For a state that stretches only about 96 miles from north to south, Delaware has collected an impressive number of names over the years.
Some are official. Some were created to promote a town or region. Others simply grew out of history. But put them together, and they tell a surprisingly good story about the place we call home.
Everyone knows Delaware as The First State, a title earned on December 7, 1787, when Delaware became the first of the original thirteen states to ratify the United States Constitution.
But we're also The Diamond State. According to legend, Thomas Jefferson described Delaware as a “jewel” among the states because of its strategic location along the Eastern Seaboard.
And many of us remember another name: Small Wonder. It fits Delaware rather well — small in size, certainly, but with an outsized place in American history.
Here in Sussex County, we have plenty of names of our own.
Lewes proudly calls itself “The First Town in the First State.” The Dutch established the settlement of Zwaanendael there in 1631, making it the site of Delaware's first European settlement.
Just down the coast, Rehoboth Beach became known as “The Nation’s Summer Capital,” a name tied to the many legislators, diplomats and government officials who made the Delaware shore their summer destination.
Bethany Beach, South Bethany and Fenwick Island are at the heart of the area known as “The Quiet Resorts,” a name that seems to capture the character of Delaware's southern beaches perfectly.
Delaware's small towns have produced some especially memorable names and slogans.
Bridgeville has one of the most wonderfully practical:
“If You Lived Here, You Would Be Home Now.”
It's hard to argue with the logic.
Delmar, straddling the Delaware-Maryland state line, has an equally fitting identity: “The Little Town Too Big for One State.” Even its name tells the story: DELaware meets MARyland.
Heading north into Kent County, Magnolia makes perhaps the most ambitious claim of all:
“The Center of the Universe.”
A sign there proudly proclaims:
“This is Magnolia, the center of the universe around which the earth revolves.”
Whether or not you accept the geography, you have to admire the confidence.
Only in Delaware could you be told you should already be home, find a town too big for one state, and discover another that considers itself the center of everything.
Some of our other names were earned during extraordinary periods of economic growth.
Back in Sussex County, Seaford was once known as the “Nylon Capital of the World.” In 1939, DuPont began construction there on the world's first nylon plant. By the end of that year, the plant was operating, and the new “miracle fiber” would help transform both the community and the lives of generations of local families.
And before poultry came to dominate much of Sussex County agriculture, there were strawberries.
At the height of the industry, Selbyville became known as the “Strawberry Capital of the World.” One of the men most closely associated with that success was John G. Townsend Jr., an agricultural pioneer whose interests included farming, strawberry brokering, orchards, canning, banking and eventually poultry.
He became known as “The Strawberry King.”
His remarkable story includes refrigerated railcars, an enormous strawberry business — and a wonderful tale involving surplus strawberries, strawberry syrup and vanilla ice cream.
We'll save that one for another day.
Not every Delaware nickname belongs to a town.
Returning to Kent County, race fans know Dover's famous one-mile track as “The Monster Mile.” And towering outside the speedway is Miles the Monster, a 46-foot reminder that even our racetrack has a personality of its own.
Then there's one of my favorite Delaware distinctions, this time in New Castle County: our highest point.
Mountains are not exactly our specialty.
Ebright Azimuth, near the Pennsylvania line, marks the vicinity of Delaware's highest natural elevation, at just under 448 feet above sea level. There is no dramatic summit to climb. In fact, if you aren't paying attention, you might drive right past it.
And somehow, that seems perfectly Delaware.
We don't need mountains to have a high point.
We don't need to be large to have a big history.
And apparently, one name has never been enough.
We are The First State. The Diamond State. The Small Wonder.
We are home to The First Town in the First State, The Nation's Summer Capital, The Quiet Resorts, a town where “If You Lived Here, You Would Be Home Now,” The Little Town Too Big for One State, The Center of the Universe, a former Nylon Capital of the World, a Strawberry Capital of the World — and even a Strawberry King.
For nearly 250 years, Delaware has accumulated a lot of names.
Maybe that's because one name simply isn't enough to tell our story.
Small state. Big story.
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