The Delaware Byways (formerly Delaware Scenic and Historic Highways) system consists of roads 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 adjacent Del ...
that travel through areas of scenic and historic interest. The intent of this system is to promote tourism and raise awareness of the communities along these routes.
History
The Delaware Scenic and Historic Highways program was created in 2000 by Senate Bill 320, which authorized the
Delaware Department of Transportation to create a system of statewide scenic byways.
In 2007, the
United States Department of Transportation
The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the President of the United States and ...
awarded a $174,600 grant to preserve the Route 9 and Brandywine Valley byways.
The Delaware Scenic and Historic Highways program was renamed to the Delaware Byways program in 2010.
Byways
Brandywine Valley National Scenic Byway
The Brandywine Valley National Scenic Byway is located in
New Castle County, Delaware in the
Brandywine valley.
[ The route of the byway is along DE 52 from Wilmington north to the Pennsylvania border, and DE 100 from its intersection with DE 52, north to the Pennsylvania border.] The byway is also a part of the National Scenic Byways
A National Scenic Byway is a road recognized by the United States Department of Transportation for one or more of six "intrinsic qualities": archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and scenic. The program was established by Co ...
program.
The byway passes by several tourist destinations, including Rodney Square
Rodney Square is the public square and historic district in downtown Wilmington, Delaware, United States, named after American Revolutionary leader Caesar Rodney. A large equestrian statue of Rodney by James E. Kelly formerly stood in the front ...
, Hotel du Pont, the Goodstay House, the Gibraltar Mansion, the Delaware Museum of Natural History
The Delaware Museum of Nature & Science (DMNS) is a museum located since January 1, 2022. The museum was founded in 1957 by John Eleuthere du Pont near Greenville, Delaware; it opened in 1972 on a site near Winterthur, Delaware. It is known for i ...
, Winterthur Museum and Country Estate, and Centreville Village on DE 52 and Montchanin Village, Brandywine Creek State Park
Brandywine Creek State Park is a state park, located north of Wilmington, Delaware along the Brandywine Creek. Open year-round, it is in area and much of the park was part of a Du Pont family estate and dairy farm before becoming a state park ...
, and First State National Historical Park
First State National Historical Park is a National Park Service unit which lies primarily in the state of Delaware but which extends partly into Pennsylvania in Chadds Ford. Initially created as First State National Monument by President Barack O ...
on DE 100. Also near the byway in the Wilmington area is the Delaware Art Museum, Delaware History Museum
The Delaware Historical Society began in 1864 as an effort to preserve documents from the American Civil War, Civil War. Since then, it has expanded into a statewide historical institution with several buildings, including Old Town Hall and the D ...
, Hagley Museum and Library
The Hagley Museum and Library is a nonprofit educational institution in unincorporated New Castle County, Delaware, near Wilmington. Covering more than along the banks of the Brandywine Creek, the museum and grounds include the first du Pont ...
, and Nemours Mansion and Gardens with the Brandywine River Museum and Longwood Gardens
Longwood Gardens is a botanical garden that consists of over 1,077 acres (436 hectares; 4.36 km2) of gardens, woodlands, and meadows in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, United States in the Brandywine Creek Valley. It is one of the premier h ...
farther north in Pennsylvania.[
The Brandywine Valley Byway was designated a Delaware Scenic and Historic Highway on June 25, 2002 and a National Scenic Byway on September 22, 2005.]
Delaware Bayshore Byway
The Delaware Bayshore Byway (formerly Route 9 Coastal Heritage Byway) runs along the Delaware Bay and Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...
from Lewes
Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of ...
north to New Castle, with the southern portion consisting of several roads providing access to the Delaware Bay and the northern portion following DE 9; the byway also has a spur to Odessa
Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...
. The byway provides access to several natural and historical sites and towns along the Delaware Bay and inland rivers, including Milton
Milton may refer to:
Names
* Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname)
** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet
* Milton (given name)
** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Free t ...
, the Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, Slaughter Beach, Milford Milford may refer to:
Place names Canada
* Milford (Annapolis), Nova Scotia
* Milford (Halifax), Nova Scotia
* Milford, Ontario
England
* Milford, Derbyshire
* Milford, Devon, a place in Devon
* Milford on Sea, Hampshire
* Milford, Shro ...
