Sussex County, Delaware facts for kids

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Sussex County

County of Delaware

Sussex County Courthouse in Georgetown

Flag

Seal

Location within the U.S. state of Delaware

Delaware's location within the U.S.

Country

United States

State

Delaware

Founded

August 8, 1683

Sussex, England

Largest city

Area

• Total

1,196 sq mi (3,100 km²)

• Land

936 sq mi (2,420 km²)

• Water

260 sq mi (700 km²) 21.7%

Population

(2020)

• Total

237,378

• Density

253.61/sq mi (97.92/km²)

Time zone

UTC−5 (Eastern)

• Summer (DST)

UTC−4 (EDT)

Congressional district

At-large

Sussex County is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of Delaware, on the Delmarva Peninsula. As of the 2020 census, the population was 237,378, making it the state's second most populated county only behind New Castle and ahead of Kent. The county seat is Georgetown.

The first European settlement in the state of Delaware was founded by the Dutch in 1631 near the present-day town of Lewes on the Atlantic Coast. However, Sussex County was not organized until 1683 under English colonial rule.

Sussex County is included in the Salisbury, MD-DE metropolitan statistical area which encompasses much of central Delmarva.

History

Beginnings

Archaeologists estimate that the first inhabitants of Sussex County, the southernmost county in Delaware, arrived between 10,000 and 14,000 years ago. Various indigenous cultures occupied the area, especially along the river and the coast, often having seasonal fishing villages. Historic Native Americans in Sussex County were members of Algonquian-speaking tribes, as were most coastal peoples along the Atlantic Coast.

By the historic period of European encounter, the most prominent tribes in the area were the Lenape, whose territory extended through the mid-Atlantic states to Connecticut and the future New York metropolitan area, and Nanticoke tribes. The people settled along the numerous bodies of water in the area where they were able to harvest fish, oysters, and other shellfish in the fall and winter. In the warmer months the women planted and cultivated crops, and processed the food. The men hunted deer and other small mammals, as larger game was not present in the area.

European discovery

There is no agreement on which European group was the first to settle in Sussex County. Historians believe that, in the early years of exploration from 1593 to 1630, Spanish or Portuguese explorers were likely the first Europeans to see the Delaware River and the lands of present-day Sussex County.

On an expedition for the Dutch West India Company, Henry Hudson recorded discovery in 1609 of what was later named the Delaware River. Attempting to following him, Samuel Argall, an English explorer, was blown off course in 1610 and landed in a strange bay which he named after the Governor of Virginia, Thomas West, Lord De La Warr.

In the first half of 1613, Cornelius Jacobsen Mey, a Dutch navigator, discovered and named both Cape May and Cape Henlopen (originally Hindlopen) in the Delaware Bay. Later it was found that what May had named Henlopen was Fenwick Island, protruding into the Atlantic Ocean. The name of the cape was moved to its present location just east of Lewes.

European settlement

Sussex County was the site of the first European settlement in Delaware, a Dutch trading post named Zwaanendael at the present site of Lewes. On June 3, 1631, Dutch captain David Pietersen de Vries landed along the shores of the Delaware to establish a whaling colony in the mid-Atlantic of the New World. The colony lasted only until 1632, when De Vries left. Upon returning to Zwaanendael that December, he found the Indian tribes had killed his men and burned the colony. The Dutch set about settling the area once again.

Although the Dutch and Swedes returned to resettle the Delaware River region as early as 1638, much of the Delaware Bay area south of what is today the city of Newcastle was not settled until 1662. At that time, the city of Amsterdam made a grant of land at the Hoernkills (the area around Cape Henlopen, near the current town of Lewes) to a party of Mennonites. A total of 35 men were to be included in the settlement, led by a Pieter Cornelisz Plockhoy of Zierikzee, and funded by a sizable loan from the city to get them established. This settlement, established in 1663, was organized in part by the Dutch to respond to threats from the English colony of Maryland to the west beginning to assert rights over the area. The English wrested control of New Netherland from the Dutch in 1664 and they destroyed the Mennonite settlement that same year; English reports indicated that “not even a nail” was left there.

