Georgetown is a town and the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
of
Sussex County, Delaware
Sussex County is located in the southern part of the U.S. state of Delaware, on the Delmarva Peninsula. As of the 2020 census, the population was 237,378. The county seat is Georgetown.
The first European settlement in the state of Delaware w ...
, United States.
According to the
2010 census, the population of the town is 6,422, an increase of 38.3% over the previous decade.
Georgetown is part of the
Salisbury, Maryland-Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Second county seat
Lewes
Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of ...
, sited on the
Delaware Bay
Delaware Bay is the estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the northeast seaboard of the United States. It is approximately in area, the bay's freshwater mixes for many miles with the saltwater of the Atlantic Ocean.
The bay is bordered inlan ...
, was designated as the first county seat. It was the first colony in Delaware, founded by the
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
in 1631, and it remained the only significant European settlement in the region for some time. When English colonist
William Penn
William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...
organized the three southern counties of
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, which are now Delaware, Lewes was the natural choice for the location of the Sussex County's
Seat of Justice.
Sussex County was not well defined until after 1760, following resolution of a dispute between
William Penn
William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...
's family and
Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore
Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore (6 February 1731 – 4 September 1771), styled The Hon. Frederick Calvert until 1751, was an English nobleman and last in line of the Barons Baltimore. Although he exercised almost feudal power in the Pr ...
after intervention from the Crown. This dispute over borders had delayed discussion over the location of a county seat. Earlier
Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore
Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore, (29 September 1699 – 24 April 1751) was a British nobleman and Proprietary Governor of the Province of Maryland. He inherited the title to Maryland aged just fifteen, on the death of his father and gra ...
had argued that the county ended with Lewes, while Penn's sons stated it continued into
Fenwick Island, which it now does. The
Mason–Dixon line
The Mason–Dixon line, also called the Mason and Dixon line or Mason's and Dixon's line, is a demarcation line separating four U.S. states, forming part of the borders of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and West Virginia (part of Virginia ...
was surveyed as part the agreement between the Penns and Lord Baltimore, and it has since defined the western and southern border of the county. Georgetown, located more centrally in the county, was later designated as its seat for court.
Founding of Georgetown
Lewes continued to serve as the county seat throughout much of the 18th century, although it was inconvenient for the growing population to the west; some persons had to travel more than a day over the poor roads to reach the town to conduct county business. After petitioning by western citizens of the county to the
Delaware General Assembly
The Delaware General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Delaware Senate with 21 senators and the Delaware House of Representatives with 41 representatives. It meets at Legisla ...
, a law was passed on January 29, 1791, to centralize the location of the county seat. At the time, the land in central Sussex County was for the most part swampy and uninhabited. The county government hired ten commissioners to purchase land, build a courthouse and jail, and sell lots in an area at "James Pettyjohn's old field or about a mile from where Ebenezer Pettyjohn now lives," as the original order states, to encourage related development.
On May 9, 1791, the commissioners, under the leadership of the
Delaware State Senator George Mitchell, purchased 76 acres (308,000 m
2) for a townsite. Commissioner
Rhodes Shankland
Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes (regional unit), Rhodes regional unit, w ...
began the survey by laying out "a spacious square of 100 yards each way." Eventually Georgetown was laid out in a circle one mile in diameter and centered around the original square surveyed by Shankland. The area within this circle is now listed as a historic district on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
. The new location proved better as an administrative center; Georgetown is still said to be "sixteen miles from everywhere" in Sussex County.
The County Courthouse and Jail were built in the southeastern section of the town circle. Given this progress, the Seat of Justice was officially moved on October 26, 1791. The new community was named Georgetown in honor of the lead commissioner George Mitchell. Lots, measuring 60 by 120-foot, were surveyed and sold to give a return to the State's investment.
Later history
Because of Delaware's status as a
border state during the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, men enlisted on both sides of the war, with some fighting for the
Union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
and others for the
Confederates. The town and even some of its prominent families were divided by these split loyalties.
