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Wilmington, Delaware
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Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley metropolitan area. Wilmington was named by Proprietor Thomas Penn for his friend Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington, who was prime minister in the reign of George II of Great Britain.
According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 72,826.
area now known as Wilmington was first colonized by settlers from Sweden in March, 1638, establishing the colony of Fort Christina, New Sweden.
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Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley metropolitan area. Wilmington was named by Proprietor Thomas Penn for his friend Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington, who was prime minister in the reign of George II of Great Britain.
According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 72,826.
History
The area now known as Wilmington was first colonized by settlers from Sweden in March, 1638, establishing the colony of Fort Christina, New Sweden. Sweden claimed and, for the most part, controlled the lower Delaware River region (parts of present day Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey), but settled few colonists there. In 1655 the Dutch arrived and took over the colonies from the Swedes and Finns, renaming it Altena. Dr. Timen Stiddem (Timothy Stidham) was a prominent citizen and doctor in Wilmington. He is recorded in history as the first physician in Delaware (ref. J. Thomas Scharf, History of Delaware, p. 471).
In 1664 British colonization began, the area stabilized under British rule, with strong influences from the Quaker communities, and was granted a borough charter in 1739 by King George II which changed the name from Willington, after Thomas Willing the first 'developer" of the land who organized the area in a grid pattern similar to that of its northern neighbor Philadelphia, to Wilmington, presumably after Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington.
The greatest growth in the city occurred during the Civil War. Delaware, though officially a Union State, was divided in its support of both the Confederate and the Union soldiers; the northern part of the state was largely Union, while the southern part of the state leaned toward the Confederacy. The war created enormous demand for goods and materials. Older establishments expanded, and many new industries were attracted to the city. The city turned out products including ships, railroad cars, gunpowder, shoes, tents, uniforms, blankets and other war-related goods. By 1868, Wilmington was producing more iron ships than the rest of the country combined and it rated first in the production of gunpowder and second in carriages and leather. Due to the prosperity Wilmington enjoyed during the war, city merchants and manufacturers expanded Wilmington's residential boundaries westward in the form of large homes along tree-lined streets. This movement was spurred by the first horsecar line, which was initiated in 1864 along Delaware Avenue.
The late nineteenth century saw the development of the city's first comprehensive park system. William Bancroft, a successful Wilmington businessman, led the effort to establish open parkland in Wilmington and was heavily influenced by the work of Frederick Law Olmsted. Rockford Park and Brandywine Park owe their creation to his generous donation of land and efforts.
In 1860, there were 21,250 people living in the city; by 1920, that number had risen to 110,168.
Both World Wars stimulated the city's industries. Industries vital to the war effort - shipyards, steel foundries, machinery and chemical producers - operated on a 24-hour basis. Other industries produced such goods as automobiles, leather products and clothing.
The post war prosperity again pushed the residential development further out of the city. The 1950s saw a large increase in people living in the suburbs of North Wilmington and commuting into the city to work. This lifestyle was made possible by extensive upgrades to area roads and highways and through the construction of I-95, which cut a swath through several of Wilmington's most stable neighborhoods and contributed to significant population losses in Wilmington. Urban renewal projects in the 50s and 60s cleared entire blocks of housing in the Center City and East Side areas. The riots and civil unrest in the city following the 1968 assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. also contributed to urban emigration. On April 9, 1968, Governor Charles Terry, Jr. deployed the National Guard to the city at the request of Mayor John Babiarz. One week later, Mayor Babiarz requested the National Guard troops be withdrawn, but Governor Terry refused, and kept them in the city until his term ended in January 1969. Urban emigration largely abated, and the city has been able to maintain a population of 70,000 for the last few decades.
The city in the 1980s experienced tremendous job growth and office construction when many national banks and financial institutions relocated to the area after the Financial Center Development Act of 1981 substantially liberalized the laws governing banks operating within the state. In 1986, the state adopted legislation targeted at attracting international finance and insurance companies. Today many national and international banks, such as Bank of America, Chase, Barclays among others have operations in the city; typically their credit card operations.
