Wilmington (
Lenape
The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory inclu ...
: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the
U.S. state of
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 adjacen ...
. The city was built on the site of
Fort Christina, the first
Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the
confluence
In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river ( main stem); ...
of the
Christina River and
Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the
Delaware River. It is the county seat of
New Castle County and one of the major cities in the
Delaware Valley metropolitan area. Wilmington was named by
Proprietor Thomas Penn after his friend
Spencer Compton,
Earl of Wilmington, who was
prime minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
during the reign of
George II of Great Britain
George II (George Augustus; german: link=no, Georg August; 30 October / 9 November 1683 – 25 October 1760) was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg ( Hanover) and a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 ...
.
At the
2020 census, the city's population was 70,898.
The Wilmington Metropolitan Division, comprising
New Castle County, Delaware,
Cecil County, Maryland and
Salem County, New Jersey, had an estimated 2016 population of 719,887. Wilmington is part of the
Delaware Valley metropolitan statistical area, which also includes
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 ...
,
Reading,
Camden
Camden may refer to:
People
* Camden (surname), a surname of English origin
* Camden Joy (born 1964), American writer
* Camden Toy (born 1957), American actor
Places Australia
* Camden, New South Wales
* Camden, Rosehill, a heritage res ...
, and other urban areas, which had a 2020 population of 6,228,601, representing the seventh largest metropolitan region in the nation.
History
Wilmington is built on the site of
Fort Christina and the settlement Kristinehamn, the first Swedish settlement in North America. The modern city also encompasses other Swedish settlements, such as Timmerön / Timber Island (along
Brandywine Creek), Sidoland (South Wellington), Strandviken (along the
Delaware River near Simonds Garden) and Översidolandet (along the
Christina River, near Woodcrest and Ashley Heights).
The area now known as Wilmington was settled by the
Lenape
The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory inclu ...
(or Delaware Indian) band led by Sachem (Chief) Mattahorn just before
Henry Hudson
Henry Hudson ( 1565 – disappeared 23 June 1611) was an English sea explorer and navigator during the early 17th century, best known for his explorations of present-day Canada and parts of the northeastern United States.
In 1607 and ...
sailed up the Len-api Hanna ("People Like Me River", present
Delaware River) in 1609. The area was called "Maax-waas Unk" or "Bear Place" after the Maax-waas Hanna (Bear River) that flowed by (present
Christina River). It was called the Bear River because it flowed west to the "Bear People", who are now known as the People of
Conestoga or the
Susquehannocks
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 ...
.
The Dutch heard and spelled the river and the place as Minguannan. When settlers and traders from the
Swedish South Company under
Peter Minuit arrived in March 1638 on the ''
Fogel Grip'' and ''
Kalmar Nyckel'', they purchased Maax-waas Unk from Chief Mattahorn and built
Fort Christina at the mouth of the Maax-waas Hanna (which the Swedes renamed the
Christina River after
Queen Christina of Sweden). The area was also known as "The Rocks", and is located near the foot of present-day Seventh Street. Fort Christina served as the headquarters for the colony of
New Sweden which consisted of, for the most part, the lower
Delaware River region (parts of present-day
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 adjacen ...
,
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, Ma ...
, and
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...
), but few colonists settled there.
Dr. Timothy Stidham (Swedish:''Timen Lulofsson Stiddem'') was a prominent citizen and doctor in Wilmington. He was born in 1610, probably in Hammel, Denmark, and raised in
Gothenburg, Sweden. He arrived in
New Sweden in 1654 and is recorded as the first physician in Delaware.
The most important Swedish governor was Colonel
Johan Printz, who ruled the colony under Swedish law from 1643 to 1653. He was succeeded by
Johan Rising
Johan Classon Risingh (1617 in Risinge – 1672) was the last governor of the Swedish colony of New Sweden.
Biography
Risingh was born in 1617 in Risinge, Östergötland, Sweden. After gymnasium at Linköping, he attended the University of Uppsa ...
, who upon his arrival in 1654, seized the Dutch post
Fort Casimir, located at the site of the present town of
New Castle, which was built by the Dutch in 1651. Rising governed New Sweden until the autumn of 1655, when a Dutch fleet under the command of
Peter Stuyvesant subjugated the Swedish forts and established the authority of the Colony of
New Netherland throughout the area formerly controlled by the Swedes. This marked the end of Swedish rule in North America.
Beginning in 1664
British colonization
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
began; after a series of wars between the
Dutch and English, the area stabilized under British rule, with strong influences from the
Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
communities under the auspices of
Proprietor William Penn. A
borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
In the Middle ...
charter was granted in 1739 by
King George II, which changed the name of the settlement from Willington, after Thomas Willing (the first developer of the land, who organized the area in a grid pattern similar to that of its northern neighbor Philadelphia), to Wilmington, presumably after the British Prime Minister
Spencer Compton,
Earl of Wilmington, who took his title from
Wilmington, East Sussex, in southern England.
Although during the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of ...
only one small battle was fought in Delaware, British troops occupied Wilmington shortly after the nearby
Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777. The British remained in the town until they vacated Philadelphia in 1778.
In 1800,
Eleuthère Irénée du Pont, a
French Huguenot, emigrated to the United States. Knowledgeable in the manufacture of
gunpowder
Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate ( saltpeter) ...
, by 1802 DuPont had begun making the explosive in a mill on the Brandywine River north of
Brandywine Village
Brandywine Village was an early center of U.S. industrialization located on the Brandywine River in what is now Wilmington, Delaware.
The Brandywine crosses the Fall Line just north of Wilmington, and descends from about above sea level in Chadds ...
and just outside the town of Wilmington. The
DuPont company became a major supplier to the U.S. military. Located on the banks of the
Brandywine River, the village was eventually annexed by Wilmington city.
The greatest growth in the city occurred 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 polic ...
. Delaware, though officially remaining a member of the
Union, was a
border state and divided in its support of both the Confederate and the Union causes. The war created enormous demand for goods and materials supplied by Wilmington including ships, railroad cars, gunpowder, shoes, and other war-related goods.
By 1868, Wilmington was producing more iron ships than the rest of the country combined and it rated first in the production of gunpowder and second in carriages and leather. Due to the prosperity Wilmington enjoyed during the war, city merchants and manufacturers expanded Wilmington's residential boundaries westward in the form of large homes along tree-lined streets. This movement was spurred by the first horsecar line, which was initiated in 1864 along Delaware Avenue.
The late 19th century saw the development of the city's first comprehensive park system.
William Poole Bancroft
William Poole Bancroft (July 12, 1835 – April 20, 1928) was an American industrialist who later became an important figure in the land conservation movement. His belief that the beauty of the Brandywine region should be protected against urba ...
, a successful Wilmington businessman influenced by the work of
Frederick Law Olmsted, led the effort to establish open parkland in Wilmington.
Rockford Park
Rockford Park is a historic public park located in a residential area of Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware. It is characterized by a large, grassy meadow which slopes gently upward to a large knoll overlooking the Brandywine River.
It was a ...
and
Brandywine Park were created due to Bancroft's efforts.
Both World Wars stimulated the city's industries. Industries vital to the war effort – shipyards, steel foundries, machinery, and chemical producers – operated around the clock. Other industries produced such goods as automobiles, leather products, and clothing. In desperate need of workers more and more minorities moved to the north and settled in places like Wilmington. This led to tensions that occasionally boiled over like the
Wilmington, Delaware race riot of 1919.
