Timeline of Wilmington, Delaware

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Wilmington, Delaware, USA.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

Prior to 19th century

• 1638
  • March 29: Peter Minuit and others arrive at what is known today as Swedes' Landing, in the Swedish colony of New Sweden.
  • Fort Christina built on behalf of the Swedish South Company; settlement known as Christinaham.[1]
• 1655 - Fort taken from Swedes by Dutch forces of Peter Stuyvesant.[1]
• 1664 - English in power.[1]
• 1682 - New Sweden becomes part of the English colonial Province of Pennsylvania.[1]
• 1698 - Holy Trinity Church (Old Swedes) built.[1]
• 1731 - Landowner Thomas Willing names his property "Willingtown" (renamed "Wilmington" around 1739).[1]
• 1739
  • William Shipley becomes burgess of Wilmington.[2]
  • Shipbuilding industry begins (approximate date).[1]
• 1740 - First Presbyterian Church built.[1]
• 1748 - Wilmington Friends School established.[1]
• 1777 - September 11: Battle of Brandywine fought near town.[1]
• 1785 - Delaware Gazette newspaper begins publication.[3]
• 1788 - Wilmington Library Company founded.[4]
• 1798
  • Yellow fever outbreak.[5]
  • Town Hall built.[1]

19th century

Map of Wilmington, Delaware, 1874

• 1802 - DuPont gunpowder manufacturer in business at Eleutherian Mills on Brandywine Creek near Wilmington.[1]
• 1809 - Borough of Wilmington expanded.[1]
• 1814 - Harmonic Society formed.[6]
• 1824 - "First public opinion poll" taken in Wilmington during the U.S. presidential election campaign.[7]
• 1832
  • Borough of Wilmington becomes a city per state charter.[8]
  • Richard H. Bayard becomes city mayor.
• 1835 - Wilmington Whaling Company incorporated.[9]
• 1837
  • Board of Trade[10] and Wesleyan Female Seminary established.
  • Betts, Pusey & Harlan railcar manufactory in business.
• 1838 - Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad begins operating.
• 1840
  • Democratic Free Press newspaper begins publication.[3]
  • Population: 8,367.[11]
• 1849 - Harlan and Hollingsworth shipbuilder and railcar manufactory in business.
• 1855 - Customshouse built.
• 1864
  • Horse-drawn railway begins operating.[8]
  • Historical Society of Delaware headquartered in Wilmington.[1]
  • John Merrick House built.
• 1868 - Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilmington established.[12]
• 1871 - Grand Opera House built.[13]
• 1877 - Wilmington Club for men incorporated.
• 1880 – Population: 42,478.[11]
• 1881 - New Castle County Court House built.[6]
• 1886 - Brandywine Park established.
• 1889 - Rockford Park and New Century Club for women[6] established.
• 1890
  • Delaware Hospital opens.
  • Population: 61,431.[11]
• 1900 – Population: 76,508.[11]

20th century

• 1905 - Brandywine Zoo established.[14]
• 1910 – Population: 87,411.[11]
• 1911 - Majestic Theatre opens.[13]
• 1917 - Rodney Square established.[15]
• 1920 – Population: 110,168.[11]
• 1921 - City fire department established.[16]
• 1922 - WDEL and WILM radio begin broadcasting.[17]
• 1923
  • Wilmington Marine Terminal built.[15]
  • Monument to Caesar Rodney installed in Rodney Square.
• 1928 - Rodney Court apartment building constructed.
• 1929 - Wilmington Dry Goods in business.[18]
• 1930 - Population: 106,597.[11]
• 1937 - Main Post Office built.
• 1942 - Crest Theater in business.[13]
• 1950 – Population: 110,356.[11]
• 1961 - Burton v. Wilmington Parking Authority lawsuit decided by U.S Supreme Court, broadening the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment.
• 1965 - Wilmington Medical Center active.[19]
• 1981 - State legislature passes the "liberalizing" Financial Center Development Act, influencing the relocation of many banks to the Wilmington area.[8][20]
• 1991 - Cinemark cinema in business.[13]
• 1995 - MBNA Corporation headquartered in city.[21]
• 1996 - City website online (approximate date).[22]

21st century

• 2001 - James M. Baker becomes mayor.
• 2013 - Dennis P. Williams becomes mayor.

