Cape Henlopen State Park
YMN/ISTOCK
FOR A SMALL STATE, DELAWARE has played an outsized role in US history. As one of the original Thirteen Colonies, it had three signers of the Declaration of Independence. Delaware was the first to ratify the U.S. Constitution, becoming The First State. And Delaware was a stop along the Underground Railroad, supporting the Union during the Civil War despite permitting slavery.
Delaware has drawn people looking for opportunities since the days of fur-trading in the 17th century. Today’s business-friendly corporation laws, financial industry, and agriculture continue that tradition. With a well-documented history, the state offers repositories and museums that are a goldmine for genealogists. Learn more about research opportunities in store for you in The Diamond State.
FIRST STATE HISTORY
For at least 10,000 years before Europeans arrived on Delaware’s shores, the Unami Lenape (“Delaware”) and Nanticoke American Indian tribes inhabited the region. They encountered Dutch, Swedish and British settlers in the early 1600s.
Within a century, their numbers greatly>.