In 2007, a monument commemorating Sussex County Confederates and featuring the Confederate Battle Flag was constructed and installed at the Marvel Museum in Georgetown.
As of 2022, the town council continues to fund a museum that flies the Confederate battle flag, which had lost state funding in 2019.
Culture
Since the mid 20th century, the two most intense industries in Georgetown have been the Sussex County Courts and the raising and processing of chickens, largely grown on area farms under contract to a processor such as Purdue Farms which has a large chicken processing plant in Georgetown. It has attracted numerous immigrants from
Haiti
Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...
and
Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
as workers, stimulating growth of the population and changing the town's demographics. Georgetown has a more diverse population than might be expected in a small Delaware inland town. Some residents speak Haitian French or Creole, while many more have a primary language of Spanish, in addition to those whose first language is English. In 2000 slightly more than one-third of the population was ethnic Hispanic and one-fifth was African American (including Haitians).
Georgetown is the home of
WZBH
WZBH (93.5 FM, "93.5 The Beach") is an American radio station licensed to serve the community of Salisbury, Maryland, Ocean City, Maryland, Southern Delaware, Virginia, and the rest of Delmarva, with studios and cluster offices located in Salis ...
radio and the
Georgetown Speedway. The latter attracts attendees from miles around during race season.
Return Day
Every two years, Georgetown hosts Return Day, a half-day-long parade and festival two days after
Election Day
Election day or polling day is the day on which general elections are held. In many countries, general elections are always held on a Saturday or Sunday, to enable as many voters as possible to participate; while in other countries elections ar ...
. It stems from colonial days, when the public would congregate in Georgetown two days after the election to hear the results (because it would take that long to deliver the results to the courthouse by horseback from the state capital in
Dover, Delaware
Dover () is the capital and second-largest city of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County and the principal city of the Dover, DE, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Kent County and is part of ...
). The winners of that year's elections parade in horse-drawn carriages around The Circle. Together with the losers and the chairs of the county's political parties, they ceremonially "bury the hatchet" in a tub of sand. The afternoon of Return Day is a holiday for county and state workers in Sussex County. The day's events are marked by a traditional ox feast, and the beginning of the next round of campaigns.
Architecture
![Market Street Georgetown 2020d](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Market_Street_Georgetown_2020d.jpg)
Georgetown is unusual among Delaware municipalities as the town was constructed around a
circle
A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. Equivalently, it is the curve traced out by a point that moves in a plane so that its distance from a given point is const ...
, instead of the more traditional park square. Located at "The Circle" are the Town Hall, state and county buildings, and the historic Sussex County Courthouse. The original Courthouse was replaced by the current structure, which was built in 1837 on South Bedford Street. It was restored in 1976 and is managed by the Georgetown Historical Society. Lawyers' offices, the newer Court of Chancery and Family Court buildings, a bank, and the Brick Hotel, recently renovated into offices, also line the Circle. This layout is similar to that found in
Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...
. The center of Georgetown's circle is a small green
park
A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...
with a
fountain
A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or Spring (hydrology), spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. ...
. Georgetown's oldest church,
St. Paul's Episcopal Church, was constructed in 1844 and remodeled in 1881 in the early
Victorian Gothic
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
style; its congregation organized in 1794, shortly after the close of the American Revolutionary War. It is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
(NRHP).
Other recognized historic properties are the
Joseph T. Adams House,
Brick Hotel,
Peter S. Faucett House,
First Broiler House
The First Broiler House, also known as Mrs. Wilmer Steele's Broiler House, is preserved at the University of Delaware Agricultural Experiment Station near Georgetown, Delaware as an example of a chicken house that was widely used to raise broiler c ...