Settlement in the area after the English ejected the Dutch was slow. The Swedes and Finns who had settled in the area from the days of New Sweden had generally welcomed the English and were allowed to stay; the few Dutch found in the area were rounded up as prisoners and sent to Virginia as slaves. Lord Baltimore encouraged Marylanders to move east to settle the area. But the land was far removed from other, more established settlements and did not appeal to many new settlers. It was a tempting wilderness base for pirates to hide out from authorities and regularly pillage settlers for supplies.

The Dutch briefly recaptured the territory in 1673 as part of the Third Anglo-Dutch War. At that point, they established courts in the town of New Castle and at the Hoerkill at the southern end of the territory, effectively creating two counties out of the territory. After the war concluded in 1674, the Delaware territory was returned to the English. It was then placed under the control of James Stuart, Duke of York.

In 1680, the Duke reorganized the territory south of the Mispillion River as Deale County with the county seat at New Deale (modern-day Lewes); and created a third county, St. Jones, out of the Delaware territory between the Mispillion River and Duck Creek. In 1682, English King Charles II awarded the Delaware territories to William Penn in settlement of family debts, and Penn reorganized all three Delaware counties: Deale County become Sussex County, and St. Jones County became Kent County, in recognition of Penn's homelands in Sussex County, England. He brought 200 people from Sussex, England as colonists. The town of New Deale was renamed Lewistown (today known as Lewes). At this time, Penn claimed that the Delaware territory extended as far south as Fenwick Island. The 'Three Lower Counties' (Delaware) along Delaware Bay were considered under Penn's sphere of settlement and became the Delaware Colony, a satellite of Pennsylvania.

But the boundary disputes continued between Pennsylvania and Maryland. Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore and William Penn both claimed the land between the 39th and 40th parallels, according to the charters granted to each colony. Whereas Penn claimed the Delaware territories extended to Fenwick Island, Calvert claimed the Maryland Colony ended at Lewes, with all the land south of the settlement belonging to Somerset County.

In 1732 Charles Calvert signed a territorial agreement with William Penn's sons that drew a line somewhere in between the two colonies and renounced Calvert's claim to Delaware. But Lord Baltimore later claimed that the document he signed did not contain the terms he had agreed to, and refused to put the agreement into effect. Beginning in the mid-1730s, violence erupted between settlers claiming various loyalties to Maryland and Pennsylvania. The border conflict between Pennsylvania and Maryland would be known as Cresap's War.

In 1750-1751, a team of surveyors from both colonies surveyed and marked the Transpeninsular Line, which established the southern boundary of Sussex County. However, residents of the disputed territory continued to pay taxes to Maryland into the 1770s.

The issue was unresolved until the Crown intervened in 1760, ordering Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore to accept the 1732 agreement. As part of the settlement, the Penns and Calverts commissioned the English team of Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon to survey the newly established boundaries between the Province of Pennsylvania, the Province of Maryland, Delaware Colony and parts of Colony and Old Dominion of Virginia.

Between 1763 and 1767, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon surveyed the Mason-Dixon line, settling Sussex County's western borders. After Pennsylvania abolished slavery in 1781, the western part of this line and the Ohio River became a border between free and slave states. Although Delaware remained a slave state, it already had a number of free blacks, and slaveholders manumitted more slaves in the first two decades after the Revolution.

The resolution of the boundary dispute enlarged Sussex County considerably, and the new territory was nicknamed New Sussex.

In 1769 a movement started to move the county seat from Lewes to the area then known as Cross Roads, the present day site of Milton. The current county seat of Georgetown was settled upon on January 27, 1791 after residents in western Sussex County successfully petitioned the Delaware General Assembly to move the county seat to a central location, as the limited roads at the time made it too difficult for outlying residents to reach the county seat in Lewes.

