of Delaware's counties, is subdivided into hundreds. New Castle County is apportioned into eleven hundreds: Brandywine, Christiana, Wilmington (the city of Wilmington, which, by law, is a hundred in itself), Mill Creek, White Clay Creek, Pencader, New Castle, Red Lion, St. Georges, Appoquinimink, and Blackbird.

Ebright Azimuth, the highest natural point in Delaware at , is located in New Castle County.

The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal was built through New Castle County, and adjoining Cecil County, Maryland, between 1822 and 1829.

Adjacent counties

Chester County, Pennsylvania – northwest
Delaware County, Pennsylvania – north
Gloucester County, New Jersey – northeast
Salem County, New Jersey – east
Kent County, Delaware – south
Kent County, Maryland – southwest
Cecil County, Maryland – west

Major roads and highways

thumb|right|I-95/Delaware Turnpike southbound in New Castle County

Climate

Almost all of the county has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) except for the highest area around Ebright Azimuth where the climate is hot-summer humid continental (Dfa.) The hardiness zone is 7b except in some higher areas close to the Pennsylvania border which are 7a.

Demographics

The county warmly supported former senator and Wilmington resident Joe Biden as Barack Obama's running mate in 2008 and 2012, and during his own bid for president in 2020, each time with well over 65 percent of the vote–more than enough to carry Delaware.

State government

{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; font-size:95%;"

|+ Gubernatorial elections results

|- bgcolor=lightgrey

! Year

! Republican

! Democratic

! Third parties

| style="text-align:center;" |2024

| style="text-align:center;" |35.7% 95,746

| style="text-align:center;" |64.3% 172,412

| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.0% 0

| style="text-align:center;" |2020

| style="text-align:center;" |29.48% 82,545

| style="text-align:center;" |68.45% 191,678

| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|2.07% 5,816

| style="text-align:center;" |2016

| style="text-align:center;" |31.05% 77,839

| style="text-align:center;" |66.21% 165,973

| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|2.75% 6,879

| style="text-align:center;" |2012

| style="text-align:center;" |22.1% 53,510

| style="text-align:center;" |75.93% 183,858

| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1.97% 4,871

The Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth, and Their Families (DSCYF) has its headquarters in the Delaware Youth and Family Center (DYFC), located in unincorporated New Castle County, near Wilmington. Several DSCYF juvenile facilities, including the New Castle County Detention Center (NCCDC), the Ferris School for Boys, and the Grace and Snowden Cottages are in unincorporated New Castle County.

Several Delaware Department of Correction facilities are located in the county. The James T. Vaughn Correctional Center (JTVCC), formerly the Delaware Correctional Center, is a men's prison in unincorporated New Castle County, housing sentenced prisoners; Vaughn opened in 1971. The Howard R. Young Correctional Institution, renamed from Multi-Purpose Criminal Justice Facility in 2004 and housing both pretrial and posttrial male prisoners, is located in Wilmington; it opened in 1982. The Delores J. Baylor Correctional Institution, a women's prison housing pretrial and posttrial prisoners, is located in unincorporated New Castle County. Baylor opened on December 29, 1991. Executions were to occur at JTVCC, prior to the 2016 suspension of it by the Delaware Supreme Court.

New Castle elects a substantial majority of the state legislature, with 27 state house districts and 17 state senate districts based in the county.

Communities

New Castle County is home to two minor league sports teams: the Wilmington Blue Rocks (baseball) and the Delaware Blue Coats (basketball), both of which play in Wilmington. It also has a professional auto racing track in New Castle known as Airport Speedway, with races on Saturday nights throughout the summer.

thumb|right|Wilmington

thumb|right|Newark

thumb|right|Middletown

Cities

Delaware City
New Castle
Newark
Wilmington

Towns

Bellefonte
Clayton (partly in Kent County)
Elsmere
Middletown
Newport
Odessa
Smyrna (partly in Kent County)
Townsend

Villages

Arden
Ardencroft
Ardentown

Census-designated places

Bear
Brookside
Claymont
Edgemoor
Glasgow
Greenville
Hockessin
North Star
Pike Creek
Pike Creek Valley
St. Georges
Wilmington Manor

Unincorporated communities

Appoquinimink Hundred
Alapocas
Centerville
Christiana
Collins Park
Granogue
Holly Oak
Marshallton
Mill Creek
Minquadale
Montchanin
Mount Pleasant
Ogletown
Port Penn
Rockland
Stanton
Talleyville
Wooddale

Ghost towns

Glenville

Education

K-12 education

; School districts

Appoquinimink School District
Brandywine School District
Christina School District
Colonial School District
Red Clay Consolidated School District
Smyrna School District

County-wide overlay district: New Castle County Vocational-Technical School District

In the period of de jure educational segregation in the United States, K-12 students of black African descent attended segregated schools. Middletown School District 120 operated Louis L. Redding Comprehensive High School for New Castle County to house high school students of black African descent during the period 1953 to 1966. Desegregation occurred after 1966. Redding was the black school for the Middletown area. Wilmington's segregated black high school was Howard High School.

In 1978 the Alexis I. DuPont School District, Alfred I. DuPont School District, Claymont School District, Conrad School District, De Le Warr School District, Marshallton-McKean School District, Mount Pleasant School District, New Castle-Gunning Bedford School District, Newark School District, Stanton School District, and Wilmington School District all merged to form the New Castle County School District. In 1981 that district was divided into the Christina, Colonial, Red Clay, and Brandywine districts.

; State-owned schools

Delaware School for the Deaf

; Charter schools

Charter School of Wilmington
Delaware Military Academy
MOT Charter School
Newark Charter School

Closed:

Pencader Charter HS

; Private schools

In 2010, 18.8% of the county students enrolled in K-12 schools were in private institutions.

Archmere Academy
Delaware Valley Classical School
Centreville Layton School
Padua Academy
Red Lion Christian Academy
St. Andrew's School
St. Anne's Episcopal School
St. Elizabeth High School
St. Mark's High School
Salesianum School
Sanford School
Tatnall School
Tower Hill School
Ursuline Academy
Wilmington Christian School
Wilmington Friends School
Wilmington Montessori School

Closed private schools:

St. Mary's

Tertiary

Delaware State University – Wilmington Campus
Delaware Technical & Community College – Wilmington Campus
Goldey-Beacom College
University of Delaware – Main Campus, Wilmington Campus and Downtown Building
Wilmington University – Wilmington Campus
Widener University Delaware Law School