New Castle is a city in

New Castle County, Delaware New Castle County is the northernmost of the three List of counties in Delaware, counties of the U.S. state of Delaware (New Castle, Kent County, Delaware, Kent, and Sussex County, Delaware, Sussex). As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

, United States. The city is located six miles (10 km) south of Wilmington and is situated on the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

. As of 2020, the city's population was 5,551. New Castle constitutes part of the Delaware Valley or Philadelphia metropolitan area.

History

17th century

New Castle was originally settled by the

Dutch West India Company The Dutch West India Company () was a Dutch chartered company that was founded in 1621 and went defunct in 1792. Among its founders were Reynier Pauw, Willem Usselincx (1567–1647), and Jessé de Forest (1576–1624). On 3 June 1621, it was gra ...

in 1651 under the leadership of Peter Stuyvesant on the site of a former indigenous village, "Tomakonck" ("Place of the Beaver"), to assert their claim to the area based on a prior agreement with the original inhabitants of the area. The Dutch originally named the settlement Fort Casimir, but this was changed to Fort Trinity following its seizure by the colony of

New Sweden New Sweden () was a colony of the Swedish Empire between 1638 and 1655 along the lower reaches of the Delaware River in what is now Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Established during the Thirty Years' War when Sweden was a g ...

Trinity Sunday Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christianity, Western Christian liturgical year, liturgical calendar, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity. Trinity Sunday celebrates the Christian doctrine of the ...

in 1654. The Dutch conquered the entire colony of New Sweden the following year and rechristened the fort as Nieuw-Amstel, named after the Amstel. This marked the end of the Swedish colony in Delaware as an official entity, but it remained a semi-autonomous unit within the New Netherland colony and the cultural, social, and religious influence of the Swedish settlers remained strong. As the settlement grew, Dutch authorities laid out a grid of streets and established a common green in the town's center, which continues to this day. In 1664, the English seized the entire New Netherland colony in the

Second Anglo-Dutch War The Second Anglo-Dutch War, began on 4 March 1665, and concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Breda (1667), Treaty of Breda on 31 July 1667. It was one in a series of Anglo-Dutch Wars, naval wars between Kingdom of England, England and the D ...

. They changed the name of the town to "New Castle" and made it the capital of their

Delaware Colony The Delaware Colony, officially known as the three Lower Counties on the Delaware, was a semiautonomous region of the proprietary Province of Pennsylvania and a '' de facto'' British colony in North America. Although not royally sanctioned, ...

. The Dutch regained the town in 1673 during the Third Anglo-Dutch War but it was returned to Great Britain the next year under the Treaty of Westminster. In 1680, New Castle was conveyed to

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...

by the

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs ...

by livery of seisin and was Penn's landing place when he first set foot on American soil on October 27, 1682. This transfer to Penn was contested by Lord Baltimore and the boundary dispute was not resolved until the 1763-1767 survey conducted by Mason and Dixon, now famed in history as the

Mason–Dixon line The Mason–Dixon line, sometimes referred to as Mason and Dixon's Line, is a demarcation line separating four U.S. states: Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and West Virginia. It was Surveying, surveyed between 1763 and 1767 by Charles Mason ...

18th century

Prior to the establishment of Penn's

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, New Castle was a center of government. After being transferred to Penn, Delaware's Swedish, Dutch, and English residents became accustomed to the relaxed culture of the Restoration monarchy and grew uncomfortable with the more conservative Quaker influence, so Delaware petitioned for a separate legislature, which was finally granted in 1702. Delaware formally broke from Pennsylvania in 1704. New Castle again became the seat of the colonial government, thriving with the various judges and lawyers that fueled the economy. Many smaller houses were torn down and replaced in this era. In February, 1777, John McKinly was elected the first President of Delaware, a title later renamed "Governor". During the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

, when New Castle was besieged by William Howe, the government elected to move its functions south to Dover in May, 1777. McKinly was captured by the British and held prisoner for several months. New Castle remained the county seat until after the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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 policies.J ...

, when that status was transferred to Wilmington. Three of the 56 signers of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

were from New Castle: Thomas McKean, George Read, and George Ross.