The post-war prosperity again pushed residential development further out of the city. In the 1950s, more people began living in the suburbs of North Wilmington and commuting into the city to work. This was made possible by extensive upgrades to area roads and highways and through the construction of
Interstate 95, which cut through several of Wilmington's neighborhoods and accelerated the city's population decline. Urban renewal projects in the 1950s and 1960s cleared entire blocks of housing in the Center City and East Side areas.
The
Wilmington riot of 1968, a few days after the April 4
assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr., an African-American clergyman and civil rights leader, was fatally shot at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968, at 6:01 p.m. CST. He was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital, where he died at 7 ...
, became national news. On April 9, Governor
Charles L. Terry, Jr.
Charles Layman Terry Jr. (September 17, 1900 – February 6, 1970) was an American lawyer and politician from Dover, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party and served as Chief Justice of the Delaware Supreme Cour ...
deployed the
National Guard and the
Delaware State Police
The Delaware State Police (DSP) is a division of the Delaware Department of Public Safety and Homeland Security and is responsible for traffic regulation and law enforcement across the state of Delaware, especially in areas underserved by local ...
to the city at the request of Mayor John Babiarz. Babiarz asked Terry to withdraw the National Guard the following week, but the governor kept them in the city until his term ended in January 1969. This is reportedly the longest occupation of an American city by state forces in the nation's history.
In the 1980s, job growth and office construction were spurred by the arrival of national banks and financial institutions in the wake of the 1981 Financial Center Development Act, which liberalized the laws governing banks operating within the state, and similar laws in 1986. Today, many national and international banks, including
Bank of America,
Capital One
Capital One Financial Corporation is an American bank holding company specializing in credit cards, auto loans, banking, and savings accounts, headquartered in McLean, Virginia with operations primarily in the United States. It is on the ...
,
Chase, and
Barclays
Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services.
Barclays traces ...
, have operations in the city, typically credit card operations.
Geography
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
An economy is an area of th ...
, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. The total area is 36.25% water.
The city sits at the confluence of the
Christina and
Delaware rivers, approximately southwest of
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 ...
.
Wilmington Train Station, one of the southernmost stops on Philadelphia's
SEPTA rail transportation system, is also served by
Northeast Corridor 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 ...
passenger trains. Wilmington is served by
I-95 and
I-495 within city limits. In addition, the twin-span
Delaware Memorial Bridge, a few miles south of the city, provides direct highway access between Delaware and New Jersey, carrying the
I-295 eastern bypass route around Wilmington and Philadelphia, as well as
US 40, which continues eastward to
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...
.
These transportation links and geographic proximity give Wilmington some of the characteristics of a
satellite city to Philadelphia, but Wilmington's long history as Delaware's principal city, its urban core, and its independent value as a business destination makes it more properly considered a small but independent city in the Philadelphia
metropolitan area.
Wilmington lies along the
Fall Line geological transition from the
Mid-Atlantic Piedmont Plateau to the
Atlantic Coastal Plain
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe a ...
. East of Market Street, and along both sides of the Christina River, the Coastal Plain land is flat, low-lying, and in places marshy. The Delaware River here is an
estuary
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...
at sea level (with twice-daily high and low tides), providing
sea-level access for ocean-going ships.
On the western side of Market Street, the Piedmont topography is rocky and hilly, rising to a point that marks the watershed between the Brandywine River and the Christina River. This watershed line runs along Delaware Avenue westward from 10th Street and Market Street.
These contrasting topography and soil conditions affected the industrial and residential development patterns within the city. The hilly west side was more attractive for the original residential areas, offering springs and sites for
mills, better
air quality
Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different types ...
, and fewer
mosquitoes.
Surrounding municipalities
Climate
Wilmington has a warm
temperate climate
In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...
or
humid subtropical climate (
Köppen ''Cfa''), with hot and humid summers, cool to cold winters, and precipitation evenly spread throughout the year. In July, the daily average is , with an average 21 days of + highs annually. Summer thunderstorms are common in the hottest months. The January daily average is , although temperatures may occasionally reach or as fronts move toward and past the area. Snowfall is light to moderate, and variable, with some winters bringing very little of it and others witnessing several major snowstorms; the average seasonal total is . Extremes in temperature have ranged from on February 9, 1934, up to on August 7, 1918, though both + and readings are uncommon; the last occurrence of each was July 18, 2012 and February 5, 1996, respectively.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the
2020 United States census, there were 70,898 people, 31,754 households, and 13,572 families residing in the city.
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 70,851 people, 28,615 households, and 15,398 families residing in the city. The population density was 6,497.6 per square mile (2,508.8/km). There were 32,820 housing units at an average density of 3,009.9 per square mile (1,162.1/km) and with an occupancy rate of 87.2%. The racial makeup of the city was 58.0%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
, 32.6%
White
White is the lightness, 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 diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...
, 0.4%
Native American, 1.0%
Asian, <0.1%
Pacific Islander, 5.4% from
other races, and 2.6% from two or more races. 12.4% of the population were
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.
Non-Hispanic Whites
Non-Hispanic whites or Non-Latino whites are Americans who are classified as "white", and are not of Hispanic (also known as "Latino") heritage. The United States Census Bureau defines ''white'' to include European Americans, Middle Eastern Am ...
were 27.9% of the population in 2010, compared to 40.5% in 1990. As of the census of 2000, the largest ethnicities included:
Irish (8.7%),
Italian (5.7%),
German (5.2%),
English (4.4%), and
Polish (3.6%).
There were 28,615 households, out of which 25.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 23.5% were married couples living together, 24.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 46.2% were non-families. 38.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 3.18.
In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 24.4% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 11.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.4 males.
According to ACS one-year estimates for 2010, the median income for a household in the city was $32,884, and the median income for a family was $37,352. Males working full-time had a median income of $41,878 versus $36,587 for females working full-time. The per capita income for the city was $24,861. 27.6% of the population and 24.9% of families were below the poverty line. 45.7% of those under the age of 18 and 16.5% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
Government
The Wilmington City Council consists of thirteen members. The council consists of eight members who are elected from geographic districts, four elected at-large and the City Council President. The Council President is elected by the entire city. The
Mayor of Wilmington is also elected by the entire city.
The current mayor of Wilmington is
Mike Purzycki (D). The current city council members are listed in the table below.
The
Delaware Department of Correction 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. The prison is often referred to as the "Gander Hill Prison" after the neighborhood it is located in. The prison opened in 1982.
Many Wilmington City workers belong to one of several Locals of the
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union.
Neighborhoods
The city of Wilmington is made up of the following neighborhoods:
North of the Brandywine River
* Baynard Village
*Brandywine Hills – This neighborhood of approximately 225 homes in northern Wilmington was started in the 1930s. The streets in the neighborhood are named after famous American and English authors, including Byron, Emerson, Hawthorne and Milton. It is bounded by Lea Boulevard, Rockwood Road, Miller Road, and Market Street
*Brandywine Village
*Eastlawn
*Eastlake
*Gander Hill - site of
Howard R. Young Correctional Institution
*Harlan
*Ninth Ward – Originally a post-Civil War political creation, the city's Ninth Ward has long been an area with owner-occupied residences. The Ninth Ward was integrated as a result of population shifts in the 1960s and remains a stable, working-class neighborhood.
*Prices Run - west of
Northern Boulevard
*
Riverside–11th Street Bridge
Riverside–11th Street Bridge is a district in the northeastern section of Wilmington, Delaware.