Beginning in the 1990s, the city launched a campaign to revitalize the former shipyard area known as the Wilmington Riverfront. The efforts were bolstered early by The Big Kahuna (a now defunct nightclub), Kahunaville (a restaurant, bar and arcade which has also since closed) and the Wilmington Blue Rocks minor league baseball stadium. Development continues as the Wilmington Riverfront tries to establish its cultural, economical, and residential importance. Recent high-rise luxury apartment buildings along the Christina River have been cited as evidence of the Riverfront's continued revival. On June 7, 2006, the groundbreaking of Justison Landing signaled the beginning of Wilmington's largest residential project since Bancroft Park was built after World War II.
Geography
Wilmington is located at 39°44'55" North, 75°33'6" West (39.748563, -75.551581). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 17.0 square miles (44.1 km²). Of that, 10.9 square miles (28.1 km²) of it is land and 6.2 square miles (16.0 km²) of it is water. The total area is 36.25% water.
The city is located approximately southwest of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, one of America's largest cities. Wilmington Train Station is one of the last stops on Philadelphia's SEPTA rail transportation system and is the immediately adjacent stop to Philadelphia 30th St Station on Amtrak. It is the terminus of an I-295 bypass route around Philadelphia, the other end being Trenton, New Jersey, as well as one of several major cities on I-95. These transportation links and geographic proximity give Wilmington some of the characteristics of a satellite city, but Wilmington's long history as the most important city in Delaware, its significant urban core, and its independent value as a business destination makes it more properly considered a small but independent city in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, or as locals prefer to call it, the Delaware Valley.
Climate
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 72,664 people, 28,617 households, and 15,882 families residing in the city. The population density was 6,698.1 per square mile (2,585.8/km²). There were 32,138 housing units at an average density of 2,962.4 per square mile (1,143.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 35.52% White, 56.43% African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.65% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 5.16% from other races, and 1.96% from two or more races. 9.84% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. The largest ancestries include: Irish (8.7%), Italian (5.7%), German (5.2%), English (4.4%), and Polish (3.6%).
There were 28,617 households out of which 27.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 26.6% were married couples living together, 23.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.5% were non-families. 37.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.19.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.9% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 32.0% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 91.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $35,116, and the median income for a family was $40,241. Males had a median income of $34,360 versus $29,895 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,236. 21.3% of the population and 16.8% of families were below the poverty line. 30.4% of those under the age of 18 and 20.1% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
Wilmington also has a very active and diverse ethnic population. Many pockets of the city are populated by different groups of people with various European heritages. This ethnic diversity contributes to several very popular ethnic festivals held every spring and summer in Wilmington. The most popular festival is the Italian festival. This event, which is run by St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, closes down six blocks in the west side of the city for traditional Italian music, food, and activities, along with typical carnival rides and games. Another festival that draws large crowds is the Greek Festival, which is organized by Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church. This festival is on a smaller scale than the Italian festival but features traditional Greek (Hellenic) food, drink, and music. Other offerings include a delightful crafts area. Another notable annual church festival in Wilmington, the Polish festival, is organized by St. Hedwig's Catholic Church featuring Polish cuisine along with the typical variety of carnival rides and entertainment.
