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Ogletown is an
unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
in New Castle County,
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
, United States. Ogletown is located at the junction of Delaware routes 4 and 273, east of Newark. It is common lore that Maryland Bank (MBNA) is "the bank that ate Ogletown", after the State of Delaware awarded MBNA economic incentives to relocate, usurp and raze most of its historic structures and commerce by the late 1980s.


History

John Ogle came from England in September of 1664 as a member of Colonel Richard Nicoll’s military force, serving under Captain Robert Carr. His son, Thomas (born 1666-1672, died 1734), became an early American landowner in what is today central New Castle County Delaware. Ogletown is named after his son Thomas Ogle II (born about 1705, died 1771), who settled in the area of present-day
Delaware Route 273 Delaware Route 273 (DE 273) is a state highway in New Castle County, Delaware. The route runs from Maryland Route 273 (MD 273) at the Maryland border near Newark east to DE 9 and DE 141 in New Castle. The rout ...
and
Delaware Route 4 Delaware Route 4 (DE 4) is a state highway in New Castle County, Delaware. The route runs from DE 279 and DE 896 in Newark east to DE 48 in downtown Wilmington. The route passes through suburban areas in norther ...
in the 1730
The burial site
of Thomas Ogle II is isolated within a highway cloverleaf, and is the focus of an effort currently underway to recognize his passing and to revitalize the area. The name is associated with the area from before 1774, and in the late 19th century it was a small village with a store, a post office, and about half a dozen houses. Additional homes and businesses sprang up throughout the 20th century. Ogletown would eventually lose its village-like character to suburban sprawl, road re-alignments, the arrival of Maryland National Bank (MBNA), and the construction of arterial highways. * Ogletown prospered during the 17th century because of a location along one of the major transpeninsular roads laid out in Delaware, extending from the Head of Elk on the
Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / E ...
to Christiana Bridge. The dogleg nature of the roads in the Ogletown area created an ideal situation for the creation of a hamlet-type community, including an inn and place of lodging. * From 1994-1999, a road expansion project of Route 273 obliterated any remnants of the original hamlet. In the course of highway construction, the grave of Thomas Ogle II was uncovered, "badly disturbed by road construction and the construction of a gas station on the site." As part of the project, and with the generous financial support of th
Ogle Family Association
(O/OFA), the
Delaware Department of Transportation The Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) is an agency of the U.S. state of Delaware. The Secretary of Transportation is Nicole Majeski. The agency was established in 1917 and has its headquarters in Dover. The department's responsibil ...
(DelDOT) restored the rectangular brick base and capstone, leaving Thomas' remains untouched, in what is now green space inside the new cloverleaf intersection. Only a small plaque on the brick base commemorates the history of the town. * In 2016, a group called Save the Orphanage Property (STOP
began a campaign
to preserve Ogletown's last remaining open space suitable for a regional park. The land was owned by the
Felician Sisters The Felician Sisters, officially known as the Congregation of Sisters of St. Felix of Cantalice Third Order Regular of St. Francis of Assisi (CSSF), is a religious institute of pontifical right whose members profess public vows of chastity, ...
of North America, and was located in the town's western flank. The effort was defeated in 2018, with Advocate
citing multiple examples
of government corruption as the primary cause. * In 2021, a group called Ogletown Resilience submitte

wit
Delaware Public Archives
for a historical marker, to begin an effor

Ogletown, given that the town's founder, Thomas Ogle, died in 1771, 250 years ago. Approval for the marker wa

on March 10, 2022. Today, residents and businesses in the area have Newark postal addresses, and the name Ogletown survives primarily in the names of Ogletown Road and Ogletown-Stanton Road.