Geography
Riverside–11th Street Bridge lies north of Brandywine Creek and south off the city line with Edgemoore. The western border is formed b ...
– in the northeastern part of the city between the
Northeast Corridor and
Northern Boulevard.
*Triangle – a group of homes built in the 1920s whose corresponding streets along I-95 and Baynard Boulevard and 18th Street and Concord Avenue loosely form a triangle. It is bounded by W 18th St, Baynard Boulevard, Concord Ave, and Broom St.
East of I-95
*Center City (Downtown)
*East Side
*Justison Landing
*LOMA
*Midtown Brandywine – Located on the banks of the Brandywine River, Midtown Brandywine is bordered by North Washington Street, East 11th Street, North French Street and South Park Drive. Homes in the neighborhood were first established in the late 1800s as the Brandywine River became home to several mills and trading posts. Midtown Brandywine's boundaries include the Brandywine Park, Fletcher Brown Park, the Hercules building, a neighborhood adopted pocket park, and several notable restaurants and eateries. The neighborhood is also home to "The Little Church", previously known as The Old Presbyterian Church. Originally built on Market Street between 9th and 10th streets, the gambrel-roofed church was relocated to its current site on South Park Drive in 1917 and has since become synonymous with Midtown Brandywine.
*Quaker Hill – From a country hilltop in the 19th century to rows of city homes today, Quaker Hill (which surrounds the historical Quaker Friends Meeting House) has watched its neighborhood become much more modernized over the last three centuries. This city district was founded by Quakers William Shipley and Thomas West in the early 18th century. The nearby Meeting House keeps Quaker Hill closely tied to its rich history. The cemetery of the Wilmington Friends House is the burial site of the abolitionist Thomas Garrett and John Dickinson, signer of the U.S. Constitution.
*Riverfront – Formerly a hub for manufacturing and the city's shipbuilding industry, which began to see a rapid series of state-sponsored urban renewal and gentrification projects beginning in the late 1990s. The neighborhood is currently home to landmarks such as the Wilmington Blue Rocks' Baseball Stadium and the Shipyard Shops.
*Southbridge
*Trinity Vicinity – This neighborhood is located in the center of Wilmington, next to the Trinity Church and Interstate 95. A collection of row homes and detached houses, many of which were originally built in the late 19th century. The revitalization of the neighborhood was aided by the Urban Homesteading Act in the 1970s. The neighborhood was designated as a historic district in the 1990s.
*Upper East Side (East Brandywine)
*West Center City
*11th St. Bridge
West of I-95
*Bayard Square
*Browntown – areas in the city that were originally populated by Polish immigrants. Today, the Polish community maintains a strong presence, while other ethnicities have moved in the neighborhood's borders.
*Canby Park – About 1930 the Wilmington City Council renamed Southwest Park as Canby Park in honor of Henry and
William Marriott Canby
William Marriott Canby Sr. (1831–1904) was an American banker, business executive, philanthropist and botanist. He is famous as a leading expert on the flora of Delaware and the "eastern shore" region of Maryland and as an epistolary corresponde ...
.
Canby Park Estates is on one side of the park.
*Cool Spring & Tilton Park – bounded loosely by Pennsylvania Avenue on the north, West 7th Street on the south, North Jackson Street on the east and North Rodney Street on the west. The neighborhood is home to two Catholic schools,
Ursuline Academy and
Padua Academy. The neighborhood is also the location of the private University & Whist Club and the Holy Trinity
Greek Orthodox
The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also call ...
Church, which hosts an annual Greek cultural festival.
*Delaware Avenue
*The Flats – The Flats was founded by businessman William Bancroft who developed the neighborhood in 1901 under the Woodlawn Company, now known as the Woodlawn Trustees, with the intention of creating affordable homes for working class residents of Wilmington. The predominantly minority community is currently in the process of gaining authorization for a $100 million revitalization to be performed in seven phases over 12 years.
*Forty Acres – This historically Irish neighborhood, rural until the mid-19th century, developed from the farmland of Joshua T. Heald. One of the city's first suburbs, the neighborhood is centered on the St. Ann's Roman Catholic Church. The name Forty Acres is taken from the fertility of the farmland. One acre of the land was said to be worth one might find someplace else. The neighborhood exists northeast of Delaware Avenue, southwest of Riddle Avenue, east of Union Street and west of DuPont Street, with Lovering Avenue as its eastern boundary.
*Greenhill
*Happy Valley – a small collection of late 19th-century row houses on the southeastern slope to Brandywine Park, between Adams Street, Van Buren Street (I-95), Wawaset Street and Gilpin Avenue. This neighborhood also includes a significant number of more modern townhouses (1970's) designed by architect Richard Chalfant.
*Hedgeville
*The Highlands – located between Pennsylvania Avenue and Delaware Avenue, the Highlands neighborhood, centered on 18th Street southeast of Rockford Park, was developed by Joshua Heald in the 19th century for affluent, middle-class residents. It contains detached and semi-detached houses of exuberant architectural detailing, representing numerous popular styles of the time.
*Hilltop – This area located along 4th Street and roughly bordered by Lancaster Avenue, Jackson Street, Clayton Street has remained one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the city since the late 19th century. Today, this area is home to one of the city's fastest growing segments – the Hispanic community. Historically, Westside/Hilltop was one of the two of city's most crime and drug plagued neighborhoods based on the number of service calls for police. In the Westside/Hilltop area, drug related calls was 285 in 1989 and 808 in 1990. "This increase in reported drug activity coincides with similar increases in other cities which were related to the growth of the crack cocaine trade."
*
Little Italy – this neighborhood consists of the area around Union Street and Lincoln streets, between Pennsylvania Avenue and Lancaster Avenue. Anchored by the immigration waves of the late 19th century and early 20th century, Little Italy has retained its roots, even as neighborhood remodeling projects update the scenery. A central feature of the neighborhood is the St. Anthony's of Padua Roman Catholic Church. The neighborhood hosts an annual Italian Festival in the summertime.
*St. Elizabeth Area – The St. Elizabeth area is anchored by the St. Elizabeth Parish at 809 S. Broom St., considered the heart of the Catholic community. This historic church, built on the grounds of the Banning Estate, dates back to 1908.
*Trolley Square – settled in the 1860s after the city's trolley line had extended into farmland once owned by the Shallcross and Lovering families. The city's former trolley depot and bus barn was located on the spot where the Trolley Square shopping complex now sits. The neighborhood lies between Harrison Street, Pennsylvania Avenue, Lovering Avenue and the CSX Transportation railroad track.
*Wawaset
*Wawaset Heights
*
Wawaset Park – The neighborhood was constructed by the Dupont Company in 1918 to provide a residential community for their employees. Baltimore architect Edward L. Palmer, Jr. was chosen to design the community, which was to have a mix of single family homes and smaller attached Prior to the development of houses. The neighborhood was constructed on a plot. Prior to its construction, the tract of land had been used as a horse racing track and a fairground. Wawaset Park was placed on the Register of Historic Places in 1986. The neighborhood is bounded by Pennsylvania Avenue, West 7th Street, Woodlawn Avenue and Greenhill Avenue.
*West Hill
*Westmoreland – detached housing developed in the 1950s, as part of the suburban movement that followed the end of World War II. Its location is adjacent to the original
Wilmington Country Club, bounded by Ogle Avenue, Dupont Road, the Wilmington High School property and the Ed "Porky" Oliver Golf Course.