,
Georgetown Coal Gasification Plant,
Stella Pepper Gyles House,
Judge's House and Law Office,
Dr. John W. Messick House and Office,
Old Sussex County Courthouse
Old Sussex County Courthouse is a historic courthouse located at Georgetown, Sussex County, Delaware. It was built in 1793, and is a two-story, five-bay, frame structure in a late Georgian style. It is sheathed in cypress shingles. It was mov ...
,
David Carlton Pepper Farm,
Redden Forest Lodge, Forester's House and Stable,
Richards Mansion,
St. John's Methodist Church,
Short Homestead,
Thomas Sipple House,
Sussex County Courthouse and the Circle,
Gardiner Wright Mansion and
McColley's Chapel, all listed on the NRHP.
Geography
Georgetown is located at (38.6901134, –75.3854728).
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the town has a total area of , all land.
Climate
Demographics
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2000, there were 4,643 people, 1,489 households, and 957 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,591 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 56.19%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 20.87%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 2.07%
Native American, 0.26%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.04%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 18.03% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 2.54% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 31.73% of the population.
There were 1,489 households, out of which 32.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.0% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 16.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.7% were non-families. 28.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.97 and the average family size was 3.29.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.4% under the age of 18, 14.3% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 16.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 107.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 109.5 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $31,875, and the median income for a family was $37,925. Males had a median income of $20,886 versus $19,944 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the town was $15,288. About 20.9% of families and 25.1% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 34.8% of those under age 18 and 8.4% of those age 65 or over.
In 2000, 21.6% of Georgetown residents identified as being of
Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
n heritage. This was the highest percentage of
Guatemalan American
Guatemalan Americans ( es, guatemalteco-americanos, links=no, or ) are Americans of full or partial Guatemalan descent. The Guatemalan American population at the 2010 Census was 1,044,209. Guatemalans are the sixth largest Hispanic group in the ...
s in any place in the country.
Infrastructure
Transportation
The main north–south road in Georgetown is
US 113, which passes through the western part of town on Dupont Boulevard and heads south to
Millsboro and
Pocomoke City, Maryland
Pocomoke City, dubbed "the friendliest town on the Eastern Shore", is a city in Worcester County, Maryland, United States. Although renamed in a burst of civic enthusiasm in 1878, the city is regularly referred to by its inhabitants simply as P ...
and north to
Milford Milford may refer to:
Place names Canada
* Milford (Annapolis), Nova Scotia
* Milford (Halifax), Nova Scotia
* Milford, Ontario
England
* Milford, Derbyshire
* Milford, Devon, a place in Devon
* Milford on Sea, Hampshire
* Milford, Shro ...
, where it connects to
DE 1 that heads north to
Dover
Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...
and
Wilmington.
US 9
U.S. Route 9 (US 9) is a north–south United States highway in the states of Delaware, New Jersey, and New York in the Northeastern United States. It is one of only two U.S. Highways with a ferry connection (the Cape May–Lewes Ferry, betwe ...
runs southwest–northeast through Georgetown on Market Street, heading southwest to
Laurel
Laurel may refer to:
Plants
* Lauraceae, the laurel family
* Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel
People
* Laurel (given name), people with the given name
* Laurel (surname), people with the surname
* Laurel (mus ...
and northeast to
Lewes
Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of ...
and the
Cape May–Lewes Ferry across the
Delaware Bay
Delaware Bay is the estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the northeast seaboard of the United States. It is approximately in area, the bay's freshwater mixes for many miles with the saltwater of the Atlantic Ocean.
The bay is bordered inlan ...
.
DE 18 begins at US 9 at The Circle in the center of Georgetown and heads northwest on Bedford Street before heading west toward
Bridgeville.
DE 404 passes through Georgetown as part of a route linking the
Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area and the
Chesapeake Bay Bridge
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge (also known locally as the Bay Bridge) is a major twin bridges, dual-span bridge in the U.S. state of Maryland. Spanning the Chesapeake Bay, it connects the state's rural Eastern Shore of Maryland, Eastern Shore regio ...
to the
Delaware Beaches
The Delaware Beaches are located along the Atlantic Ocean in the eastern part of Sussex County, Delaware, which is in the southern part of the state. In addition to beaches along the ocean, the area offers many amenities, including restaurants, ...