Georgetown was not a previously established town. On May 9, 1791, the 10 commissioners headed by President of the State Senate George Mitchell negotiated the purchase of 76 acres (310,000 m²), and Commissioner Rhodes Shankland began the survey by laying out "a spacious square of 100 yards (91 m) each way." Eventually the town was laid out in a circle one mile (1.6 km) across. It was centered on the original square surveyed by Shankland, which is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Georgetown was named after Senate President George Mitchell.

Sussex County has been known by several names over the years, including Susan County, Hoorenkill or Whorekill County as named by the Dutch prior to 1680 when Kent County broke off. From 1680 to 1682 it was known as Deale County, after being taken over by the British under James Stuart, Duke of York prior to signing over to William Penn. It was called Durham County when claimed by the Lords Baltimore during the boundary dispute with the Penn family.

Geography

Cape Henlopen seen from Cape Henlopen State Park in Lewes

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,196 square miles (3,100 km²), of which 936 square miles (2,420 km²) is land and 260 square miles (670 km²) (21.7%) is water. It is the largest county in Delaware by area. The county's land area comprises 48.0 percent of the state's land area. It is the second-highest percentage of territory of a state of any county in the United States.

Sussex County, like all of Delaware's counties, is subdivided into Hundreds. There are several explanations given for how the Hundreds were determined: as an area containing 100 families, an area containing 100 people, or an area that could raise 100 soldiers. Sussex County is apportioned into eleven Hundreds: Cedar Creek, Broadkiln, Georgetown, Nanticoke, Northwest Fork, Broad Creek, Little Creek, Dagsboro, Baltimore, Indian River, and Lewes & Rehoboth.

The eastern portion of the county is home to most of Delaware's beaches on the Atlantic Coast and many seaside resorts. The western side of the county is the center of Delaware's agriculture, industry with more acres of arable land under cultivation than anywhere else in the state.

Cluster of bald cypress trees seen in Trap Pond State Park

Sussex County is home to an extensive system of Southern saltwater and freshwater wetlands, notably the Great Cypress Swamp. This massive freshwater swamp contains the northernmost strand of Bald Cypress trees in the United States.

Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge is a 10,000 acres (40 km²) along the western shore of Delaware Bay. The refuge contains a variety of habitats, including freshwater and salt marshes, woodlands, grasslands, ponds, and forested areas, supporting 267 species of birds and a variety of reptiles, amphibians and mammals.

Adjacent counties

Major highways

US 9
US 13
US 113
DE 1
DE 1A
DE 1B
DE 1D
DE 5
DE 16
DE 17
DE 18
DE 20
DE 23
DE 24
DE 26
DE 30
DE 36
DE 54
DE 404

National protected area

Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1790	20,488	—
1800	19,358	−5.5%
1810	27,750	43.4%
1820	24,057	−13.3%
1830	27,115	12.7%
1840	25,093	−7.5%
1850	25,936	3.4%
1860	29,615	14.2%
1870	31,696	7.0%
1880	36,018	13.6%
1890	38,647	7.3%
1900	42,276	9.4%
1910	46,413	9.8%
1920	43,741	−5.8%
1930	45,507	4.0%
1940	52,502	15.4%
1950	61,336	16.8%
1960	73,195	19.3%
1970	80,356	9.8%
1980	98,004	22.0%
1990	113,229	15.5%
2000	156,638	38.3%
2010	197,145	25.9%
2020	237,378	20.4%
2023 (est.)	263,509	33.7%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2020

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 197,145 people, 79,368 households, and 53,698 families residing in the county. The population density was 210.6 inhabitants per square mile (81.3/km²). There were 123,036 housing units at an average density of 131.4 per square mile (50.7/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 79.0% white, 12.7% black or African American, 1.0% Asian, 0.8% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 4.1% from other races, and 2.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 8.6% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 17.9% were Irish, 17.8% were German, 15.9% were English, 7.0% were Italian, and 6.2% were American.

Of the 79,368 households, 27.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.3% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 32.3% were non-families, and 25.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.89. The median age was 45.4 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $51,046 and the median income for a family was $59,053. Males had a median income of $41,978 versus $32,148 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,779. About 8.0% of families and 11.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.4% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.