*
Union Park Gardens
Historic districts and Conservation District
The City of Wilmington designates nine areas as historic districts and one area as a conservation district. The historic districts are the Baynard Boulevard, Kentmere Parkway, Rockford Park, Cool Spring/Tilton Park, the tri-part sections of the Eastside, St. Marys and Old Swedes Church,
Quaker Hill, Delaware Avenue, Trinity Vicinity, and Upper/Lower Market Street. The conservation district is Forty Acres.
Gallery
Image:BrandywineAcadHABS1934.jpg, The Brandywine Academy building
Image:Wilmington Meetinghouse.JPG, Friends Meeting House in Quaker Hill
Image:Cathedral of Saint Peter, Wilmington DE.jpg, Cathedral of Saint Peter in Quaker Hill
Image:Old custom House.JPG, Old Customshouse
Image:Woodward Houses Wilmington.JPG, Woodward Houses
Woodward Houses are two historic homes located at Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware. The house at 701 West Street was built about 1745, and is a -story, three bay, quarried granite dwelling with a gable roof. It has an L-shaped, side-hall ...
Image:Delaware Children's Theatre 01.jpg, New Century Club
Image:Delaware swedish tercentenary half dollar commemorative obverse.jpg, Old Swedes Church depicted on the 1937 Delaware Tercentenary half dollar coin
Public safety
Crime
Wilmington has recently overcome its safety woes and is "safer now than it's ever been" with crime at its lowest rate in recent history. Prior to 2018, Wilmington was consistently ranked among the most dangerous cities in the United States, along with several other cities in the
Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, such as
Camden
Camden may refer to:
People
* Camden (surname), a surname of English origin
* Camden Joy (born 1964), American writer
* Camden Toy (born 1957), American actor
Places Australia
* Camden, New South Wales
* Camden, Rosehill, a heritage res ...
,
Trenton, and
Atlantic City, New Jersey, and
Chester, Pennsylvania. In the 2000s, while most cities had seen a decrease in crime and murder, Wilmington had broken its record for homicides in a single year multiple times. In 2017, Wilmington saw an even steeper increase in crime. By August 2017, Wilmington had already eclipsed the homicide total of 2016 despite only being 2/3 through the year. In 2014, Wilmington recorded 28 homicides, making for a rate of 39.5 per 100,000 residents, which is ten times the national average. Wilmington frequently appears on
NeighborhoodScout's "Top 100 Most Dangerous Cities in the United States" list. In 2017, Wilmington was ranked as the 5th most dangerous city in the US. Nearby cities such as Camden, New Jersey, and Chester, Pennsylvania, also ranked in the top 15. In early 2017, the mayor's office as well as many public advocates called for comprehensive action to reduce astronomical crime rates in Wilmington, as the city saw a shooting almost every other day throughout the spring, and by May, the city had already seen 15 homicides. According to the WPD's 2018 Compstat report, shooting incidents have decreased to a level not seen in Wilmington in more than 15 years. When compared to the average number of shooting incidents from 2003 through 2017, which is 108, the 72 shooting incidents in 2018 represent a 33% decrease over the 15-year period average.
Police
The Wilmington Police Department (WPD), which aims to "raise the level of public safety through law enforcement and thereby reduce the fear and incidence of crime", is authorized to deploy up to 289 officers in motor vehicles, on foot, and on bicycle. Its operations are accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. As of 2017, its chief is Robert Tracy.
In 2002, the Wilmington Police Department started a program known to some in the neighborhoods as ''jump-outs'' in which unmarked police vans would patrol crime-prone neighborhoods late at night, suddenly converge at street corners where people were
loitering and detain them temporarily. Using loitering as probable cause, the police would then photograph, search, and
fingerprint everyone present. Along with apprehending anyone with drugs or weapons, it was thought that this program would improve the police's database of fingerprints and
eye-witnesses for use in future crime investigations. Some citizens protested that such a practice was a violation of
civil right
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...
s.
Also in 2002, the entire downtown business district was placed under video monitoring. Wilmington was the first city in the United States to monitor the entire business district using video monitoring. The city claims this has helped prevent and reduce crime.
Fire department and EMS
The Wilmington Fire Department (WFD) is led by Chief John Looney and maintains five engine companies, two ladder companies, a rescue squad company, and a marine company (fireboat) fire fighting fleet.
Emergency medical services are provided through contract with the city's St. Francis Hospital, whose EMS division operates a minimum five BLS transport units at all times of the day. Advanced Life Support services in the City of Wilmington are provided by New Castle County's EMS Division with two city-based medic units. All Wilmington firefighters since 2002 are trained to the EMT-B level and serve as first responders for life-threatening emergencies.
Economy
Much of Wilmington's economy is based on its status as the most populous and readily accessible city in Delaware, a state that made itself attractive to corporations with business-friendly financial laws and a longstanding reputation for a fair and effective judicial system. Contributing to the economic health of the downtown and Wilmington Riverfront regions has been the presence of
Wilmington Station, through which 665,000 people passed in 2009.
Wilmington has become a national financial center for the credit card industry, largely due to regulations enacted by former
Governor
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 ...
Pierre S. du Pont IV in 1981. The Financial Center Development Act of 1981, among other things, eliminated the
usury laws enacted by most states, thereby removing the cap on interest rates that banks may legally charge customers. Major credit card issuers such as
Barclays Bank of Delaware (formerly
Juniper Bank
Juniper Bank was a direct bank based in Wilmington, Delaware. The bank focused on branded credit cards.
History
The bank was founded in January 2000. It received financing from Benchmark Capital.
In November 2000, the bank began offering insuran ...
), are headquartered in Wilmington. The Dutch banking giant
ING Groep N.V.
The ING Group ( nl, ING Groep) is a Dutch multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Amsterdam. Its primary businesses are retail banking, direct banking, commercial banking, investment banking, wholesale bankin ...
headquartered its U.S. internet banking unit,
ING Direct (now Capital One 360), in Wilmington.
Wilmington Trust is headquartered in Wilmington at
Rodney Square. Barclays and Capital One 360 have very large and prominent locations along the waterfront of the
Christina River. In 1988, the Delaware legislature enacted a law which required a would-be acquirer to capture 85 percent of a Delaware chartered corporation's stock in a single transaction or wait three years before proceeding. This law strengthened Delaware's position as a safe haven for corporate charters during an especially turbulent time filled with hostile takeovers.
Wilmington's other notable industries include insurance (American Life Insurance Company
LICO Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Delaware),
retail banking (including the Delaware headquarters of: Wilmington Trust (now a branch of
M&T Bank, after Wilmington Trust merged with M&T in 2011),
PNC Bank,
Wells Fargo,
JPMorgan Chase,
HSBC,
Citizens Bank,
Wilmington Savings Fund Society, and Artisans' Bank), and legal services. A General Motors plant was closed in 2009. Wilmington is home to one
Fortune 500 company,
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company
DuPont de Nemours, Inc., commonly shortened to DuPont, is an American multinational chemical company first formed in 1802 by French-American chemist and industrialist Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours. The company played a major role in ...
. Science and Technology are also thriving as companies such as
Incyte,
Chemours,
Corteva,
Solenis and ZipCode call Wilmington home. In addition, the city is the corporate domicile of more than 50% of the publicly traded companies in the United States, and over 60% of the Fortune 500.