, entering town from the west
concurrent
Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to:
Law
* Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea''
* Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...
with DE 18 to The Circle, where it joins US 9 and heads northeast along with that route toward the beaches.
US 9 Truck and
DE 404 Truck provide a bypass of Georgetown to the south for truck traffic.
Parking in portions of downtown Georgetown near the Sussex County Courthouse are regulated by two-hour
parking meter
A parking meter is a device used to collect money in exchange for the right to park a vehicle in a particular place for a limited amount of time. Parking meters can be used by municipalities as a tool for enforcing their integrated on-street par ...
s on weekdays.
![Georgetown Station](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Georgetown_Station.jpg)
The
Delaware Coastal Airport
Delaware Coastal Airport is a public use airport in unincorporated Sussex County, Delaware, United States. Owned by the Sussex County Council, it is located two nautical miles (4 km) southeast of the central business district of Geo ...
is located to the east of Georgetown, offering general aviation. The nearest airport with commercial air service is the
Wicomico Regional Airport The name Wicomico may refer to the following:
*The Wicocomico or Wicomico people, an Algonquian-speaking Native American tribe, part of whom lived in the Tidewater region of Virginia
* Wicomico River (disambiguation), several rivers tributary to t ...
in
Salisbury, Maryland
Salisbury () is a city in and the county seat of Wicomico County, Maryland, Wicomico County, Maryland, United States, and the largest city in Eastern Shore of Maryland, the state's Eastern Shore region. The population was 33,050 at the 2020 United ...
.
DART First State
The Delaware Transit Corporation, operating as DART First State, is the only public transportation system that operates throughout the U.S. state of Delaware. DART First State provides local and inter-county bus service throughout the state and ...
provides bus service to Georgetown out of the Georgetown Transit Hub along Route 206, which connects the town to the
Lewes Transit Center
The Lewes Transit Center is a park and ride lot and bus terminal owned by the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) that is located near the Five Points intersection southwest of the city of Lewes in Sussex County, Delaware. The transit ...
near Lewes; Route 212, which links Georgetown to
Bridgeville,
Seaford, Laurel, and
Delmar; Route 303, which connects the town to Dover. DART First State also operates a
microtransit
Microtransit is a form of bus demand responsive transport vehicle for hire. This transit service offers a highly flexible routing and/or highly flexible scheduling of minibus vehicles shared with other passengers. Microtransit providers build ro ...
service called
DART Connect serving the Georgetown and Millsboro areas.
Until the late 1940s, the
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
operated passenger trains from
Harrington, Delaware
Harrington is a city in Kent County, Delaware, United States. It is part of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area. Harrington hosts the annual Delaware State Fair each July. The population was 3,562 at the 2010 census.
History
Har ...
through Georgetown along the train line of the former
Delaware, Maryland and Virginia Railroad
The Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia Railroad is a defunct American railroad that operated passenger service from Broad Street Station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Franklin City, Virginia. At the latter city, steamship connections could be ma ...
(DMV). Travellers from
New York or
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
could take trains to Wilmington, whereupon they would take a train to Harrington for the DMV line train. The route continued south to
Berlin, Maryland
Berlin is a town in Worcester County, Maryland, United States which includes its own historical Berlin Commercial District. The population was 4,485 at the 2010 census, and has since grown in population. It is part of the Salisbury, Maryland-D ...
(near
Ocean City, Maryland
Ocean City, officially the Town of Ocean City, is an Atlantic resort town in Worcester County, Maryland along the East Coast of the United States. The population was 6,844 at the 2020 U.S. census, although during summer weekends the city hosts b ...
) and to
Franklin City, Virginia
Franklin City is an unincorporated community in Accomack County, Virginia, United States.