, South Bowers, Bowers Beach, the John Dickinson Plantation
The John Dickinson House, generally known as Poplar Hall, is located on the John Dickinson Plantation in Dover, a property owned by the State of Delaware and open to the public as a museum by the Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Aff ...
and First State Heritage Park in Dover, the Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, Port Penn Interpretive Center, Fort Delaware State Park
Fort Delaware State Park is a Delaware state park on Pea Patch Island in New Castle County, Delaware. A fortress was built on Pea Patch Island by the United States Army in 1815, near the conclusion of the War of 1812, to protect the harbors o ...
, and the New Castle Historic District. The byway is also a part of the National Scenic Byways
A National Scenic Byway is a road recognized by the United States Department of Transportation for one or more of six "intrinsic qualities": archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and scenic. The program was established by Co ...
program.
The Delaware State Highway Department
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 responsibili ...
recommended that DE 9 along the Delaware Bay and Delaware River be designated a scenic highway as far back as 1965. In 2007, the Route 9 Coastal Heritage Byway was nominated and designated as a Delaware Scenic and Historic Highway. By 2017, the byway was extended south from the Dover area to Lewes. On January 19, 2021, the Delaware Bayshore Byway was designated a National Scenic Byway.[ A ceremony unveiling the National Scenic Byway designation was held on April 22, 2021, with Governor John Carney, DelDOT secretary Nicole Majeski, and other officials in attendance.
]
Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway
The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway runs from the Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
border in Sandtown north to the 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, ...
border in Centerville. At the Maryland border, it connects with the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway of the Maryland Scenic Byways system, which is designated an All-American Road
A National Scenic Byway is a road recognized by the United States Department of Transportation for one or more of six "intrinsic qualities": archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and scenic. The program was established by Co ...
. From the Maryland border, the byway follows DE 10 between the Maryland border and 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 ...
, US 13 between Camden through 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 ...
to Smyrna, DE 15 from the Smyrna area to Middletown, DE 9 from Odessa
Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...
to Wilmington, and DE 52 from Wilmington to the Pennsylvania border. The byway provides access to sites related to the Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...
, including the Camden Friends Meetinghouse in Camden; Wildcat Manor near Dover; Blackbird State Forest
Blackbird State Forest is a state forest of Delaware located in New Castle County and Kent County, north of Smyrna
Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatoli ...
; the Odessa Historic District
Odessa Historic District is a national historic district located at Odessa, New Castle County, Delaware. It encompasses 82 contributing buildings in the central business district and surrounding residential areas in the shipping and trading cente ...
which includes the Appoquinimink Friends Meetinghouse
Appoquinimink Friends Meetinghouse, also known as the Odessa Friends Meetinghouse, is a very small but historic Quaker meetinghouse on Main Street in Odessa, Delaware. It was built in 1785 by David Wilson and added to the National Register of ...
and Corbit-Sharp House; the New Castle Court House Museum
The New Castle Court House Museum is the center of a circle with a 12-mile radius that defines most of the border between the states of Delaware and Pennsylvania and parts of the borders between Delaware and New Jersey and Maryland.
It is one ...
in New Castle; the Tubman-Garrett Riverfront Park, the Thomas Garrett
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the Ap ...
House, Old Town Hall
Old or OLD may refer to:
Places
*Old, Baranya, Hungary
*Old, Northamptonshire, England
*Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD)
*OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...
, Friends Meetinghouse, and Quaker Hill Historic District in Wilmington; and Centreville Village.
The byway was nominated in 2009 by the Underground Railroad Coalition of Delaware and the National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
's National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. The byway was designated by 2010. In 2011, focus group meetings were held for the byway's corridor management plan, which was completed in 2012.
Historic Lewes Byway, Gateway to the Bayshore
The Historic Lewes Byway, Gateway to the Bayshore (formerly Lewes, Gateway to the Nation Byway and Lewes Byway) runs through Lewes
Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of ...
on Pilottown Road/First Street, Gills Neck Road, New Road, Kings Highway, Cape Henlopen Drive, and Savannah Road. The byway provides access to many natural and historical sites in Lewes, including Cape Henlopen State Park
Cape Henlopen State Park is a Delaware state park on on Cape Henlopen in Sussex County, Delaware, in the United States. William Penn made the beaches of Cape Henlopen one of the first public lands established in what has become the United State ...
