Delaware Trivia & Tidbits - Page 2

Looking for Delaware trivia? Try our list Delaware little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

—Incorporated in 1861, Middletown (pop. 6,161) originally was a one-mile-square town, beginning at the corner of the crossroads and extending one-half mile in each direction. Nicknamed the “Diamond Town of the Diamond State,” Middletown’s subsequent growth extended its boundaries in each direction.

first appeared: 1/11/2009

—Civil War-era lawyer and politician James Asheton Bayard Jr., born in Wilmington in 1799, was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1851.

first appeared: 12/29/2008

—Wilmington native Mary Schilly-Knisely was one of the nation’s top distance runners. She competed in U.S. Olympic trials three times, won a gold medal in the 3,000-meter race at the 1987 Pan Am Games, and was the national 3,000-meter champion at the U.S. Track & Field Outdoor Championships in 1986 and 1987.

first appeared: 11/30/2008

—Rosemary Y. Miller of New Castle (pop. 4,862) was an eight-time state trapshooting champion. She was named to the All-American trapshooting team in 1970, 1972, 1973 and 1975, and was inducted into the Delaware Sports Hall of Fame in 1983.

first appeared: 11/16/2008

—Recognized for accomplishments in martial arts as an instructor and professional school owner, H. James “Jim” Clapp holds the eighth-degree black belt in Kenpo karate, one of the highest martial arts ranks among Delawareans. Earlier this year, he was inducted into the Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame.

first appeared: 11/2/2008

—The Delaware Bicycle Route 1 spans the north-south length of the state, from the Pennsylvania border to Fenwick Island (pop. 342) near the Maryland border. The bike route is the first of several planned in the state.

first appeared: 10/19/2008

—High school football coach George Schollenberger of Laurel (pop. 3,668) boasted five unbeaten teams in his 36-year coaching career. He was inducted into the Delaware Sports Hall of Fame in 1979.

first appeared: 10/5/2008

—The 1989 film Dead Poets Society, filmed largely in Middletown (pop. 6,161), starred Robin Williams. Williams’ character in the movie was inspired by University of Connecticut English professor Samuel F. Pickering Jr.

first appeared: 9/21/2008

—Basketball player Terence Stansbury, a graduate of Newark (pop. 28,547) High School, was Temple University’s all-time leading scorer, with 1,811 points, when he left in 1984 to play two seasons with the Indiana Pacers and one with the Seattle SuperSonics.

first appeared: 9/7/2008

—Jacob Broom, a farmer, surveyor and businessman who was among the signers of the U.S. Constitution, was born in Wilmington in 1752. He died in Philadelphia in 1810.

first appeared: 8/24/2008

—In 2005, Delaware designated the stonefly as its official macroinvertebrate, because it indicates a high water quality. Elevating the insect to state status was a means of raising public awareness of water quality issues.

first appeared: 8/10/2008

—After more than 100 years of service, the Fourteen Foot Bank Lighthouse was put on the auction block last year. Located three miles off the Delaware coast, the lighthouse was purchased by a private owner for conversion into a summer retreat.

first appeared: 7/27/2008

—The Octagonal Schoolhouse, opened around 1836 in Cowgill’s Corner, was among the first schools in Kent County. Within the school, girls and boys sat on benches in rows that faced in opposite directions with the outside row facing the wall. MAINE—John Bower, a native of Auburn (pop. 23,203), made American skiing history in 1968 by becoming the first U.S. skier to win the Nordic combined event at the Holmenkollen festival in Oslo, Norway. He went on to become the Nordic coach for the U.S. ski team.

first appeared: 7/13/2008

—Dover Air Force Base, in Dover (pop. 32,135), operates the U.S. Department of Defense’s largest airfreight terminal. In addition, the base serves as an alternate landing site for NASA space shuttle missions.

first appeared: 6/29/2008

—During his 12-year major league baseball career, Bill Bruton had a .273 batting average with the Milwaukee Braves and Detroit Tigers. He led the National League in steals three times and batted .412 in the 1958 World Series for Milwaukee. Bruton lived in Wilmington before his death in 1995.

first appeared: 6/15/2008

—After first setting foot in the New World in New Castle (pop. 4,862) in 1682, William Penn, a Quaker and founder of the Pennsylvania Colony, is said to have immediately performed a ceremony known as the “livery of seisen,” a medieval English ritual signifying the transference of land.

first appeared: 6/1/2008

—Built in 1822, the Brick Hotel in Odessa (pop. 286) offered merchants, ship captains and visitors comfortable, upscale lodging during the 19th century. The three-story building was restored in 1981 and today accommodates educational programs and other functions.

first appeared: 5/18/2008

—U.S. naval officer Jacob Jones, born in 1768 in Smyrna (pop. 5,679), earned a gold medal from Congress for capturing the British sloop Frolic early in the War of 1812. He commanded various ships over the course of his career before being appointed commandant of the naval asylum at Philadelphia in 1847. The U.S. Navy named three ships for Jones.

first appeared: 5/4/2008

—The Arsenal in New Castle (pop. 4,862) was built in 1809 when war with England was imminent. The weapons depot since has been used as a schoolhouse, a hospital and, most recently, a restaurant.

first appeared: 3/9/2008

—Confederate prisoners captured during the Civil War were housed at the Union’s Fort Delaware prison, located on Pea Patch Island. Most of the more than 2,400 inmates who died in the prison were buried at Finn’s Point, in neighboring New Jersey.

first appeared: 2/24/2008

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