Greenbackville and neighboring Franklin City grew as a result of the railroad line laid in the late 19th century to transport oysters and other shellfish ...
.
Today, the
Delmarva Central Railroad
The Delmarva Central Railroad is an American short-line railroad owned by Carload Express that operates of track on the Delmarva Peninsula in the states of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. The railroad operates lines from Porter, Delaware to Hal ...
operates a freight rail line called the Indian River Subdivision (the former DMV line) that runs north–south through Georgetown. In Georgetown, the Delmarva Central Railroad's Lewes Industrial Track branches east from the Indian River Subdivision and heads east to
Cool Spring.
Utilities
Delmarva Power
Delmarva Power is an energy company that provides electricity and natural gas to customers on portions of the Delmarva Peninsula in the states of Delaware and Maryland. The company is a subsidiary of Exelon.
Electricity and natural gas
Delmarva P ...
, a subsidiary of
Exelon
Exelon Corporation is an American Fortune 100 energy company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois and incorporated in Pennsylvania. It generates revenues of approximately $33.5 billion and employs approximately 33,400 people. Exelon is the larges ...
, provides electricity to Georgetown.
Chesapeake Utilities provides natural gas to the town. The Town of Georgetown Water Department provides water service to the town, operating three water plants. The Town of Georgetown Wastewater Department provides sewer service to the town and some surrounding areas, operating the Georgetown Wastewater Reclamation Facility. Trash and recycling collection in Georgetown is provided under contract by
Waste Industries
Waste Industries is a waste management company headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. Specializing in non-hazardous solid waste, recycling collection of waste disposal from residential and commercial customers in the southeastern United St ...
.
The Bruce A. Henry Solar Farm near Georgetown became operational in 2013, and expanded from 23 to 40 acres in 2020.
Education
* The Jack F. Owens campus of
Delaware Technical Community College is located in Georgetown.
* It is in the
Indian River School District.
**
Sussex Central High School is located in Georgetown
Notable people
*
Wilbur L. Adams, lawyer and U.S. Representative from Delaware
*
Matt Barlow
Matthew Barlow (born March 10, 1971) is an American heavy metal singer. He is the lead singer for Ashes of Ares and former lead singer of Iced Earth and Pyramaze. He is Jon Schaffer's brother-in-law.
History
Barlow joined Iced Earth after the ...
(born 1971), former
Iced Earth
Iced Earth is an American heavy metal band formed in Tampa, Florida and currently based in Columbus, Indiana. They were formed in 1984 under the name the Rose, then Purgatory, by guitarist and main songwriter Jon Schaffer and original drummer ...
vocalist, works as a Georgetown police officer
*
Robert H. Pepper, lieutenant general, USMC during World War II
*
Luke Petitgout
Lucas George Petitgout (born June 16, 1976) is a former American football offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the New York Giants 19th overall in the 1999 NFL Draft. Petitgout played college football at ...
, NFL offensive tackle for
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
and
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...
*
Charles C. Stockley, 45th
Governor of Delaware
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...
, was born in Georgetown
*
Caleb Merrill Wright
Caleb Merrill Wright (October 7, 1908 – May 12, 2001) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware.
Education and career
Born in Georgetown, Delaware, Wright received a Bachelor of Arts d ...
, jurist and lawyer
*
Bryan Stevenson
Bryan Stevenson (born November 14, 1959) is an American lawyer, social justice activist, law professor at New York University School of Law, and the founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, h ...
, civil rights attorney
See also
*
Delaware Confederate Monument
*
Sussex Correctional Institution
References
External links
Official Website of the Town of GeorgetownThe Greater Georgetown Chamber of CommerceGeorgetown Local News(2008)
The Brick Hotel on the Circle
Integrity Pest Solutions Local Pest Control Company Servicing the Georgetown area
{{Authority control
County seats in Delaware
Guatemalan-American culture
Salisbury metropolitan area
Towns in Delaware
Towns in Sussex County, Delaware