19th century

The portage between the Delaware River and

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...

saved a trip around the Delmarva Peninsula, so this brought passengers, goods, and business to New Castle's port. In the years following the Revolution, a turnpike was built to facilitate travel between the two major waterways. Later, New Castle became the eastern terminus of the New Castle and Frenchtown Railroad, the second-oldest rail line in the country, launched in 1828 with horse-drawn rail cars, then converting to steam power when an engine was purchased from Great Britain in 1832. The line traversed the Delmarva Peninsula, running to the Elk River, Maryland, from where passengers changed to

packet boat Packet boats were medium-sized boats designed mainly for domestic mail and freight transport in European countries and in North American rivers and canals. Eventually including basic passenger accommodation, they were used extensively during t ...

s for further travel to Baltimore and points south. This helped the New Castle economy to further boom; however, by 1840, rail lines were in place between Philadelphia and Baltimore, which had a stop in Wilmington, thus leaving New Castle to deal with a substantial decline in traffic and revenue. The decline in New Castle's economy had the long-range fortunate effect of preventing most residents from making any significant structural changes to their homes. The many buildings of historic New Castle have largely not been upgraded or restored and appear much as they did in the Colonial and Federal periods.

20th century

Since 1927, New Castle has offered tours of historical homes, churches, and gardens, which are typically held annually on the third Saturday of May. Householders dress in colonial costumes and an admittance fee, used toward the maintenance of the town's many historic buildings, is charged. Annually in June, New Castle holds its annual Separation Day celebration. On April 28, 1961, an F3 tornado hit the north side. Although no fatalities or injuries occurred, it was the only tornado of this magnitude ever recorded in Delaware during the

Fujita scale The Fujita scale (F-Scale; ), or Fujita–Pearson scale (FPP scale), is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation. The official Fujita scale category is determ ...

era.

21st century

A tornado rated EF3 hit the city on April 1, 2023.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.2 square miles (8.2 km), of which 3.0 square miles (7.9 km) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 km) of it (3.79%) is water. The city is the home of Broad Dyke, the first dyke built in the United States. The cupola of the court house is the center of the " Twelve-Mile Circle" that defines much of the border between Delaware and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. The circle also forms a small portion of the border between Delaware and

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

and Delaware and

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 4,862 people, 2,012 households, and 1,339 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 2,199 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 77.48%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 20.20%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.25% Native American, 0.39% Asian, 0.84% from other races, and 0.84% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 2.41% of the population. There were 2,012 households, out of which 26.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.1% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 14.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.4% were non-families. 27.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.93. In the city, the population was spread out, with 21.8% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 27.5% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $52,449, and the median income for a family was $56,368. Males had a median income of $40,153 versus $31,571 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $24,052. About 3.9% of families and 5.3% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 5.8% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.

Historic sites

New Castle Historic District is an area approximately four blocks square in the center of town with about 500 historic buildings, built between 1700 and 1940. This area contains one of the highest concentrations of well-preserved buildings dating from the 17th to early 19th centuries. It was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

in 1967. and The New Castle Historic District was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1967 and it was relisted, with enlarged boundaries and expanded period of significance as a National Historic Landmark District in 1984. The historic district then covered of area and includes Amstel House and Old Courthouse which are separately listed on the NRHP. The area includes 461

contributing buildings In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic dist ...

, one other contributing structure, and one contributing object. The New Castle Court House, the Green, and the Sheriff's House are parts of First State National Historical Park, a unit of the National Park System. The national park interprets Delaware's settlement and role in the founding of the United States. Notable sites the historic district include: * Amstel House, home of New Castle Historical Society * Stonum, home of George Read, an 18th-century Delaware politician * Read House and Garden, former home of Read's son George Read Jr., built between 1801 and 1804 * Immanuel Episcopal Church on the Green * New Castle Court House Museum, the original colonial capitol and first State House of Delaware, served as Court House until 1882 when the county seat was moved to Wilmington. Its cupola served as the center of the Twelve-Mile Circle, which defined Delaware's state border with

* Old Dutch House, a small early dwelling built circa 1700 * Thomas McKean House, the former home of Thomas McKean, a Founding Father * New Castle Presbyterian Church, founded in 1657 * Lesley-Travers Mansion, built in 1855 Bellanca Airfield, located outside of the historic district, is the site of the former Bellanca Aircraft Corporation factory, which operated in New Castle from 1928 to 1960 and built over 3,000 airplanes. Delaware Aviation Hall of Fame Museum is located in its hangar. Also nearby are Buena Vista, Glebe House, The Hermitage, New Castle Ice Piers, Penn Farm of the Trustees of the New Castle Common, and Swanwyck, all listed on the

Education

New Castle is served by the Colonial School District. It operates William Penn High School. Private schools located in New Castle include: Serviam Girls Academy, St. Peter's Catholic School (of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilmington) and Delaware Valley Classical School. New Castle Public Library is the public library. Previously New Castle was in the New Castle-Gunning Bedford School District. That district merged into the New Castle County School District in 1978. That district was divided into four districts, among them the Colonial district, in 1981.