Neighborhoods
The city of Wilmington is subdivided into the following neighborhoods :
North of the Brandywine River
- Brandywine Hills
- Harlan
- Eastlawn
- Eastlake
- Ninth Ward
- Triangle
- Prices Run
- Riverside
- Brandywine Village
- Gander Hill (Lower Brandywine Village)
- Weldin Ridge
East of I-95
- Midtown Brandywine
- Lawyer's Row
- Upper East Side (East Brandywine)
- Trinity Vicinity
- 11th St. Bridge
- Center City (Downtown)
- West Center City
- Quaker Hill
- The Valley
- Ships Tavern
- East Side
- Southbridge
- Riverfront
West of I-95
- Forty Acres
- The Highlands
- Trolley Square
- Delaware Avenue
- Happy Valley
- Wawaset Park
- Wawaset Heights
- Little Italy
- West Hill
- Cool Spring & Tilton Park
- Hilltop
- Woodlawn (The Flats)
- Westmoreland
- Greenhill
- Union Park Gardens
- Bayard Square
- Hedgeville
- Canby Park
- St. Elizabeth Area
- Browntown
Crime
Drugs and gangs gained a greater profile in the city throughout the 1980s and 1990s, as did many cities across the country. As a result of these trends, the city encountered an escalation of violent crimes (murder, assault, armed robbery), and put Wilmington among the nation's most dangerous cities for its size.
To counter this crime wave, Wilmington became the first city in the U.S. to have its entire downtown area under surveillance: some $800,000 worth of video cameras (some bought with public money, some by downtown businesses) have the exteriors of all buildings in view, and the technicians who monitor them dispatch the city's police to the scene of any crime or suspicious activity they see, while it is still happening. Recently, the city has expanded the surveillance program into some of the more crime-ridden neighborhoods.
Among the residential streets, the Wilmington Police Department started a program known as jump-outs, in which unmarked police vans would cruise crime-prone neighborhoods late at night, "jump-out" at corners where residents were loitering and detain them temporarily. Using loitering as probable cause, the police would then photograph, search, and fingerprint everyone present. This would improve the police's records in case fingerprints or eye-witnesses were available at future crimes, along with catching anyone with drugs or weapons on them. Controversy spread from the theory that such a practice may be a violation of civil rights.
Crime Rate per 100,000 people:
| Wilmington | National |
|---|
| Murder | 16.2 | 6.9 | | Forcible Rape | 36.52 | 32.2 | | Robbery | 585.6 | 195.4 | | Aggravated Assault | 780.4 | 340.1 | | Burglary | 1105 | 814.5 | | Larceny Theft | 2845.6 | 2734.7 | | Vehicle Theft | 693.8 | 526.5 |
Public safety
The Wilmington Police Department (WPD) is led by Chief of Police Michael J. Szczerba and is authorized to deploy up to 289 officers in motor vehicles, on foot, and on bicycle in order to protect and serve the citizens of the city. It recently joined the ranks of 350 other departments nationwide in achieving operations accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies.
The Wilmington Fire Department (WFD) is led by Chief Willie Patrick Jr. and maintains six engine companies, two ladder companies, a marine fire fighting force, three ambulances, and one rescue squad. In recent years, the department has promoted a ride along program which gives city residents an opportunity to evaluate possible career decisions. In addition, department officials have enacted a program that requires firefighters to be involved with community associations on a regular basis. Wilmington is the only municipality in Delaware with a career fire department.
Public health issues
The city has one of the highest per capita rates of HIV infection in the United States, with disproportionate rates of infection among African-American males. Efforts by local advocates to implement needle exchange programs to combat the spread of infection were obstructed for several years by downstate and suburban state legislators but a program was finally approved in June 2006.
Economy
Much of Wilmington's economy is based on its status as the most populous and readily accessible city in Delaware, a state that made itself attractive to businesses with pro-business finance laws and a longstanding reputation for a fair and effective judicial system.
Wilmington has become a national financial center for the credit card industry, largely due to regulations enacted by former Governor Pierre S. du Pont, IV in 1981. The Financial Center Development Act of 1981, among other things, eliminated the usury laws enacted by most states, thereby removing the cap on interest rates that banks may legally charge customers. Many major credit card issuers, including Bank of America (formerly MBNA Corporation), Chase Card Services (part of JPMorgan Chase & Co., formerly Bank One/First USA), and Barclays Bank of Delaware (formerly Juniper Bank), are headquartered in Wilmington. The Dutch banking giant ING Groep N.V. headquartered its U.S. internet banking unit, ING Direct, in Wilmington. British bank HSBC has their American operations headquartered in Wilmington. Wilmington Trust is headquartered in Wilmington at Rodney Square. Barclays and ING Direct have very large and prominent locations located along the waterfront of the Christina River. In 1988, the Delaware legislature enacted a law which required a would-be acquirer to capture 85 percent of a Delaware chartered corporation’s stock in a single transaction or wait three years before proceeding. This law strengthened Delaware's position as a safe haven for corporate charters during an especially turbulent time filled with hostile takeovers.