250 Year Anniversary and Commemoration

Thomas Ogle's restored gravesite commemorates the Ogletown area and the Ogle family influence, however, it i
poorly maintained
with no visible emphasis on history, place making and public access. Advocates, in conjunction with the grou
Ogletown Resilience
an
Delaware Public Archives
began an effort to recognize Ogletown, given the anniversary of Thomas Ogle's death in 1771, 250 years ago. Advocates submitted an application asking that a historical marker be added to the gravesite, an

was granted on March 10, 2022. Advocates are also seeking AASHTO-compliant pathway infrastructure, provisional car parking with Ogletown Baptist Church, and cultural and wayfinding signage within th
same project
DelDOT has routinely waived motor vehicle access and parking at Thomas Ogle's gravesite given highway speeds and safety concerns. There is, however, the
East Coast Greenway The East Coast Greenway is a pedestrian and bicycle route between Maine and Florida along the East Coast of the United States. In 2020, the Greenway received over 50 million visits. The nonprofit East Coast Greenway Alliance was created in 1991. ...
(ECG), a poorly maintained walking-bicycling pathway facility directly abutting Route 4 that passes within 50 yards. In conjunction with the historical marker application, it has been requested that the ECG and two popular local pathway connectors be repaved and tied together as per Delaware MUTCD and
Complete Streets Complete streets is a transportation policy and design approach that requires streets to be planned, designed, operated and maintained to enable safe, convenient and comfortable travel and access for users of all ages and abilities regardless of ...
guidelines. This also includes re-aligning the ECG to connect with the gravesite and wayside amenities. One possible name for the project includes "Ogletown Greenway", at a total distance of 0.5 miles. A preliminary meeting was held on December 10, 2021, that included Advocates, Delaware's Marker Program Coordinator, and two State Legislators, all of whom are very supportive. Meetings have since taken place with the goal of coalition-building, recently among them i
Delaware Greenways
Delaware Greenways has pledged support for an Ogletown Greenway, and to include it in thei
project library
but will not partner with Ogletown Resilience o
1st State Bikes
��the latter also based in Ogletown. Advocates have asked for periodic updates from Senator Walsh, and are hopeful that the above new infrastructure will coincide with the historical marker installation and ceremony in Spring 2023. To date, Senator Walsh ( Delaware's 9th District) did ask the Delaware Dept of Transportation (DelDOT) to perform maintenance on the ECG's existing asphalt, which amounted to the patching of a few short sections.


Ogletown Regional Park Travesty

In 2011, the
Felician Sisters The Felician Sisters, officially known as the Congregation of Sisters of St. Felix of Cantalice Third Order Regular of St. Francis of Assisi (CSSF), is a religious institute of pontifical right whose members profess public vows of chastity, ...
of North America started plans to develop their abandoned 180 acre Our Lady of Grac
Orphanage Property
site on Delaware Route 4. The land, in Ogletown's western flank, was the focus of "Save The Orphanage Property" (STOP), a citizen-led advocacy campaign that was launched on Facebook in 2015 to thwart development in favor of a park. Facebook "Likes" and "Reaches" numbered in the thousands, wit
Ogletown Resilience
as their primary PR source. Though privately owned, the Orphanage Property served as

for the Ogletown-S. Newark region, and was commonly referred to as Ogletown Pond given its large central
Vernal Pool Vernal pools, also called vernal ponds or ephemeral pools, are seasonal pools of water that provide habitat for distinctive plants and animals. They are considered to be a distinctive type of wetland usually devoid of fish, and thus allow the safe ...
. It was designated by DNREC as one of a few remaining high quality critical habitat areas in Delaware, and the last open space suitable for a
regional park A regional park is an area of land preserved on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, recreational use or other reason, and under the administration of a form of local government. Definition A regional park can be a special park distri ...
and active place-making. The loss of the Orphanage Property to th
Chestnut Hill 'Preserve'
in 2018 devastated citizens and Advocates, who trusted that the Legislators would fight for them, and that environmental justice would prevail. Today, they continue to publiciz

at the State and County levels as the main factor in the loss. This includes conflicts of interest among New Castle County (NCC) Executive Matthew Meyer, his Parks Steering Committee, and the Orphanage Property's developers, followed by the NCC Ethics Commission's refusal to act. Also implicated are State and County Legislators, who failed to notify Conservation Advocates or media outlets such as the Newark Postbr>years earlier
long before development plans had advanced. After the loss was finally realized, Advocates created
YouTube slide film
of the Orphanage property as a
requiem A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...
. With conflicting accounts, State and County Legislators continue t
deny any wrongdoing
and maintain that they were sincere in their support of Advocates and the overwhelming majority of Ogletown-S. Newark's residents in their fight for a regional park.


References


External links

* Unincorporated communities in New Castle County, Delaware Unincorporated communities in Delaware {{Delaware-geo-stub