Smyrna times., 1951-01-04
NEW CASTLE
TERCENTENARY
To Celebrate Booth Anniver.
sary of Founding of New
Castle Sat-, June 16
DUTCH SETTLEMENT

III preparation lot the oOULn an
niversary of the town of New
Castle, the following information
is furnished by the Tercentenary
Commission:
To the early Dutch Delaware
owes it's existence as a separate
colony and state, one of the orig.
inal thirteen, as well as the begin
ming of self-government on its
soil at the site of the delightful old
town of New Castle on the Della
ware River.
AT New Castle, Saturday, June
16. 1851, Delaware will celebrate
the 300th anniversary of the found
ing of the town by Peter Stuyves-
ant, the director general of New
Netherland in America, and will
pay tribute to the founders and the
settlers under Dutch rule on the
Delaware River.
The Dutch nation claimed all the
territory of the Delaware and the
Hudson River valleys by right of
discovery in 1909. They named this
whole region New Netherland in
honor of their homeland-the Unit
ed Netherlands (Holland). In 1926,
they founded as their capital, New
Amsterdam (New York; on their
North River (the Hudson).
The Delaware was their South
River. They had fort on it oppo.
site the site of Philadelphia in 1924
and in 1881 settled a colony at the
site of Lewes on Delaware Bay
There, when the settlers were reap
ing their first harvest, the Indians
fell upon them and killed all but
one man who escaped. But it was
this settlement and the cultivation
of their fields by the Dutch that
kept the Delaware territory sepa.
rate from that of Maryland.
The Dutch made peace with the
Indians, continued to control the
river, and enjoyed fine trade il
beaver and other skins until the
Swedes came to settle in 1888 al
the present site of Wilmington
During the next ten years thu
Swedes captured the best of thu
trade on the Delaware.
This was too much for the Wig
orous Peter Stuyvesant, appointed
governor of New Netherland, 1647
by the Dutch West India Company
the chartered agency for trade ant
settlement. In the summer of 1851
he came down from New Amster
dam with ships, men, and supplies
secured from the Indians the Ian!
from Christiana Creek to Bomba,
Hook and built Fort Casimir on
then high point at the end of New
Castles present Chestnut Street
With "Old Fort Casimir" tn
Dutch again controlled the rive
trade. Close by it they began t.
build the town. The Swedes seize,
this settlement in 1854, but tn
next year Peter Stuyvesant tool
dt back and established Dutch rul
on the whole river. The Swedish
governor returned to Sweden, bu
many of the Swedes accepted Stuy
Wesant's offer of Dutch citizenship
under himself and his deputy gov
ernor, Jean Paul Jacquet, at For
CaSimir.
Fort Casimir became New AIMS
tel April IL, 1857, with the signing
of deed of transfer of the colon.
between the Christiana River an
Bombay Hook, from the Dutcl
West India Company to the burgo
masters of the city of Amsterdam
in Holland. Jacob Alrichs, the neV
director sent over by the burgo
masters, arrived at New Amste
April %, in the ship Gilded Beave
filed with colonists, men, womer
and children, and the schoolmaste
Everett Petersen. More people cam
later.
In spite of serious misfortunes
storms, sickness, and the lurin
away of some of his settlers t
Maryland, Governor Alrichs coul
soon write home to Amsterdam
''rhis settlement is now pretty fin
looking and convenient, with III
houses built"
Director General Stuyvesan
continued to control the rest of tn