See also

• Wilmington, Delaware history
• List of mayors of Wilmington, Delaware
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Wilmington, Delaware

References

1. Britannica 1910.
2. "The Three Lower Counties, New Castle, Kent, and Sussex", List of Officers of the Colonies on the Delaware and the Province of Pennsylvania 1614-1776, Pennsylvania Archives, Harrisburg, PA, 1880
3. "U.S. Newspaper Directory". Chronicling America. Washington DC: Library of Congress. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
4. Davies Project. "American Libraries before 1876". Princeton University. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
5. Federal Writers' Project 1938, p. 519: "Chronology"
6. Hoffecker 1974.
7. Patrick Robertson (2011). Robertson's Book of Firsts. Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1-60819-738-5.
8. "City History". City of Wilmington, Delaware. Archived from the original on May 2, 2016. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
9. Kenneth R. Martin; Bruce Sinclair (1974). "A Pennsylvanian in the Wilmington Whaling Trade, 1841-1844". Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies. 41 (1): 27–51. JSTOR 27772175.
10. Scharf 1888, p. 749-758: "Wilmington: Commerce"
11. Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990, U.S. Census Bureau, 1998
12. "Chronology of Catholic Dioceses: USA". Norway: Oslo katolske bispedømme. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
13. "Movie Theaters in Wilmington, DE". CinemaTreasures.org. Los Angeles: Cinema Treasures LLC. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
14. Vernon N. Kisling, Jr., ed. (2001). "Zoological Gardens of the United States (chronological list)". Zoo and Aquarium History. USA: CRC Press. ISBN 978-1-4200-3924-5.
15. Federal Writers' Project 1938.
16. Singleton 1975.
17. Jack Alicoate, ed. (1939), "Delaware", Radio Annual, New York: Radio Daily, OCLC 2459636
18. Rendle 2010.
19. Mike Tigas and Sisi Wei (ed.). "Wilmington, Delaware". Nonprofit Explorer. New York: ProPublica. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
20. "Banking Haven", Washington Post, June 26, 1983
21. "As Goes MBNA, So Goes Delaware", New York Times, December 14, 2005
22. "Official Web Site of Wilmington, Delaware". Archived from the original on December 1996 – via Internet Archive, Wayback Machine.

Bibliography

published in the 18th-19th c.

• Jedidiah Morse (1797). "Wilmington". The American Gazetteer. Boston: S. Hall, and Thomas & Andrews. OL 23272543M.
• Charter and Ordinances of the City of Wilmington, Delaware. 1863.
• Wm. H. Boyd, ed. (1874). "Wilmington City Directory". Delaware State Directory and Gazetteer. hdl:2027/mdp.39015010204223.
• Charles P. Dare (1877), "Wilmington", Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad Guide Book, OCLC 37266637 – via Internet Archive
• John Thomas Scharf (1888). History of Delaware: 1609-1888. Philadelphia: L. J. Richards & Co. LCCN 01013423.

published in the 20th c.

• "Wilmington", Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.), New York, 1910, OCLC 14782424
• Charter of the City of Wilmington. 1911.
• Edward Noble Vallandigham (1922). "Wilmington". Delaware and the Eastern Shore: Some Aspects of a Peninsula Pleasant and Well Beloved. J. B. Lippincott Company.
• Anna T. Lincoln (1937). Wilmington, Delaware; three centuries under four flags, 1609-1937. Rutland, Vt.: Tuttle – via HathiTrust. (fulltext)
• Federal Writers' Project (1938). "Wilmington". Delaware: A Guide to the First State. American Guide Series. New York: Viking – via Google Books. + chronology
• Greater Wilmington Development Council (1962). Wilmington area research: an annotated list of research reports and selected data sources for the Wilmington Metropolitan area. University of Delaware, Division of Urban Affairs – via HathiTrust. (fulltext)
• Carol Hoffecker (1974). Wilmington, Delaware: Portrait of an Industrial City, 1830-1910. University Press of Virginia – via State of Delaware, Delaware Public Archives. (fulltext)
• David W. Singleton (1975). "Firefighting Productivity in Wilmington: A Case History". Public Productivity Review. 1 (2): 19–29. doi:10.2307/3380139. JSTOR 3380139.
• Carol Hoffecker (1982). Wilmington: a Pictorial History. Donning Company – via State of Delaware, Delaware Public Archives. (fulltext)
• Carol Hoffecker (1983). Corporate Capital: Wilmington in the Twentieth Century. Philadelphia: Temple University Press – via State of Delaware, Delaware Public Archives. (fulltext)
• Priscilla M. Thompson; Sally O'Byrne (1999). Wilmington's Waterfront. Arcadia. ISBN 978-1-4396-2724-2.
• Marjorie G. McNinch (2000). Wilmington in Vintage Postcards. Arcadia. ISBN 978-0-7385-0647-0.

published in the 21st c.

• Ellen Rendle (2010). New Castle County. Arcadia. ISBN 978-0-7385-8557-4.

External links

• "Delaware History: Local Histories: Wilmington". Library Research Guides. University of Delaware.
• "Local Historical Research". Wilmington Public Library.
• Items related to Wilmington, Delaware, various dates (via Digital Public Library of America).