Milford chronicle., 1939-05-12
By HAIL BENNETT

of the ID. A. r. makes possible this
article to you dealing with interest
ing, historical data on Sussex coun-
ty.
Sussex county was known in early
history as the Hoorn Kill, or Hore
Kill, and extended from Bombay
Hook to Cape Henlopen. The namo
Hoorn probably came from Hoorn.
Holland. birthplace of DeVries
Dutch general of the first expedition
which landed in 1881 at the present
site of Lewes.
The story of Fort Oplandt should
interest us, for the Indian massacre
resulted from unusual circumstan-
ces. At the fort the Dutch built a
pillar which bore piece of tin mar
ked with the coat of arms of the
United Provinces. The Indians stole
the tin. The whites became enraged.
Wishing to keep peace with the
whites, the Indians apolOgized for
the wrOng-doing and offered to make
amends. In fact the Indians even
killed the offending chief and
brought his scalp to the fort in a
token of friendliness. The whites
were Mortified, grew more angry and
rejected the gift with horror. The
friends of the murdered chieftan re-
volted at this action of the whites
and attacked them one day while
the men were working in the field.
The Indian attack was so ruthless
and full of revenge that they even
butchered a sick man who lay there.
The Indians captured the fort. To
make certain that all form of Dutch
life was extinguished. the savages
pierced a large dog with arrows, and
left him as a memorial of Indian re-
venge.
Hoorn first applied to the creek
on which the earliest settlement was
made (now Lewes Creek, later cor
rupted into Wherekill, kill" being
the Dutch name for river, and ap-
piled to all the region lying south OF
Bombay Hook With regards to the
name for the region there exists a
tradition that the Indian women had
behaved disgracefully. English doc
uments give the name of the creek
as Wherekill, in some cases Harlot's
Greek, surrounding a region called
"Zwaanendael," meaning Valley OF
the Swans, these birds then being
numerous in that part of the terri
tory now known as Sussex county.
During the time of the dispute be-
tween the colonial proprietors Penn
and Calvert for the most southern
of Penn's three lower counties, a
part of the land now embraced in
Sussex county was called Old Sus-
sex. the remaining portion, New
Sussex. In the district ruled by the
Friends under William Penn the Of
fetal insignia of Sussex county was
a sheaf of wheat.
The first county seat of Sussex
was at Lewes by general consent,
since Lewes had formally been made
the place for transaction of county
affairs from the establishment of a
trading post in 1858. Dutch COM
manders had held military courts in
a fo:t which had been built at Hoorn
XIII. This practice was followed by
the English in 1864. 1t was almost
100 years later. between 174O-5O. that
a court house, consisting of single
frame structure, was built at Lewes.
Around 1886 there was agitation
for a change of county seat. In time
a commission was authorized which
included George Mitchell and Robert
Houston. The commission was in
to purchase in fee land not
exceeding 100 acres near the center
Of the county. The purchase was
made and the place called George
town, in honor of George Mitchell.
First mention of the name Humid
red in Delaware was in 1890. 1t was
to be derived from a sug-
gestion by William Penn that land
be divided among ten families in ac'
cordance with an old English Gus
ON, on the assumption that each
family was ten in number, making
1ne hundred. Hundreds in Sussex
county number thirteen: Cedar
Creek, Nanticoke, Northwest Fork.
Seaford, Broadkill. Broad Creek, Lit
lie Creek, Gumboro, Georgetown,
Lewes and Rehoboth, Indian River,
Baltimore and Dagsboro Hundreds.
Among the foremost citizens of
1agsboro Hundred in EARLIER times
vas Armwell Long. colonel in the {
Var of 1912. and son of David Long, 5
revolutionary fighter.
When iewes was bombarded by
he British in the spring of 1913, {
nd a call sent out Cor militiamen
nd volunteers, Armwell Long form
d company of u men, most of 9
hem In laws and walked to Lewes, n
arrying a flag. I
On the afternoon of April 6, 1873,
he bonlbardment which had threat e
ned Lewastown for three weeks was
egun by the British ship Belvidere.
nd two small vessels firing num-
er of 32-pound shot. This fray was s
1llowed by a flag of truce from Cap r
ain Bryon in command of the Bel !
idere, renewing demands made +
Iarch 16. n
Colonel Davis in charge of the
troops. replied to the de- a
land as follows:
Sir: In reply to the renewal OF
our demand, with the addition for
supply of water have to inform L
OIL that neither can be complied =,