Timeline of Wilmington, Delaware explained

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

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.
• 1655 - Fort taken from Swedes by Dutch forces of Peter Stuyvesant.
• 1664 - English in power.
• 1682 - New Sweden becomes part of the English colonial Province of Pennsylvania.
• 1698 - Holy Trinity Church (Old Swedes) built.
• 1731 - Landowner Thomas Willing names his property "Willingtown" (renamed "Wilmington" around 1739).
• 1739
  • William Shipley becomes burgess of Wilmington.
  • Shipbuilding industry begins (approximate date).
• 1740 - First Presbyterian Church built.
• 1748 - Wilmington Friends School established.
• 1777 - September 11: Battle of Brandywine fought near town.
• 1785 - Delaware Gazette newspaper begins publication.^[1]
• 1788 - Wilmington Library Company founded.^[2]
• 1798
  • Yellow fever outbreak.
  • Town Hall built.

19th century

• 1802 - DuPont gunpowder manufacturer in business at Eleutherian Mills on Brandywine Creek near Wilmington.
• 1809 - Borough of Wilmington expanded.
• 1814 - Harmonic Society formed.
• 1824 - "First public opinion poll" taken in Wilmington during the U.S. presidential election campaign.^[3]
• 1832
  • Borough of Wilmington becomes a city per state charter.^[4]
  • Richard H. Bayard becomes city mayor.
• 1835 - Wilmington Whaling Company incorporated.^[5]
• 1837
  • Board of Trade 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.
  • Population: 8,367.
• 1849 - Harlan and Hollingsworth shipbuilder and railcar manufactory in business.
• 1855 - Customshouse built.
• 1864
  • Horse-drawn railway begins operating.
  • Historical Society of Delaware headquartered in Wilmington.
  • John Merrick House built.
• 1868 - Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilmington established.^[6]
• 1871 - Grand Opera House built.^[7]
• 1877 - Wilmington Club for men incorporated.
• 1880 – Population: 42,478.
• 1881 - New Castle County Court House built.
• 1886 - Brandywine Park established.
• 1889 - Rockford Park and New Century Club for women established.
• 1890
  • Delaware Hospital opens.
  • Population: 61,431.
• 1900 – Population: 76,508.

20th century

• 1905 - Brandywine Zoo established.^[8]
• 1910 – Population: 87,411.
• 1911 - Majestic Theatre opens.
• 1917 - Rodney Square established.
• 1919 - Wilmington, Delaware race riot of 1919
• 1920 – Population: 110,168.
• 1921 - City fire department established.
• 1922 - WDEL and WILM radio begin broadcasting.
• 1923
  • Wilmington Marine Terminal built.
  • Monument to Caesar Rodney installed in Rodney Square.
• 1928 - Rodney Court apartment building constructed.
• 1929 - Wilmington Dry Goods in business.
• 1930 - Population: 106,597.
• 1937 - Main Post Office built.
• 1942 - Crest Theater in business.
• 1950 – Population: 110,356.
• 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.^[9]
• 1968 - Wilmington Riot of 1968
• 1981 - State legislature passes the "liberalizing" Financial Center Development Act, influencing the relocation of many banks to the Wilmington area.
• 1991 - Cinemark cinema in business.
• 1995 - MBNA Corporation headquartered in city.
• 1996 - City website online (approximate date).^[10]

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

Bibliography

Published in the 18th–19th c.

• Book: S. Hall, and Thomas & Andrews . Boston . Jedidiah Morse . Jedidiah Morse . The American Gazetteer . https://archive.org/stream/americangazettee00mors#page/n609/mode/2up . Wilmington . 1797 . 23272543M .
• Book: Charter and Ordinances of the City of Wilmington, Delaware . 1863 .
• Book: 1874. Wilmington City Directory. Wm. H. Boyd. Delaware State Directory and Gazetteer. The Commercial printing company. 2027/mdp.39015010204223.
  • Book: John Thomas Scharf. History of Delaware: 1609-1888. Philadelphia. L. J. Richards & Co. 1888. 01013423. . John Thomas Scharf.
• Wilmington (1.) . 24 . 1.