Delaware chartered corporations rely on the state's
Court of Chancery
The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid a slow pace of change and possible harshness (or "inequity") of the Common law#History, common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over ...
to decide legal disputes, which places legal decisions with a judge instead of a jury. The Court of Chancery, known both nationally and internationally for its speed, competence, and knowledgeable judiciary as a
court of equity, is empowered to grant broad relief in the form of injunctions and restraining orders, which is of particular importance when shareholders seek to block or enjoin corporate actions such as mergers or acquisitions. The Court of Chancery, as a statewide court, may hear cases in any of the state's three counties. A dedicated-use Chancery courthouse was constructed in 2003 in Georgetown, Sussex County.
It has hosted high-profile complex corporate trials such as the
Disney shareholder litigation.
Because Delaware is the official state of incorporation for so many American companies, the
United States Bankruptcy Court
United States bankruptcy courts are courts created under Article I of the United States Constitution. The current system of bankruptcy courts was created by the United States Congress in 1978, effective April 1, 1984. United States bankruptcy c ...
for the District of Delaware, located in Wilmington, is one of the busiest of the 94 federal bankruptcy courts located around the United States.
Delaware has among the strictest rules in the U.S. regarding out-of-state legal practice, allowing no reciprocity to lawyers who passed the bar in other states.
Top employers
According to Wilmington's 2019 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:
Departing from earlier practices, the 2014 Comprehensive Annual Report that is currently available declined to identify the city's top employers. It is possible this information will be included, consistent with past reports, when a final version of the report is publicized as mandated by City Charter.
In terms of growth, as of 2018 the city is seeing nearly $450M worth of private investments, multi-million dollars of city infrastructure improvements, and significant improvements to their transportation infrastructure.
Arts and culture
Wilmington has many museums, galleries, and gardens (see Points of Interest below), as well as many ethnic festivals and other events throughout the year. Notable among its museums is the Delaware Art Museum whose collection focuses on American art and illustration from the 19th to the 21st century, and on the English Pre-Raphaelite movement of the mid-19th century.
Ethnic festivals
Wilmington has an active and diverse ethnic population, which contributes to several ethnic festivals held every spring and summer in Wilmington, the most popular of which is the Italian Festival. This event, run by
St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, closes down six blocks in the west side of the city the second week of June for traditional Italian music, food, and activities, along with carnival rides and games. Another, somewhat smaller festival that draws large crowds is the Greek Festival, which is organized by Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church. The event features traditional Greek (Hellenic) crafts, food, drink, and music. Another notable annual festival is the Polish festival organized by St. Hedwig's Catholic Church, which features Polish cuisine with carnival rides and entertainment. Haneef's African Festival celebrates the heritage of the African American majority in the city.
Wilmington is also home to the annual
Big August Quarterly, which since 1814 has celebrated African American religious freedom. IndiaFest, another cultural festival, is hosted by the Indo American Association of Delaware.
Wilmington also celebrates Hispanic Week, which coincides with National Hispanic Month festivities, September 15 – October 15. The festival culminates with a pageant and desfile (parade) along 4th Street. Concerts featuring Latin music acts, Latin cuisine and a carnival are held on the Riverfront on the last weekend. Activities are also held at St. Paul's Catholic Church.
Music festivals
The
Clifford Brown Jazz Festival
The Clifford Brown Jazz Festival is a free jazz music festival held annually in June at Rodney Square in Wilmington, Delaware, USA. The first festival was held in 1989 on the open lawn in the center of the city, and has grown into the largest free ...
is a week-long outdoor music festival held each summer in Wilmington's
Rodney Square.
The ''Peoples' Festival'' is an annual tribute to
Bob Marley, who once lived in Wilmington trying to earn money enough to establish his Tuff Gong music studio in Kingston, Jamaica. His son
Stephen Marley
Stephen Robert Nesta Marley (born April 20, 1972) is a Jamaican-American musician. The son of Bob Marley, Marley is an eight-time Grammy Award winner, three times as a solo artist, twice as a producer of his younger paternal half-brother Dam ...
was born in Wilmington 1972. Started in 1994, the Peoples' Festival features
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use the ...
and
world beat musicians playing original music and
Bob Marley and the Wailers songs. The festival is held on the Wilmington riverfront each summer.
The ''Riverfront Blues Festival'', a three-day music festival held each August in the Tubman-Garrett Riverfront Park, features prominent blues acts as well as artists from the local area.
Holiday events
* Annual
tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
-lighting ceremony related to the Christmas holiday at
Rockwood Museum and Park
* ''
The Nutcracker'' performed by the Wilmington Ballet at the Playhouse at the Hotel DuPont
*Wilmington's memorial day parade is the oldest continuous parade in the country
Wilmington Riverfront
In the 1990s, the city launched a campaign to revitalize the former shipyard area known as the Wilmington Riverfront. Delaware Theatre Company was at the forefront of this movement, opening its current space on Water Street in 1985. The efforts were bolstered early by The Big Kahuna also known as Kahunaville (a restaurant, bar and arcade which has also since closed and been rebuilt in 2010 as the Delaware Children's Museum) and
Daniel S. Frawley Stadium, the
Wilmington Blue Rocks minor league baseball stadium. The
Chase Center on the Riverfront opened as the First USA Riverfront Arts Center in 1998 to hold traveling exhibitions, but was repurposed into the city's
convention center in 2005. The Wilmington Rowing Center boathouse is located along the Christina River on the Riverfront. Development continues as the Wilmington Riverfront tries to establish its cultural, economical, and residential importance. Recent high-rise luxury apartment buildings along the
Christina River have been cited as evidence of the Riverfront's continued revival. On June 7, 2006, the groundbreaking of Justison Landing signaled the beginning of Wilmington's largest residential project since Bancroft Park was built after World War II. Outlets shops, restaurants and a Riverfront Market have also opened along the Riverwalk.
Media
Radio and television
The Wilmington area is home to five FM radio stations and four AM radio stations. A sixth FM radio station is located in Southern New Jersey and is included in the Wilmington radio market surveys:
* 91.3-FM
WVUD
WVUD (91.3 FM) is a non-commercial educational FM radio station owned by University of Delaware and licensed to serve Newark, Delaware. The station is student-run and broadcasts a freeform format. Studios are located in the Perkins student cen ...
—Non-commercial radio (
University of Delaware,
Newark, Delaware)
* 91.7-FM
WMPH—Non-commercial high school radio
* 93.7-FM
WSTW—
Pop contemporary hits
* 96.9-FM W245CJ—Hispanic format
* 99.5-FM
WJBR-FM—
Adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...
* 101.7-FM
WDEL-FM—
News Talk Information (Canton, New Jersey)
* 103.7-FM
WXCY-FM—
Country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whil ...
* 1150-AM
WDEL—News Talk Information
* 1290-AM
WWTX—
Sports talk
* 1380-AM
WTMC—Travel Information
* 1450-AM
WILM—News Talk Information
Additionally, many radio stations from Philadelphia reach Wilmington.
Wilmington is part of the
Philadelphia television market. Three of the market's stations are licensed to Wilmington;
WPPX
WPPX-TV (channel 61) is a television station licensed to Wilmington, Delaware, United States, broadcasting the Ion Television network to the Philadelphia area. It is owned and operated by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company and ...
,
WDPN-TV and
WHYY-TV.
Newspaper
*''
The News Journal
''The News Journal'' is the main newspaper for Wilmington, Delaware, and the surrounding area. It is headquartered in unincorporated New Castle County, Delaware, near New Castle, and is owned by Gannett.
History
The ancestry of the News J ...
