Saint Georges is an unincorporated town and former

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

situated on the

Chesapeake and Delaware Canal The Chesapeake & Delaware Canal (C&D Canal) is a -long, -wide and -deep ship canal that connects the Delaware River with the Chesapeake Bay in the states of Delaware and Maryland in the United States. In the mid-17th century, mapmaker Augus ...

in New Castle County,

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

, United States, approximately midway between 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 ...

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 ...

History

St. Georges was settled before 1730 at the head of the St. Georges Creek. A tavern was built in 1735 and King's Highway was constructed through the settlement in 1762. St. Georges was incorporated as a town in 1825. After being divided by the

and then bypassed by a newer bridge, the town asked to have their charter revoked by the state in 1940. The community has at least one civic association, the North Saint Georges Civic Association which represents the community to the New Castle County Council. The Senator William V. Roth Jr. Bridge (

Delaware Route 1 Delaware Route 1 (DE 1) is the longest numbered state highway in the U.S. state of Delaware. The route runs from the Maryland state line in Fenwick Island, Delaware, Fenwick Island, Sussex County, Delaware, Sussex County, where the ...

) passes just west of the community. It is the only

cable-stayed bridge A cable-stayed bridge has one or more ''towers'' (or ''pylons''), from which wire rope, cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or wikt:stay#Etymology 3, stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, norm ...

in the

Delaware Valley The Philadelphia metropolitan area, also known as Greater Philadelphia and informally called the Delaware Valley, the Philadelphia tri-state area, and locally and colloquially Philly–Jersey–Delaware, is a major metropolitan area in the Nor ...

and one of the first in the nation. It opened in 1995 as a replacement to the still standing St. Georges Bridge, which carries U.S. Route 13 over the community of St. Georges and the canal. The St. Georges Bridge is in turn a replacement for a former

lift bridge A vertical-lift bridge or just lift bridge is a type of movable bridge in which a span rises vertically while remaining parallel with the deck. The vertical lift offers several benefits over other movable bridges such as the bascule and swi ...

that sat in the middle of town. That bridge—built in 1923—was knocked down on January 10, 1939, by the 6,000-ton freighter ''Waukegan''. The freighter lost control, hit the north tower of the bridge, and caused it to collapse. Two people died: the bridge tender and the bridge electrician. One other bridge spanned the C & D Canal before the lift bridge. It was a small pedestrian swing bridge that crossed over the former Saint Georges Locks. It was destroyed when the locks were dismantled during the first widening and deepening (to sea level) of the canal. Bloomfield, the W. Casperson House, Linden Hill, Ethel S. Roy House, St. Georges Cemetery Caretaker's House, St. Georges Presbyterian Church, Starl House, Sutton House (St. Georges, Delaware), and the North Saint Georges Historic District are 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 ...

. The community is located in New Castle County District 12 and is represented to the

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Australia In the Australian state of New South Wales, county councils are special purpose ...

by Councilman James W. (Bill) Bell.

Demographics

Education

Saint Georges is in the Colonial School District. It operates William Penn High School.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Georges, Delaware Unincorporated communities in New Castle County, Delaware Unincorporated communities in Delaware Chesapeake & Delaware Canal

History

Demographics

Education

See also

References

External links