Published in the 20th c.

• Wilmington (Delaware) . 28 . 690 . 1910 . . 1.
• Book: Charter of the City of Wilmington . 1911 . Star Printing Company .
• Book: Edward Noble Vallandigham . Delaware and the Eastern Shore: Some Aspects of a Peninsula Pleasant and Well Beloved. 1922. J. B. Lippincott Company . Wilmington . https://books.google.com/books?id=vfBHAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA157 .
• Book: Wilmington, Delaware; three centuries under four flags, 1609-1937. Anna T. Lincoln. Rutland, Vt.. Tuttle. 1937. HathiTrust . (fulltext)
• Book: Delaware: A Guide to the First State. American Guide Series. Federal Writers' Project. 1938. Viking. New York. Google Books. Wilmington. 9781603540087. https://books.google.com/books?id=vJ5OeFvqWRAC&pg=PA260. . Federal Writers' Project. + chronology
• Book: Wilmington area research: an annotated list of research reports and selected data sources for the Wilmington Metropolitan area. Greater Wilmington Development Council. University of Delaware, Division of Urban Affairs. 1962. HathiTrust . (fulltext)
• Book: Carol Hoffecker. Wilmington, Delaware: Portrait of an Industrial City, 1830-1910. State of Delaware, Delaware Public Archives. University Press of Virginia. 1974. . (fulltext)
• Firefighting Productivity in Wilmington: A Case History. David W. Singleton. Public Productivity Review . 1 . 19–29. 2 . 3380139. 1975. . 10.2307/3380139.
• Book: Carol Hoffecker. Wilmington: a Pictorial History. Donning Company. 1982. State of Delaware, Delaware Public Archives. (fulltext)
• Book: Carol Hoffecker . Corporate Capital: Wilmington in the Twentieth Century . Philadelphia . Temple University Press. 1983. State of Delaware, Delaware Public Archives. (fulltext)
• Book: Priscilla M. Thompson. Sally O'Byrne. Wilmington's Waterfront. 1999. Arcadia . 978-1-4396-2724-2.
• Book: Marjorie G. McNinch. Wilmington in Vintage Postcards. 2000. Arcadia . 978-0-7385-0647-0.

Published in the 21st c.

• Book: Ellen Rendle. New Castle County. 2010. Arcadia. 978-0-7385-8557-4. .

External links

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

Notes and References

1. Web site: U.S. Newspaper Directory . Washington DC . Chronicling America . Library of Congress . June 26, 2016 .
2. Web site: American Libraries before 1876 . Davies Project . Princeton University . June 26, 2016 .
3. Book: Patrick Robertson. Robertson's Book of Firsts . 2011. Bloomsbury . 978-1-60819-738-5.
4. Web site: City History . City of Wilmington, Delaware . June 26, 2016 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160502004543/http://www.wilmingtonde.gov/visitors/cityhistory . May 2, 2016 .
5. A Pennsylvanian in the Wilmington Whaling Trade, 1841-1844 . Kenneth R. Martin . Bruce Sinclair . Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies . 41 . 27–51 . 1 . 1974 . 27772175 .
6. Web site: Chronology of Catholic Dioceses: USA . . Norway . June 26, 2016 .
7. Web site: Movie Theaters in Wilmington, DE . CinemaTreasures.org . Cinema Treasures LLC . Los Angeles . June 26, 2016 .
8. Book: Vernon N. Kisling, Jr. . Zoo and Aquarium History. 2001. . USA . 978-1-4200-3924-5 . Zoological Gardens of the United States (chronological list) . https://books.google.com/books?id=ulbMBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA375 .
9. Web site: Wilmington, Delaware . . New York . Nonprofit Explorer . 9 May 2013 . Mike Tigas and Sisi Wei . June 26, 2016 .
10. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/19961222050800/http://ci.wilmington.de.us/ . Official Web Site of Wilmington, Delaware . 1996-12-22 . .