, the Cape May-Lewes Ferry
A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck.
History
Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. The ...
, the Zwaanendael Museum, the Lewes Historic District
Lewes Historic District is a national historic district located at Lewes, Sussex County, Delaware. The district includes 122 contributing buildings and 6 contributing sites encompassing most of the 17th-century town of Lewes, together with par ...
, Lightship Overfalls, the de Vries Monument, Canary Creek, and the Kings Highway Historic District.
The Lewes Byway was approved as a Delaware Scenic and Historic Highway by DelDOT in 2008.
Nanticoke Heritage Byway
The Nanticoke Heritage Byway (formerly Western Sussex Byway) runs along several roads in western Sussex County, beginning at US 13 north of Seaford and passing through Seaford, Bethel
Bethel ( he, בֵּית אֵל, translit=Bēṯ 'Ēl, "House of El" or "House of God",Bleeker and Widegren, 1988, p. 257. also transliterated ''Beth El'', ''Beth-El'', ''Beit El''; el, Βαιθήλ; la, Bethel) was an ancient Israelite sanct ...
, and Laurel
Laurel may refer to:
Plants
* Lauraceae, the laurel family
* Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel
People
* Laurel (given name), people with the given name
* Laurel (surname), people with the surname
* Laurel (mus ...
before ending at Trap Pond State Park
Trap Pond State Park is a 3,653 acre (8.5 km²) Delaware state park located near Laurel, Delaware, USA. It is one of the largest surviving fragments of what was once an extensive wetland in what is now southwestern Sussex County. The state ...
. The byway passes many natural and historical sites including the Maston House; the Hearn and Rawlins Mill; the Ross Mansion and Plantation, Downtown Seaford, Seaford Museum, Seaford Railroad Station, DuPont Nylon Plant, Nanticoke River
The Nanticoke River is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay on the Delmarva Peninsula. It rises in southern Kent County, Delaware, flows through Sussex County, Delaware, and forms the boundary between Dorchester County, Maryland and Wicomico County ...
, and Chapel Branch Nature Trail in Seaford; the Woodland Ferry
The Woodland Ferry, historically known as Cannon's Ferry, is a cable ferry located in western Sussex County, Delaware, United States, spanning the Nanticoke River at Woodland, Delaware, west of the city of Seaford. The ferry is operated year-r ...
across the Nanticoke River southwest of Seaford; the Broad Creek in Bethel; the Cook House in Laurel; and Old Christ Church east of Laurel.
The Western Sussex Byway was nominated to be a Delaware Scenic and Historic Highway in 2009. The designation was approved by DelDOT in 2010.
Red Clay Scenic Byway
The Red Clay Scenic Byway (formerly Red Clay Valley Byway) consists of 28 roads in the Red Clay Creek valley between DE 48 and DE 52. The byway provides access to many sites including the Garrett Snuff Mill
Garrett Snuff Mill, also known as the George W. Helme Company, is a historic snuff tobacco mill complex located at Yorklyn, New Castle County, Delaware. The complex includes 14 contributing buildings built between 1846 and 1901. The buildings ar ...
in Yorklyn, the Wilmington and Western Railroad between Greenbank and Hockessin, the Ashland Nature Center Ashland may refer to:
Places
Canada
*Ashland, New Brunswick
United Kingdom
*Simpson and Ashland, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire
United States Historic sites
*Ashland (Henry Clay estate), a historic site in Lexington, Kentucky, and the source of ...
, the Mt. Cuba Center, Auburn Valley State Park
Auburn Valley State Park (formerly Auburn Heights Preserve) is a state park, located in Yorklyn, Delaware, United States. The park, which is around 360 acres, preserves the former home and estate of the Marshall family as well as portions of the ...
, and the Ashland and Wooddale covered bridges.
The Red Clay Valley Byway was nominated to be a scenic byway by the Delaware Nature Society and its partners in July 2004; it was designated a Delaware Scenic and Historic Highway on April 5, 2005.
See also
*
References
External links
Delaware Byways
{{Scenic Byways
Delaware Byways
The Delaware Byways (formerly Delaware Scenic and Historic Highways) system consists of roads in the U.S. state of Delaware that travel through areas of scenic and historic interest. The intent of this system is to promote tourism and raise awaren ...
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 ...
*