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Newport is a town in
New Castle County 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 ...
, Delaware, United States. It is on the Christina River. It is best known for being the home of colonial inventor Oliver Evans. The population was 1,055 at the 2010 census. Four limited access highways,
I-95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canadia ...
, I-295, I-495, and Delaware Route 141 intersect within one mile (1.6 km) of the town.


Geography

Newport is located at (39.7137238, −75.6093709). 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 th ...
, the town has an area of , of which 2.22% is water.


History

Prior to European settlement, the Minquas (or
Susquehannock The Susquehannock people, also called the Conestoga by some English settlers or Andastes were Iroquoian Native Americans who lived in areas adjacent to the Susquehanna River and its tributaries, ranging from its upper reaches in the southern pa ...
) peoples lived in and around modern-day Newport. This heritage is reflected in the name of the Minquas Fire Company, Newport's volunteer fire company. The first land grant for the area were awarded to the
Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of English (later British) monarchs. The equivalent title in the Scottish peerage was ...
in 1641. In 1735, longtime area resident and businessman John Justis purchased and several years later the streets of a town called Newport-Ayre were laid out. According to Newport histories, Justis saw the area's potential as a commercial crossroads and a port.
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...
passed through during the Revolutionary War during preparations for the Battle of the Brandywine in 1777. The town dropped "Ayre" from its name by the time what would become the U.S. Postal Service opened a branch office there in 1793. Newport became a center of commerce in the early 19th century, as Conestoga wagons transported farm products from as far away as
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Lancaster County (; Pennsylvania Dutch: Lengeschder Kaundi), sometimes nicknamed the Garden Spot of America or Pennsylvania Dutch Country, is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in the south central part of Pennsylvania ...
to Newport's docks on the Christina River, where the supplies were loaded on ships bound for Boston, New York and Philadelphia. The town's important role in trade ebbed as new roads favored the larger town of Wilmington and the railroad reached the area in 1837. Newport incorporated in 1873 and became a manufacturing center, boasting chemical works, glue factory and iron works in 1900. Henrik J. Krebs, founder of Krebs Pigments and Chemical Company, built a plant in town in 1908.Town of Newport History
Newport website, Retrieved October 27, 2011
The facility was purchased by E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company in 1929 and later sold to it to Ciba-Geigy in 1984. The Armstrong Lodge No. 26, A.F. & A.M., Collison House, Galloway-Walker House, Killgore Hall, Joseph Killgore House, Newport National Bank, Newport Railroad Station, Joseph Tatnall House, Lewis Weldin House, and Woman's Club of Newport are 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 ...
.


Economy

Newport has several small industries within its borders, including a
BASF BASF SE () is a German multinational chemical company and the largest chemical producer in the world. Its headquarters is located in Ludwigshafen, Germany. The BASF Group comprises subsidiaries and joint ventures in more than 80 countries ...
pigment manufacturing plant. The
General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
Wilmington Assembly automobile manufacturing facility was located on Boxwood Road just north of the town and operated from 1947 to 2009. In October 2009, Fisker Automotive announced it would begin manufacturing electric automobiles at the Boxwood Road location. However, the plant never opened and was later demolished to make room for an Amazon warehouse.


Education

Newport is served by the Red Clay Consolidated School District for public education. Richey Elementary School (grades K–5) is located in town proper off of East Highland Avenue. Public school students in Newport in grades 6 through 8 attend Stanton Middle School in Stanton while students in grades 9 through 12 attend
John Dickinson High School The John Dickinson School, previously known as John Dickinson High School, is a public high school in the Pike Creek area of Wilmington, Delaware. It is one of five high schools in the Red Clay Consolidated School District and serves parts of N ...
northwest of Newport in Pike Creek. Conrad Schools of Science and
Delaware Military Academy The Delaware Military Academy (DMA) is a publicly-funded charter high school in unincorporated New Castle County, Delaware and has a Wilmington postal address. The Academy was founded in 2003 by Charles Baldwin, a retired Master Chief Petty Offi ...
,
magnet A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nicke ...
high schools, are located just outside the town. Richardson park elementary school is also located just outside of the town.