Wilmington's other notable industries include insurance (American Life Insurance Company [ALICO], Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Delaware), retail banking (including the Delaware headquarters of: Wilmington Trust, PNC Bank, Wachovia Bank, JPMorgan Chase, HSBC, Citizens Bank, Wilmington Savings Fund Society, and Artisans' Bank), legal services, and automobile manufacturing (General Motors). Delaware's only two remaining homegrown 2006 Fortune 1000 companies, E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company and Hercules, both have their global headquarters in downtown Wilmington. This is two less than previous years due to the acquisition of MBNA by Bank of America, and Conectiv through Pepco Holding's subsidiary, Delmarva Power. In addition, the city is the corporate domicile of more than 50% of the publicly traded companies in the United States, and over 60% of the Fortune 500.
Delaware chartered corporations rely on the state's Court of Chancery to decide legal disputes, which places legal decisions with a judge instead of a jury. The Court of Chancery, known both nationally and internationally for its speed, competence, and knowledgeable judiciary,, as a court of equity, is empowered to grant broad relief in the form of injunctions and restraining orders, which is of particular importance when shareholders seek to block or enjoin corporate actions such as mergers or acquisitions. The Court of Chancery, as a statewide court, may hear cases in any of the state's three counties. A dedicated-use Chancery courthouse was recently constructed in Georgetown, Sussex County, which has hosted high-profile complex corporate trials such as the Disney shareholder litigation.
Delaware has among the strictest rules in America regarding out-of-state legal practice, allowing no reciprocity to lawyers in other states. As a result, Wilmington has a rather large per capita population of attorneys.
Media
Radio, television and film
- Wilmington is home to five FM radio stations as well as three AM radio stations. In addition, most of the major Philadelphia radio stations decently cover Wilmington.
- Wilmington is part of the Philadelphia television market. Four of the market's stations are licensed to Wilmington--WTSD-CA, W40AZ, WPPX, WHYY-TV.
Publications
- The local newspaper is The News Journal, founded as the Delaware Gazette in 1785, with a current daily circulation of more than 100,000.
Portrayal
- During the 2003-2005 TV Season, the city of Wilmington's skyline and other aerial shots of the city were featured as the stand in for the fictional town of Arcadia in CBS's Joan of Arcadia.
- Wilmington is portrayed as the fictional location of the film version of the novel Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk, as evidenced in the narrator's business card including the suburban Wilmington zip code 19808 and the Delaware area code 302,and his apartment building having as its motto "A Place To Be Somebody". Other references include Delaware state flags, Delaware license plates, new fight clubs in New Castle, Delaware City, and Penns Grove (NJ), and the presence of credit card companies. However, city officials rejected the filmmakers' request to film in Delaware. The movie's exteriors were filmed around Los Angeles.
Transportation
Wilmington is served by the Wilmington Rail Station, with frequent service between Boston, Massachusetts, and Washington, DC, via Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, with additional local service to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania via SEPTA Regional (commuter) Rail. Two freight railroads also serve Wilmington, CSX and Norfolk Southern. Both railroads operate major freight yards in the area; CSX operates the Wilsmere Yard to the west of the city and Norfolk Southern operates the Edgemoor Yard to the northeast of the city. Amtrak has a major maintenance shop and yard in northeast Wilmington that maintains and rebuilds the agency's Northeast Corridor electric locomotive fleet. The Amtrak Training Facility is also located in Wilmington, as well as CNOC, Amtrak's Consolidated National Operations Center.
