North Laurel is a former town in Sussex County,

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

. It was

merged Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of a company, business organization, or one of their operating units is transferred to or consolidated with another entity. They may happen through direct absorpt ...

with the town of

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 ...

on April 13, 1929.

History

The bill to incorporate the town of North Laurel was brought before the

Delaware House of Representatives The Delaware State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Delaware General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is composed of 41 Representatives from an equal number of constituencies, each of whom is ...

by Representative Samuel J. Kenney on January 29, 1915. The bill described the boundaries as such:

Beginning at the East Side of a proposed Poplar Street and the North side of Laurel River; thence following up the North side of said river to and across Records Mill Dam; thence up the North side of Records Mill Pond to a branch on the North side of said Mill Pond; thence up with the said branch in a Northerly direction to a new public road leading to Georgetown; thence in a Westerly direction along and with the South side of said public road to the public road leading from Laurel to
Bethel Bethel (, "House of El" or "House of God",Bleeker and Widegren, 1988, p. 257. also transliterated ''Beth El'', ''Beth-El'', ''Beit El''; ; ) was an ancient Israelite city and sacred space that is frequently mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Bet ...
; thence along and with the South-East side of Poplar Street to the place of beginning.

The bill was passed by the Delaware House of Representatives on February 26, 1915, and also established the first town commissioners, William L. Torbert, William L. James, and Robert Waller, until an election could be held. The bill then moved to the

Delaware Senate The Delaware State Senate is the upper house of the Delaware General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is composed of 21 Senators, each of whom is elected to a four-year term, except when reapportionment occur ...

and passed unanimously on March 5, 1915. Having passed the 98th Delaware General Assembly, the bill moved on to Governor Charles R. Miller. On April 15, 1915, the town commissioners met and elected the towns first officers: President William L. Torbert, Town Clerk Edgar L. Hudson, Assessor Daniel Short, Collector Harvey B. King, and Treasurer Edward H. Twilley. The town's

1920 census The 1920 United States census, conducted by the Census Bureau during one month from January 5, 1920, determined the resident population of the United States to be 106,021,537, an increase of 15.0 percent over the 92,228,496 persons enumerated d ...

showed 182 residents and the town included businesses such as a cider shop, grocery store, and the Laurel Lumber Company. In early 1927, two bills began circulating in 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 Legi ...

to merge the towns of North Laurel and Laurel. The first bill was written to cancel the town of North Laurel's charter and the second bill would concurrently

annex Annex or annexe may refer to: Places * The Annex, a neighbourhood in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. * The Annex (New Haven), a neighborhood of New Haven, Connecticut, United States. * Annex, Oregon, a census-designated place in the United ...

the land formerly in North Laurel into the Laurel town limits. The 1927 attempt to merge the two towns failed when the residents of North Laurel voted against the proposal in April, prompting the entire town council to refuse to serve another term. Two years later, in March 1929, the Delaware General Assembly again passed bills allowing for North Laurel to cancel their charter and for Laurel to annex the former town if the residents of both towns voted in favor of the proposal. On March 29, the two towns voted to merge, with the ballots being 39 to 18 in favor of merging in North Laurel and 78 to 11 in favor of merging in Laurel. The properties in the former town of North Laurel were turned into the fourth

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

of Laurel and an election was held on April 26 to give representation to the area on the Laurel town council, bringing an end to the merger.

References

{{authority control Former populated places in Sussex County, Delaware Former populated places in Delaware