Infrastructure


Transportation

Delaware Route 141 is the main road providing access to Newport. It follows an elevated freeway on a north–south alignment through Newport, with James Street and Marshall Street serving as
frontage road A frontage road (also known as an access road, outer road, service road, feeder road, or parallel road) is a local road running parallel to a higher-speed, limited-access road. A frontage road is often used to provide access to private drive ...
s. DE 141 heads south to an interchange with
Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canadia ...
, Interstate 295, and Interstate 495 just to the south of Newport and continues on to New Castle, while it heads north and east as a western bypass of Wilmington to U.S. Route 202 in Fairfax. Delaware Route 41 and Delaware Route 62 form the majority of the Delaware portion of the Newport Gap Pike which connects Newport to
Gap, Pennsylvania Gap is a census-designated place (CDP) and unincorporated community in Salisbury Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Salisbury Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, with a ZIP code of 17527. ...
and also serves as a local route to
Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster, ( ; pdc, Lengeschder) is a city in and the county seat of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest inland cities in the United States. With a population at the 2020 census of 58,039, it ranks 11th in population amon ...
as it eventually absorbs Lancaster Pike ( Delaware Route 48) in Hockessin. Delaware Route 4 serves as the main east–west road through Newport, passing through the town on the
one-way pair A one-way pair, one-way couple, or couplet refers to that portion of a bi-directional traffic facilitysuch as a road, bus, streetcar, or light rail linewhere its opposing flows exist as two independent and roughly parallel facilities. Descript ...
of Market Street eastbound and Justis Street westbound and becoming Newport Pike outside the town. DE 4 heads northeast to Wilmington and southwest to Christiana and Newark. DART First State provides bus service to Newport along Route 5, which follows DE 4 and heads northeast to Wilmington and southwest to the
Christiana Mall The Christiana Mall is a super-regional shopping mall located between the cities of Newark and Wilmington, Delaware, United States. The mall is situated at the intersection of Interstate 95 (exit 4A) and Delaware Route 1/Delaware Route 7 (DE 1 ...
. The
Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston through Providence, New Haven, Stamford, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, ...
rail line that carries
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...
and
SEPTA Regional Rail The SEPTA Regional Rail system is a commuter rail network owned by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and serving the Philadelphia Metropolitan area. The system has 13 branches and more than 150 active stations in Philadelp ...
's Wilmington/Newark Line passes through Newport but no trains stop in the town; the nearest station serving Amtrak and SEPTA trains is Wilmington station.


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 Delmarv ...
, a subsidiary of Exelon, provides electricity and natural gas to Newport. Suez Delaware, a subsidiary of Suez North America, provides water to Newport. Sewer service in Newport is provided by New Castle County. Trash and recycling collection in Newport is provided under contract by
Waste Management Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitorin ...
.


Sports

The Stanton-Newport Little League Girls Softball team were Little League Senior League Softball Champions in 1999.


Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,122 people, 456 households, and 290 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 490 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 75.76%
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 ...
, 10.61%
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 ...
, 0.80% Native American, 1.69% Asian, 5.08% from other races, and 6.06% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties for ...
or Latino of any race were 13.55% of the population. There were 456 households, out of which 35.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.2% were married couples living together, 17.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.4% were non-families. 25.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.89. In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.0% under the age of 18, 11.5% from 18 to 24, 36.5% from 25 to 44, 17.5% from 45 to 64, and 8.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was $38,864, and the median income for a family was $41,771. Males had a median income of $32,917 versus $26,420 for females. The per capita income for the town was $19,590. About 9.9% of families and 11.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.3% of those under age 18 and 8.9% of those age 65 or over.


Notable people

* Oliver Evans, inventor * Dallas Green,
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...
pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or dr ...
and
manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activitie ...
of the
1980 World Series The 1980 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) season. The 77th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the National League (NL) champion Philadelphia Phillies and the Amer ...
champion
Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...
* Henry Latimer,
United States Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
and
Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...


References


External links

* {{Cite web, url=https://newport.delaware.gov/history/, title = History - Town of Newport - New Castle County, Delaware Towns in New Castle County, Delaware Towns in Delaware