'', founded as the ''Delaware Gazette'' in 1785. Daily circulation as of 2004 and 2007 exceeded 100,000, placing the newspaper among the top 100 in the United States, based on circulation.
* ''Wilmington Sunday Star'' (1881–1954)
*WilmToday, founded in 2016 to cover the latest news, posts, and all of the great things about the city of Wilmington.
Portrayal of Wilmington in popular culture
* Wilmington's skyline and other aerial shots of the city stood in for the fictional town of Arcadia in the television program ''
Joan of Arcadia''.
* The 1999 film ''
Fight Club'' (adapted from
Chuck Palahniuk's
novel of the same title) is set in Wilmington. City officials rejected the filmmakers' request to film in Delaware, so the movie's exterior shots were filmed in Los Angeles.
* ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serve ...
'' (SNL) skits portraying
Joe Biden often mention his residency in Wilmington. For example, in the
cold open
A cold open (also called a teaser sequence) is a narrative technique used in television and films. It is the practice of jumping directly into a story at the beginning of the show before the title sequence or opening credits are shown. In Amer ...
ing of the May 12, 2012, episode, Biden pouts in his Washington, D.C., bedroom, which features an aerial picture of the downtown Wilmington skyline with "DELAWARE" printed along the bottom.
* Wilmington is so well known for crime that in November 2015, ABC announced a pilot for a legal drama starring
Jada Pinkett Smith set in the city. The show would have been called ''Murder Town''. Mayor Dennis Williams reacted strongly, calling the actors in the show "has beens". The pilot was passed over by ABC in August 2016.
Infrastructure
Transportation
Interstate 95, which splits Wilmington roughly into eastern and western halves, provides access to major markets in the Northeast and nationwide.
Interstate 495 is a
bypass
Bypass may refer to:
* Bypass (road), a road that avoids a built-up area (not to be confused with passing lane)
* Flood bypass of a river
Science and technology Medicine
* Bypass surgery, a class of surgeries including for example:
** Heart bypas ...
passing through the east side of the city, and
Interstate 295 is south of the city, crossing the
Delaware River into
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...
on the
Delaware Memorial Bridge.
U.S. Route 13 passes north–south through the eastern part of Wilmington, entering the city from the south along Dupont Highway before following Heald Street, the
one-way pair of Church Street northbound and Spruce Street southbound, and Governor Printz Boulevard.
U.S. Route 13 Business passes north–south through the center of Wilmington, entering the city from the south on Market Street before splitting into Walnut Street northbound and Market Street southbound, following Walnut Street northbound and King Street southbound in the downtown area, and following Market Street northeast out of the city to Philadelphia Pike.
U.S. Route 202 follows I-95 through Wilmington before heading north onto Concord Pike through a business area to the north of the city. State routes serving Wilmington include
Delaware Route 2, which follows the one-way pair of Lincoln Street eastbound and Union Street westbound in the western part of the city before heading west out of the city along Kirkwood Highway;
Delaware Route 4, which heads southwest from the downtown area along Maryland Avenue;
Delaware Route 9, which enters the city from the south along New Castle Avenue before crossing the Christina River and heading west through the center of the city along 4th Street;
Delaware Route 9A, which provides access to the Port of Wilmington;
Delaware Route 48, which heads west from the downtown area along Lancaster Avenue;
Delaware Route 52, which follows Delaware Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue northwest out of the city to Kennett Pike; and
Delaware Route 202, which follows Concord Avenue through the northern part of the city to connect to US 202 at Concord Pike.
In Wilmington, streets are laid out in a grid, with north–south streets named and east–west streets north of Lancaster Avenue/Front Street numbered from 2nd Street and increasing to the north, while east–west streets south of Lancaster Avenue/Front Street are named. Lancaster Avenue/Front Street serves as the divider between north and south while Market Street serves as the divider between east and west.
[ There are 34 red light cameras in the city of Wilmington situated at 31 intersections. Parking in downtown Wilmington is regulated by on-street parking meters along with commercial parking lots and parking garages operated by the Wilmington Parking Authority, Colonial Parking, and ]SP Plus Corporation
SP Plus Corporation is an American provider of parking facility management services. It manages parking facilities with more than one million parking spaces across the United States and Canada. Until December 2013, it was known as Standard Parking ...
.
Wilmington is served by the Joseph R. Biden Jr. Wilmington Rail Station, with frequent service between Boston, Massachusetts, and Washington, D.C., via 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 ...
's Northeast Corridor. SEPTA Regional Rail provides frequent additional local commuter rail service to 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 ...
along the Wilmington/Newark Line. Amtrak has a major maintenance shop and yard in northeast Wilmington that maintains and rebuilds the agency's Northeast Corridor electric locomotive fleet. The Amtrak Training Facility is also located in Wilmington, as well as Amtrak's Consolidated National Operations Center (CNOC).[
Two freight railroads, CSX and ]Norfolk Southern
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31, ...
, also serve Wilmington. Norfolk Southern serves Wilmington along trackage rights on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, the Shellpot Secondary line heading through the eastern part of Wilmington as a bypass of the Northeast Corridor, and the New Castle Secondary line heading south to New Castle and Porter. CSX serves Wilmington along its Philadelphia Subdivision line running between Philadelphia and Baltimore. Both CSX and Norfolk Southern have a major freight-yard in the area; CSX operates the Wilsmere Yard to the west of the city in Elsmere and Norfolk Southern operates the Edgemoor Yard to the northeast of the city in Edgemoor.
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 a ...
(Delaware Authority for Regional Transit) operates public bus service with approximately 40 bus lines serving the city and the surrounding suburbs as well as inter-county service 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 ...
, the state capital, and seasonal service 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 ...
and Rehoboth Beach. Many DART First State bus routes operating in Wilmington serve Wilmington Transit Center and/or Rodney Square, the main bus transit hubs in the city. DART First State also offers RideShare Delaware
RideShare Delaware is DART First State's program to reduce traffic and encourage alternative transportation arrangements. The program is supported by state and federal funds as a part of Delaware's efforts to maintain air quality. RideShare work ...
, a program which links commuters looking for carpools or vanpools. In addition, the site offers transit riders, walkers or bikers a Guaranteed Ride Home in the event of a work emergency. Greyhound Lines operates interstate bus service out of the Wilmington Bus Station at the rail station.
The closest major airport is Philadelphia International Airport. A few miles south of Wilmington is Wilmington Airport, which serves as a base for both the Delaware Army National Guard and Delaware Air National Guard.
Wilmington is also served by the Port of Wilmington, a modern full-service deepwater port and marine terminal handling over 400 vessels per year with an annual import/export cargo tonnage of 5 million tons. The Port of Wilmington handles mostly international imports of fruits and vegetables, automobiles, steel, and bulk products.
Utilities
Delmarva Power, 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 and natural gas to Wilmington. The city's Department of Public Works provides water and sewer service to Wilmington and some surrounding unincorporated areas. The city's water supply comes from the Hoopes Reservoir to the northwest of the city and from a dam along the Brandywine Creek in the city, with water mains pumping the water from these sources to facilities in the city, where the water is treated and stored or distributed to customers. The city's Department of Public Works also provides trash collection and recycling to Wilmington.
Health care
Christiana Care Health System
ChristianaCare is a network of private, non-profit hospitals providing health care services to all of the U.S. state of Delaware and portions of seven counties bordering the state in Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey. The system includes two h ...
