DELAWARE, one of the United States, bounded on the north by Pennsylvania, on the east by Delaware River and Bay, and on the south and west by Maryland. It is in long. 74. 56. to 75. 40. W. lat. 38. 29. to 39. 47. N.; is ninety-two miles long, and twenty-three broad; and contains 2120 square miles. It is divided into three counties, which are subdivided into twenty-five hundreds. Dover is the seat of government, but Wilmington is the largest town. The other most considerable towns are Newcastle, Georgetown, Smyrna, Milford, and Lewistown. Presbyterians are the most numerous denomination of Christians; but there are, besides, a considerable number of Methodists. The legislature consists of a senate chosen for three years, and a house of representatives, chosen annually on the first Tuesday of October. The governor is chosen by the people for three years, but he can hold the office only three years in six. The principal rivers, besides the Delaware, which forms a part of the boundary, are Brandywine Creek, Christiana Creek, Duck Creek, Mispillion Creek, Indian River, Choptant, and Nanticoe. Delaware is, next to Rhode Island, the smallest state in the Union, and the most diversified in surface. The general aspect of the greater part of it is that of an extended plain, though the north-western portion of the county of Newcastle is hilly or uneven. The heights of Christiana are lofty and commanding, and the hills of Brandywine are rough and stony; but in the lower country there is little diversity of level. The highest ridge between Delaware and Chesapeake Bay passes through this state; and on the summit of the ridge there is a chain of swamps, from which a number of waters descend on the west to Chesapeake Bay, and on the east to the Delaware River. Along the Delaware, and for about nine miles into the interior, the soil is generally a rich clay, which produces large timber, and is well adapted to the purposes of agriculture; but between this tract and the swamps the soil is light, sandy, and of an inferior quality. In the county of Newcastle the soil is a stony clay, in Kent it is mixed with sand, and in Sussex the sand greatly predominates. The principal articles of produce are wheat, Indian corn, rye, barley, oats, flax, buckwheat, and potatoes. The county of Sussex contains some excellent grazing lands; and it exports great quantities of timber, obtained from Cypress Swamp, on Indian River, which extends about six miles from east to west, and nearly twelve from north to south. The staple commodity is wheat, which is of a superior quality, and is highly esteemed for its uncommon softness and whiteness, and is therefore preferred in foreign markets. Large establishments[7:7:682] have been erected for manufacturing wheat into flour. Of these, the Brandywine mills, in the vicinity of Wilmington, are the most important. They are the finest collection of mills in the United States, and are celebrated both for the excellence and the quantity of flour which they manufacture. Delaware contains very fine minerals. In the county of Sussex, and amongst the branches of the Nanticoe, are large quantities of bog iron ore, well adapted for casting. Before the Revolution it was wrought to a great extent, but since that event the business has declined.

Delaware was settled by the Swedes and Finns as early as 1627. The colony was formed under the auspices of Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden, w ho named the country Nova Swecia. Hoarhill, now Lewistown, was founded in 1630; but the Dutch having claimed the country, it passed under their power in 1655. In 1604 the colony on the Delaware fell, with other parts of New Amsterdam, into the hands of the English; and was granted by Charles II. to his brother James, duke of York, who, in 1682, conveyed it, as far as Henlopen, to William Penn. In 1704 Delaware, though under the same proprietor, became a separate colonial establishment, and it remained as such until the Revolution. Its constitution was formed in 1776. The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal crosses this state. As a manufacturing state, Delaware holds a rank far above its relative extent and population. The works near Wilmington are extensive and highly valuable. As early as 1810, the value of the various manufactures exceeded 1,733,000 dollars. The population amounted in 1790 to 59,094, in 1800 to 64,272, in 1810 to 72,674, and in 1820 to 72,749; the white males being 27,904, white females 27,377, free blacks 12,958, slaves 4509.

Delaware, a river of the United States, which rises in Catskill Mountains, in New York. In its course it separates Pennsylvania from New York and New Jersey, and loses itself in Delaware Bay, about five miles below Newcastle. It is navigable for a seventy-four gun ship as far as Philadelphia, fifty-five miles above the head of the bay, and about a hundred and twenty from the ocean; for sloops to the head of the tide at Trenton, thirty-five miles above Philadelphia; and for boats a hundred miles farther, but the boat navigation above Easton is very difficult. Its two most important tributaries are the Schuylkill and the Lehigh. The whole length, from its source to the bay, is about three hundred miles. The principal towns on the Delaware, besides Philadelphia, are Easton, Bristol, Trenton, Bordentown, and Burlington.

Delaware Bay, a large bay or arm of the sea, between the states of Delaware and New Jersey, formed by the mouth of the Delaware River, and several other smaller ones. It is sixty-five miles long, and in the centre about thirty miles across, and about eighteen at its mouth, from Cape Henlopen, in long. 76. 6. W. lat. 38. 47. N., to Cape May, in long. 74. 52. W. lat. 38. 57. N.