Delaware Trivia & Tidbits - Page 7

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

When the tracks of the Delaware Railroad reached the Maryland border in 1859, "the little town too big for one state" was born: Delmar (pop. 1,407) in Delaware and Delmar (pop. 1,859) in Maryland.

first appeared: 1/30/2005

Each fall, Sussex County hosts the Punkin’ Chunkin’ contest in Millsboro (pop. 2,360) during which contestants see whose machine will hurl a 10-pound pumpkin the farthest. The contraptions range from catapults to centrifugal engines to cannons.

first appeared: 1/16/2005

Once known as Sandy Branch, Selbyville (pop. 1,645) was founded in 1778 at the head of the St. Martin's River. The town got its current name in the 1840s when merchant Sampson Selby began asking businesses to ship goods to his store in "Selby-ville."
MAINE-The town of Harpswell (pop. 5,239) consists of a 10-mile-long peninsula in Casco Bay and more than 200 islands. The three largest-Great, Orr's and Bailey-are joined to the mainland, and to each other, by bridges.

first appeared: 1/2/2005

The National Har-bor of Refuge Breakwater, completed in 1901, extends one and a quarter miles into Delaware Bay and provides safe haven for large ships during storms.

first appeared: 12/19/2004

At the Delaware Technical and Community College in Georgetown (pop. 4,643), the Southern Campus Arboretum is home to the Trees of the States exhibit, which includes an example of each state’s official tree, identified by common and scientific names.

first appeared: 12/19/2004

Wilmington’s Du Pont Co. supplied about 40 percent of the gunpowder used by Allied troops during World War I.

first appeared: 12/5/2004

The 1989 movie Dead Poets Society, about a 1950s boys' boarding school, was filmed in Delaware.

first appeared: 11/21/2004

Known as much for her sportsmanship as for her phenomenal volleys, Margaret Osborne duPont, 86, of Wilmington ranks among the all-time top women tennis champions with 37 titles.

first appeared: 11/7/2004

At Wicked R Western Productions in Wyoming (pop. 1,141), visitors don’t just watch—they take bull-riding lessons from champion rodeo riders.

first appeared: 10/24/2004

Franklin Shakespeare of Wilmington was a member of the U.S. rowing crew that defeated the Soviet Union team in the 1952 Olympics. He was the first Delawarean to win a gold medal.

first appeared: 10/10/2004

The 1812 Memorial Park in Lewes (pop. 2,932) commemorates the defense by townspeople against a two-day barrage of cannonballs from British ships on April 6 and 7, 1813. Fortunately, most of the cannonballs fell short of the town.

first appeared: 10/3/2004

The Hagley Museum in Wilmington is the site of the original du Pont family estate, built in 1802 by E.I. du Pont, founder of the DuPont Co.

first appeared: 9/19/2004

Return Day in Georgetown (pop. 4,643) is an 18th-century tradition celebrated biennially with an ox roast. Historically, Sussex County residents voted there and returned two days later to hear the results.

first appeared: 9/12/2004

Artifacts dating back to the last ice age can be found at the Delaware Archaeological Museum in Dover (pop. 32,135).

first appeared: 9/5/2004

More than 100 antique and contemporary dollhouses are displayed at the Delaware Toy and Miniature Museum in Wilmington. The collection also provides a historical look at dolls, toys, trains, planes and boats.

first appeared: 8/29/2004

Augustine Beach in Port Penn is named for surveyor Augustine Herman, believed to be the first Czech immigrant to America. Herman mapped the Delmarva Peninsula in the mid-1600s.

first appeared: 8/22/2004

Each June, the Italian-American community in Wilmington celebrates its cultural heritage with the annual St. Anthony Italian Festival, which dates back to 1925.

first appeared: 8/15/2004

In 1900, renowned illustrator Howard Pyle established an art studio in Wilmington, later known as the Brandywine School of Illustration.

first appeared: 8/8/2004

Opened in 1876, the Indian River Lifesaving Station near Bethany Beach (pop. 903) was one of the first four stations along the Atlantic Coast devoted to rescuing shipwreck survivors. It is now an educational museum.

first appeared: 8/1/2004

The 1780 Barratt’s Chapel in Frederica (pop. 648) is considered America’s “Cradle of Methodism.” It was there that the nation’s only remaining Methodist preacher, Francis Asbury, met England’s Thomas Coke in 1784. The meeting was the catalyst for the establishment of the Methodist Episcopal Church in America.

first appeared: 7/25/2004

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