, a health network headquartered in Wilmington, runs Wilmington Hospital on the edge of downtown Wilmington and Christiana Hospital in suburban Christiana, as well as various satellite health centers throughout the area. St. Francis Hospital, a member of Trinity Health, is located in the west end of Wilmington. The Nemours Foundation runs Nemours Children's Hospital, Delaware
Nemours Children's Hospital, Delaware is a pediatric hospital located in Wilmington, Delaware. It is controlled by the Nemours Foundation, a non-profit organization created by philanthropist Alfred I. du Pont in 1936 and dedicated to improving th ...
in North Wilmington, just outside the city proper.
The city has one of the highest per capita rates of HIV infection in the United States, with disproportionate rates of infection among African-American males. Efforts by local advocates to create needle exchange programs to reduce the spread of infection were obstructed for several years by downstate and suburban state legislators but a program was finally approved in June 2006.
Sports and recreation
Sports
The Wilmington Blue Rocks, a Minor League Baseball team affiliated with the Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadi ...
, plays at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium.
The stadium is also the home of the Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame
The Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame is a membership-based organization founded in 1976. The organization runs a museum with exhibits at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium on the Riverfront in Wilmington, Delaware and promotes physical fitness i ...
.
Since their founding in 2015, the USA Rugby League expansion club Delaware Black Foxes have been based in the city at Eden Park Stadium.
In 2013, Bearfight FC of Wilmington was founded as the only United States Adult Soccer Association hailing from Delaware, qualifying them as the sole representative of The First State in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
In 2010, ''Sporting News
The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...
'' ranked Wilmington 351st on its list of the 400 Best Sports Towns, behind two smaller Delaware cities, Newark (218) and 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 ...
(208).
Outdoor recreation
The Wilmington State Parks
Wilmington State Parks is a state park located in Wilmington, Delaware. Open year round, the park is approximately of land mostly situated along the Brandywine Creek. The state park is made up of a group of smaller parks that are administrativ ...
are a group of four parks in Wilmington operated by the Delaware State Park system. The four parks are Brandywine Park, including the Brandywine Zoo
Brandywine Zoo is a small zoo that opened in 1905 in Brandywine Park in Wilmington, Delaware, United States. It is located on the banks of the Brandywine River. The zoo is managed by the Delaware Division of Parks and Recreation and supporte ...
and Baynard Stadium, Alapocas Woods Natural Area, H. Fletcher Brown Park and Rockford Park. Admission to the parks is free, but a fee is charged for admittance to the zoo. The parks, within minutes of each other, are open year-round from sunrise to sunset. The zoo is open daily from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm, May through November. Rockford Tower and Rockford Park is open from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm on Saturdays and Sundays, from May 1 until October 31. The parks are patrolled by Delaware State Park Rangers whose headquarters office is in Brandywine Park.
The City of Wilmington also operates 55 parks and recreational facilities across the city.
Running events
The Delaware Distance Classic The Delaware Distance Classic is a 15-kilometer road running competition held in October near Wilmington, Delaware. It is the event of the year for the Pike Creek Valley Running Club (PCVRC). The course has rotated every few years based on sponsorsh ...
is a 15K road race held in October by the Pike Creek Valley Running Club (PCVRC). The course has rotated every few years based on sponsorship and is currently located in nearby Delaware City. The event began in 1983 as a fundraiser for the PCVRC, and the Mike Clark Legacy Foundation has been the beneficiary for the last few years.
The Caesar Rodney Half Marathon is a road race held annually since 1964 on the second Sunday in March. Billed by race organizers as the "granddaddy of Delaware road races", it generally draws more than 1,000 runners from 20 states and several countries. From the starting line at Wilmington's Rodney Square, runners flow past the scenic revitalized riverfront, through Rockford Park and back to Rodney Square at the Caesar Rodney statue. Proceeds benefit the American Lung Association of Delaware.
The Run for the Buds 1/2 Marathon, 1/2 Marathon Relay, and 5K Run/Walk is held annually at Rockford Park in mid-October. Proceeds benefit people with intellectual disabilities through the Down Syndrome
Down syndrome or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is usually associated with child development, physical growth delays, mild to moderate ...
Association of Delaware.
Cycling
The Wilmington Grand Prix is held annually and is considered one of the premier criterium-style bike races in the country. Now in its 11th year, it is part of USA Cycling's National Race Calendar, a collection of only the most elite races. Weekend festivities include a street festival, a time trial on Monkey Hill, criterium races in downtown Wilmington at both the amateur and pro level, a 50 km Media Fondo, a 100 km Gran Fondo, and a leisurely Governor's Ride.
Additionally, the East Coast Greenway passes through Wilmington and its immediate suburbs for 10.4 miles as part of the scenic Northern Delaware Greenway, which includes steep hills, heavily forested sections and paved portions that lead through downtown.
Golf
The Wilmington Country Club is a country club and golf course located just outside of the city in a suburb known as Greenville. .
Ed "Porky" Oliver Golf Club is a public course located within the city limits.
Rock Manor is a public course located just outside of the city limits.
Tennis
The Delcastle Tennis Center
Delcastle Technical High School is a state school, public vocational-technical school, vocational-technical high school in unincorporated area, unincorporated New Castle County, Delaware, near Wilmington, Delaware, Wilmington, and is the largest o ...
is a tennis center located in the city.
Education
Primary and secondary schools
Public schools
Wilmington is served by the Brandywine, Christina, Red Clay, and Colonial
Colonial or The Colonial may refer to:
* Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology)
Architecture
* American colonial architecture
* French Colonial
* Spanish Colonial architecture
Automobiles
* Colonial (1920 a ...
school districts for elementary, junior high, and high school public education. Of those four, Colonial is the only one which has no schools located in the Wilmington city limits. Cab Calloway School of the Arts of the Red Clay district is in the Wilmington city limits. The New Castle County Vocational-Technical School District operates Howard High School of Technology in the city of Wilmington.
there are no comprehensive traditional public high schools in the Wilmington city limits, and most high school-aged students in the city attend high schools in suburban areas away from the city. Cris Barrish and Mark Eichmann of WHYY wrote that these suburban comprehensive high schools "struggle academically".
Wilmington also hosts several charter school
A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...
s. there were 11 charter schools in the city limits.[ These include the ]Charter School of Wilmington
The Charter School of Wilmington (CSW) is a college preparatory charter high school in Wilmington, Delaware. It is Delaware's first independently operated public school whose curriculum emphasizes math and science. It shares the former Wilmingt ...
, Great Oaks Charter School, Kuumba Academy Charter School, East Side Charter School, and a magnet school
In education in the United States, the U.S. education system, magnet schools are State school, public schools with Specialized school, specialized Course (education), courses or Curriculum, curricula. "Magnet" refers to how the schools draw stude ...
, Cab Calloway School of the Arts which focuses on the performing arts. The Charter School of Wilmington and Cab Calloway School of the Arts are housed in the building of the former Wilmington High School. Great Oaks Charter School and Kuumba Academy are housed in the Community Education Building (a/k/a "C.E.B"), formerly known as Bracebridge IV, acquired by Bank of America from MBNA Corp. in 1997 and donated to The Longwood Foundation in 2012.
Historically Wilmington High School, in the west of the city, and P.S. du Pont High School, in the north of the city, were schools for white children while Howard High School Howard High School may refer to:
* David T. Howard High School, a former high school in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
* Howard High School of Technology, in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.
* Howard High School (Howard County, Maryland), in Ellicott City, Maryla ...