DART First State (Delaware Authority for Regional Transit) operates public bus service with approximately 40 bus lines serving the city and the surrounding suburbs as well as inter-county service to Dover and seasonal service to Rehoboth Beach. New Jersey Transit provides rush hour bus service to Salem County, New Jersey on the 423 Route. Greyhound operates interstate bus service out of the downtown bus terminal at the rail station.
Interstate 95 splits Wilmington roughly in half, and provides access to major markets in the Northeast and nationwide, as does Interstate 495 just east of the city.
Wilmington is also served by the Port of Wilmington, a modern full-service deepwater port and marine terminal handling over 400 vessels per year with an annual import/export cargo tonnage of 5 million tons. The Port of Wilmington handles mostly international imports of fruits and vegetables, automobiles, steel, and bulk products.
The closest major airport is Philadelphia International Airport. A few miles south of Wilmington is New Castle County Airport. The airport is primarily used for corporate charter flights, recreational flights, and by both the Delaware Army National Guard and Delaware Air National Guard.
Sports
The Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame is open near the Riverfront. In 2008, Sporting News ranked Wilmington 361st on its list of the 400 Best Sports Towns, behind both Newark (186) and Dover (215), two much smaller cities in Delaware.
Running events
The Delaware Distance Classic is a 15K Road Race held in October. It is the event of the year for the Pike Creek Valley Running Club (PCVRC). The course has rotated every few years based on sponsorship. The event began in 1983 as a fund raiser for the PCVRC but the Special Olympics has been the beneficiary for the last few years.
The is a 13.1 mile (21 kilometers) road race held each year on the second Sunday in March. Billed by race organizers as the "granddaddy of Delaware road races," the Caesar Rodney Half Marathon celebrated its 45th anniversary in 2008, where the event and the city that hosts it welcomed more than 1,000 runners from 20 states and several countries around the world. The out-and-back race takes participants from the starting line at Wilmington's Rodney Square through the streets of Wilmington, past the scenic revitalized riverfront, through Rockford Park and back to Rodney Square at the Caesar Rodney statue. This year's race will be held on March 15, 2009 and will benefit the .
Recreation
The Wilmington State Parks are a group of four parks in Wilmington. The four parks are Brandywine Park, including the Brandywine Zoo and Baynard Stadium, Alapocas Woods Natural Area, H. Fletcher Brown Park and Rockford Park. Admission to the parks is free, but a fee is charged for admittance to the zoo. The parks, within minutes of each other, are open year round from sunrise to sunset. The zoo is open daily from 10:00am until 4:00pm, May through November. Rockford Tower and Rockford Park is open from 10:00 until 4:00pm on Saturdays and Sundays, from May 1 until October 31. The parks are patrolled by Delaware State Park Rangers whose headquarters office is in Brandywine Park.
Education
Wilmington is served by the Colonial, Red Clay, Brandywine, Christina and NCC Vo-Tech school districts for elementary, junior high, and high school public education. The Delaware Vo-Tech High Schools include Delcastle Technical High School, Hodgson Technical High School, Howard High School of Technology, and St. Georges Technical High School.
There are also many private secondary schools such as Salesianum, Ursuline Academy, Wilmington Friends School, Tower Hill School, St. Elizabeth High School, and Padua Academy.
Wilmington also hosts several charter schools, including the Charter School of Wilmington and East Side Charter School. The Delaware Military Academy is another charter high school funded by the government and run by military personnel. Wilmington also has Cab Calloway School of the Arts, which was founded in 1992 as a magnet school focusing on the performing arts. Wilmington's new addition is Henry C Conrad Schools of Sciences with founded in 2007 is also a magnet school focusing on biotechnology and health care.
Universities and colleges
Points of interest
Near the city
Sister cities
See also
- Flag of Sweden
- List of Mayors
- List of notable people from Wilmington, Delaware
External links
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