First (Rate) State!
September 12-19, 2022
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| Murderkill River |
We saw a T-shirt that read “Dela-where?” that we thought was funny as the actual boundary lines of Delaware have an interesting story. Delaware is located within the Delmarva Peninsula, which also includes a portion of Maryland and Virginia. Apparently, Delaware was once part of Pennsylvania, owned by William Penn. It was largely settled by the Dutch and the Swedes in the late 1600’s and was referred to as the “Three Lower Counties on the Delaware”. Each of these three counties continues to have its distinct flavor. The northern county, New Castle County, is known for its history. The central county, Kent County, is loved for its great outdoors, and the southern county, Sussex County, is famous for its beaches. In 1776, these Three Lower Counties on the Delaware signed their own Declaration of Independence from Great Britain and from Pennsylvania several weeks before enactment of the United States Declaration of Independence!
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| William Penn, gifted with a branch, a key, sod, and water, signifying he owns the land. |
After declaring independence from Great Britain, the 13 colonies needed their own form of government and came up with the Articles of Confederation, which were in effect from 1781-1789. Following the Revolutionary War, many of our founding fathers feared this new country to be on the brink of collapse, with one of the downfalls being the federal government having no means to tax. This concern, along with several others, spurred the Continental Congress to write a revision to the Articles of Confederation. Delaware is quite proud of being the first of the colonies to ratify this revision which we all know as the United States Constitution! Although, at the time, Delaware’s capital was New Castle, it became common for the delegates to meet at The Golden Fleece Tavern in Dover (which is now the capital). On December 3, 1787 a group of 30 delegates (ten from each county) met there to review the proposed constitution. After four days of poring over the document, the delegates unanimously approved it, making Delaware the first state in the nation. In fact, they were so excited, they ran off without paying their bill! Five days later, Pennsylvania became the second state to ratify and, within two years, all thirteen states had agreed on the framework of this new country’s government. If you want to blame someone about federal taxes, look no further! It all began with Delaware!
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| The 1st state in the Nation becomes the 39th state on our trip! |
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| The site of The Golden Fleece Tavern. Pay your bill next time! |
When William Penn first settled Dover, he laid out the city around The Green. Surrounding the Green at the time were several taverns and several homes. John Bell’s home is one of them. It was at this home that we met Rosemary, who took us on a walking tour of the buildings located around The Green. Rosemary had several interesting tales, one of which is referred to as the Chocolate Candy Murders! It seems that John Dunning’s rejected mistress (Cordilia Botkin) sought sweet revenge on John’s wife (Mary) when John broke it off with Cordilia and declared his intensions of returning to Mary. Cordilia sent Mary a box of chocolates laced with arsenic, which Mary sweetly shared with all of the family members. Everyone became violently ill that night with most everyone eventually recovering. Mary and her sister must have eaten the most chocolates as, three days later, they both died. Cordilla ended up serving life in prison and dying of “softening of the brain due to melancholy” which was a nice way of saying syphilis!
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| The Green in Dover |
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| Rosemary gave us a great tour! |
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| The crime scene |
A much happier tale is the story of Thomas Parke’s daughter. This lovely, young woman had quite the dilemma! She was being courted by two men and could not decide which one to marry! During this time, her father hosted a visit from Lucretia Mott, who was an abolitionist, as an angry mob gathered outside the home. Both of the courters were there and as Lucretia was presenting to the group she stumbled and fell. One of the men courting the daughter snickered as Lucretia fell. The other jumped up to help her up and ensure she was not injured. The decision was clear! The daughter (I forget her name!) saw whom the true gentleman was and went on to live a happy and long marriage with him!
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| The Old State House in New Castle |
Another day took us further north to the city of New Castle, once the capital of Delaware. There, we were able to tour the Old State House, which is where the delegates gathered after working out the details at The Golden Fleece Tavern to sign the new Constitution. It was amazing to be in the same room where they once gathered and made history!
We enjoyed walking the historic town, taking in the cobblestone street and all of the original buildings. The city has done an amazing job preserving their past!
We enjoyed lunch (which actually turned out to be our dinner!) at Jessop’s Tavern. Built in 1674, it was originally a home, then a barrel-making business, back to a home, and is now a delightful spot to relax with a beer and a bite to eat. The menu is mostly Dutch, which is fun, as this area was heavily settled by the Dutch. In fact, the Old State House, located across the street, flies four flags outside of it – the Betsy Ross United States flag, the Dutch flag, the Swedish flag (the Swede’s took control for one year!) and the British flag.
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| Dick standing in front of Jessop's Tavern |
Having historical, New Castle County covered, we went south to Lewes for a day. There, we spent most of our time enjoying Lewes Beach along Delaware Bay in Sussex County. I’m not super good about sitting still, having been raised with the “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop” belief, so I took along a sewing project that needed a little hand work done. It was fun, taking in the beach scene, listening to the gentle waves, and having our toes in the sand for a few hours!
During this stay, home was Killens Pond State Park. This lovely state park is located smack in the middle of Kent County and gave us ample opportunity to take in the beauty of Delaware’s outdoors. Killens Pond is a man-made pond that the English created in the 1700’s by damming the Murderkill River (the Dutch named it “Moeder Kill”, meaning “Mother River”) to power a grist mill.
Today, this park offers hiking, mountain biking, boating, fishing and many other activities. We did go with a group for a night hike during which, unfortunately, little was seen; however, we did hear an owl. The park has a 2.5-mile Pond Nature Trail that goes around the pond where we came across an Eastern Box Turtle making its way into the woods.
I also finally had the opportunity to learn how to use my new fishing pole! I had purchased it when we were in Vermont and had not yet broken it out. Kate and Conor are naturalists at the park and offered an afternoon of fishing. The state of Delaware requires you to have a fishing license between the ages of 16-64, so I was “off the hook” and able to fish for free! Although I didn’t catch anything, it was a wonderful afternoon of enjoying the great outdoors.
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| Kate and Conor set me all up! |
We also rented a couple of kayaks and spent an hour paddling around the pond. It was especially delightful when we got to Murderkill River, where we were out of the breeze and current.
Our time in Delaware was quickly over. Unfortunately, the Delmar Nyckel sailing ship had not yet returned to Wilmington from its repairs in Mystic, Connecticut so we weren’t able to go on a cruise with her. That leaves something for our next trip to Delaware!
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| Mass at St. Bernadette was a wonderful time for worship! |
Next up: Maryland
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