, in the east of the city, was the segregated school for black children.[ In 1954, the '' Brown v. Board of Education'' decision by the U.S. Supreme Court forced the then segregated schools of New Castle County to desegregate. However, the subsequent eleven school districts that were created in the county, including the ]Wilmington School District
Wilmington may refer to:
Places
Australia
*Wilmington, South Australia, a town and locality
**District Council of Wilmington, a former local government area
**Wilmington railway line, a former railway line
United Kingdom
* Wilmington, Devon
*W ...
, soon became de facto segregated, as the Wilmington School District became predominately black, and the districts outside the city remained overwhelmingly white. A 1968 law from the Delaware General Assembly prevented a merger between the Wilmington district and other districts as the law prevented a merger involving a school district with over 12,000 pupils. In 1969 Wilmington, du Pont, and Howard were the three comprehensive high schools in Wilmington.[
In response to the segregation, the 1976 U.S. District Court decision '' Evans v. Buchanan'' implemented a plan by which students in Wilmington would be bused to attend school in the suburbs for certain grades, while suburban students would be bused into the City of Wilmington for other grades. By 1981, the four current districts in northern New Castle County, Brandywine, Christina, ]Colonial
Colonial or The Colonial may refer to:
* Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology)
Architecture
* American colonial architecture
* French Colonial
* Spanish Colonial architecture
Automobiles
* Colonial (1920 a ...
, and Red Clay, each composed of city and suburban areas, were established, all of which were majority white at the time. The idea was that no one district would be majority poor, black, and disadvantaged. Wilmington High remained in operation under the Red Clay district until 1999 and it now houses Calloway School of the Arts. Howard High became Howard High School of Technology, and P.S. du Pont became an elementary school of the Brandywine district. University of Delaware public policy professor Leland Ware wrote that Wilmington parents were divided, with many African-Americans preferring children be educated in the city while others liked the idea of their children attending integrated schools. According to Ware suburban parents generally disliked their children being bussed into Wilmington for desegregation as suburbanites perceived Wilmington as being unsafe.[
In 2015 Mark Murphy, Delaware's secretary for Education, expressed support for re-establishing a comprehensive high school in Wilmington. In 2020 there were persons in Wilmington, including the mayor Mike Purzycki, advocating for this as well. Such a school would be majority African-American. Purzycki stated that fear of racial resegregation is the issue that causes community stakeholders to be reluctant to do so.][
]
Private schools
There are many private elementary and secondary schools in Wilmington: Salesianum School
Salesianum School is a Catholic independent school for boys located in Wilmington, Delaware. It is run independently within the Diocese of Wilmington and is operated by the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales.
The current enrollment is about 930 st ...
, Serviam Girls Academy
Serviam Girls Academy is a private school in Wilmington, Delaware, offering classes in grades 5–8 for girls. Established in 2008 as an Ursuline school, it is modeled after schools in the NativityMiguel Network of Schools. The current enrollment ...
, Nativity Preparatory of Wilmington, Ursuline Academy, The Tatnall School, Tower Hill School, St. Elizabeth High School, and Padua Academy. With 17.6% of the area students enrolled in private schools, the Wilmington area ranks as one of the top ten metropolitan areas in the country for the percentages of students in private school.
Wilmington Friends School is located outside of the city limits.
Universities and colleges
There are several colleges operating in the city of Wilmington:
* Delaware College of Art & Design
* Delaware State University – Wilmington Campus
* Delaware Technical & Community College – Wilmington Campus
* Goldey-Beacom College
* University of Delaware – Wilmington Campus and Downtown Building
* Wilmington University – Wilmington Campus
* Widener University Delaware Law School
Points of interest
* Brandywine Zoo
Brandywine Zoo is a small zoo that opened in 1905 in Brandywine Park in Wilmington, Delaware, United States. It is located on the banks of the Brandywine River. The zoo is managed by the Delaware Division of Parks and Recreation and supporte ...
* Delaware Art Museum
* Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts
* Delaware Center for Horticulture
The Delaware Center for Horticulture (DCH) cultivates greener communities by inspiring appreciation and improvement of the environment through horticulture, education and Conservation movement, conservation. Founded in 1977, the Center's headquarte ...
* Delaware Children's Museum
* Delaware Children's Theatre
* Delaware Historical Society
* Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame
The Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame is a membership-based organization founded in 1976. The organization runs a museum with exhibits at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium on the Riverfront in Wilmington, Delaware and promotes physical fitness i ...
* Delaware Theatre Company
* DuPont Playhouse
* Frank Furness Railroad District, a collection of railroad buildings designed by Frank Furness
* Fort Christina State Park
* Grand Opera House
* Kalmar Nyckel Foundation & Tall Ship
* Holy Trinity (Old Swedes') Church
* Riverfront Market
* Rockford Tower
* Rodney Square
* Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery
* Wilmington Blue Rocks, Carolina League
The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 un ...
baseball
* Wilmington Drama League The Wilmington Drama League is a community theater group in Wilmington, Delaware in the United States that produces performing arts and owns its own theater. The theater is located at 10 West Lea Blvd. in North Wilmington, Delaware {{coord, 39.76180 ...
* The Wilmington Library
* Wilmington Riverfront
* Wilmington State Parks
Wilmington State Parks is a state park located in Wilmington, Delaware. Open year round, the park is approximately of land mostly situated along the Brandywine Creek. The state park is made up of a group of smaller parks that are administrativ ...
, which includes Brandywine Park
Sister cities
* Fulda, Germany
* Kalmar
Kalmar (, , ) is a city in the southeast of Sweden, situated by the Baltic Sea. It had 36,392 inhabitants in 2010 and is the seat of Kalmar Municipality. It is also the capital of Kalmar County, which comprises 12 municipalities with a total o ...
, Sweden
* Olevano sul Tusciano, Salerno
Salerno (, , ; nap, label= Salernitano, Saliernë, ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' in Campania (southwestern Italy) and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after ...
, Campania
(man), it, Campana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demog ...
, Italy
* Osogbo, Nigeria
* Watford, Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom
Partner city
* Nemours, Seine-et-Marne
Seine-et-Marne () is a department in the Île-de-France region in Northern France. Named after the rivers Seine and Marne, it is the region's largest department with an area of 5,915 square kilometres (2,284 square miles); it roughly covers its ...
, Île-de-France
The Île-de-France (, ; literally "Isle of France") is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France. Centred on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the country and often called the ''Région parisienne'' (; en, Pa ...
, France
Notable people
See also
* List of Wilmington Mayors
*
* Sunday Breakfast Mission
Sunday Breakfast Mission, in Wilmington, Delaware, was established in 1893 to provide homeless men with a meal and a place to worship on Sunday. Shortly after, homeless men were able to seek overnight shelter there.
Sunday Breakfast Mission is pa ...
* List of tallest buildings in Wilmington, Delaware
References
Further reading
;Published in the 18th and 19th centuries
*
*
;Published in the 20th century
*Carol Hoffecker: ''Corporate Capital: Wilmington in the Twentieth Century'', Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1983
External links
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington Visitors Bureau
Historic Wilmington Archive
*
{{Authority control
Populated places established in 1638
Port cities and towns of the United States Atlantic coast
Cities in New Castle County, Delaware
County seats in Delaware
Cities in Delaware
Delaware populated places on the Delaware River
New Netherland
Swedish-American history
Swedish-American culture in Delaware
New Sweden
1638 establishments in the Swedish colonial empire