Infrastructure

Transportation

U.S. Route 13 and U.S. Route 40 are the most significant highways serving New Castle directly. They pass along the northwest edge of the city concurrently along Dupont Highway. Delaware Route 9 runs southwest-to-northeast through New Castle, passing through the city along 7th Street, Washington Street, Delaware Street, and Ferry Cut Off Street; the route bypasses the historic area. DE 9 heads north to Wilmington and south to Delaware City. Delaware Route 141 heads north from New Castle on Basin Road and provides a bypass to the west of Wilmington. Delaware Route 273 heads west from New Castle on Frenchtown Road and provides access to Christiana and Newark. Several important roads are located just outside the city limits. Interstate 295 passes north of New Castle and crosses the

on the Delaware Memorial Bridge to

, with DE 9 providing access to New Castle from I-295. The Wilmington Airport (formerly New Castle Airport) is located northwest of New Castle along US 13/US 40. The airport offers general aviation, commercial air service, and is home to a unit of the Delaware Air National Guard. A freight line operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway passes through New Castle. The nearest passenger rail station to New Castle is Wilmington station in Wilmington, which is served by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

and SEPTA Regional Rail's Wilmington/Newark Line. DART First State provides bus service to New Castle along Route 15 and Route 51, which both run between downtown Wilmington and the Christiana Mall and offer connections to multiple bus routes serving points across northern New Castle County.

Utilities

The Municipal Services Commission of the City of New Castle provides electricity and water to the city. The electric department is a member of the Delaware Municipal Electric Corporation. Natural gas service in New Castle is provided by Delmarva Power, a subsidiary of

Exelon Exelon Corporation is an American public utility headquartered in Chicago, and incorporated in Pennsylvania. Exelon is the largest electric parent company in the United States by revenue and is the largest regulated electric utility in the Uni ...

. The city's Public Works department provides trash and recycling collection to New Castle.

Government

Baylor Women's Correctional Institution of the Delaware Department of Correction is in an

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in New Castle County, and has a postal address stating "New Castle".

Notable people

* Walter W. Bacon, 60th Governor of Delaware * John Walter Bratton, songwriter * William C. Frazer, American lawyer and judge *

Thomas Holcomb General (United States), General Thomas Holcomb (August 5, 1879 – May 24, 1965) was a United States Marine Corps officer who served as the seventeenth Commandant of the United States Marine Corps, Commandant of the Marine Corps from 1936 to 19 ...

Commandant Commandant ( or ; ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ...

of the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

* Dave May, former MLB player * Thomas McKean, lawyer, politician and a signer of the

* Vinnie Moore, guitarist * George Read I, signer of the

and the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

, second Governor of Delaware * George Ross, signer of the

* Jeff Otah, NFL player * Ryan Phillippe, actor * Carol Quillen, University president * Devin Smith, professional basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv * Charles Thomas, 25th Governor of Delaware * Nicholas Van Dyke I, President of Delaware * Nicholas Van Dyke II, son of Nicholas Van Dyke I, U.S. Senator * Jalen Duren, professional basketball player for the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

, former senator from Delaware and 46th

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

In film

New Castle has served as the filming location for numerous films and television series, including '' Dead Poets Society'', '' Beloved'', and '' River Ridge''.

References

External links

New Castle, Delaware Community History and Archaeology Program

City of New Castle

A book about life in New castle about 1870 {{authority control Federal architecture in Delaware Former colonial and territorial capitals in the United States Populated places established in 1651 Cities in New Castle County, Delaware Cities in Delaware Former county seats in Delaware 1651 establishments in the Dutch Empire National Historic Landmarks in Delaware National Register of Historic Places in New Castle County, Delaware Historic districts in Delaware Delaware populated places on the Delaware River