2020-2021 census and census estimates

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 237,378. According to the 2021 American Community Survey, the racial and ethnic makeup of the county was 75.4% non-Hispanic white, 11.8% Black or African American, 1.1% Native American, 1.4% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 2.3% multiracial, and 9.6% Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Economy

Cornfields seen near Lewes

Most of Sussex County's economy revolves around agriculture. In fact, Sussex County produces the most poultry of any county in the United States.

Tourism also plays a large part of the economy, particularly in eastern Sussex County. According to SeaGrant Delaware, the Delaware Beaches generate $6.9 billion annually and over $711 million in tax revenue.

The average home and property price in Sussex County increased 250% in the ten years between 1995 and 2005. Local increases within Sussex County for this period include a 381% increase for Millsboro and a 609% increase for Millville. Sussex County is served by the Delmarva Central Railroad and the Maryland and Delaware Railroad.

Education

Public

Sussex County is served by eight public school districts.

Cape Henlopen School District
Delmar School District
Indian River School District
Laurel School District
Milford School District (also serves Kent County)
Seaford School District
Woodbridge School District (also serves Kent County)
Sussex Technical School District (County-wide overlay school district)

The county also contains one charter school, the Sussex Academy of Arts & Sciences.

Those state funded public high schools which participate in sporting events are members of the Henlopen Conference.

Private

There are several private schools in Sussex County: Bible Center Christian Academy (Laurel), Children Craft CO (Seaford), Delmarva Christian High School (Georgetown, Destiny Christian School (Georgetown), Eagle's Nest Christian School (Milton), Epworth Christian School (Laurel), Greenwood Mennonite School (Greenwood), Harbor Christian Academy (Ellendale), The Jefferson School (Georgetown), Jesus Is Lord Christian Academy (Georgetown), Lighthouse Christian School (Dagsboro), Lighted Pathway Christian Academy (Seaford), Milford Christian School (Milford) and Seaford Christian Academy (Seaford).

Higher education

There are several colleges and universities in Sussex County. Delaware Technical Community College has the largest presence in the county, but students can also attend Delaware State University, Goldey-Beacom College, University of Delaware all in Georgetown, the Philadelphia Bible College in Ellendale, and the Beebe Hospital School of Nursing in Lewes. The University of Delaware also maintains a marine science campus in Lewes.

Culture

The culture in Sussex County is much like that found in other Delmarva counties. Sussex County is starkly different from the rest of the Mid-Atlantic and is much like that of the Southern United States. Sussex County is driven by agriculture and commercial fishing. Most of the land is rural and there are but a few large population centers. Many local restaurants serve southern cuisine such as sweet tea and dishes including or composed entirely of greens in addition to menus heavy with fried food.

Many dialectic studies show that Sussex County residents, much like surrounding Delmarva counties, have a variation of Southern American English which is particularly prevalent in rural areas.

Festivals, fairs, and events

Sussex County, Delaware is home to several festivals, fairs, and events. Some of the more notable festivals are the Bethany Beach Jazz Funeral to mark the end of summer, Apple Scrapple Festival in Bridgeville, the Return Day Parade held after elections in even-numbered years in Georgetown, the Laurel Independence Day Celebration, the Nanticoke Indian Pow Wow in Oak Orchard, the Rehoboth Beach Chocolate Festival, the Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival, the Rehoboth Beach Jazz Festival, the Sea Witch Halloween Festival and Parade in Rehoboth Beach, and Seaford Riverfest. Also, Sussex County is the home of the Senior League Softball World Series in Roxana at the Lower Sussex Little League Field. The World Championship Punkin Chunkin was held in Sussex County.

Media

Newspapers

Cape Gazette
Coastal Point, Ocean View
Delaware Coast Press, Rehoboth Beach
Delaware Wave, Bethany Beach
Hoy en Delaware, Georgetown
Laurel Star, Laurel
Leader & State Register, Seaford
Seaford Star, Seaford
Sussex Countian
Sussex Post, Georgetown
The Script, Georgetown (published at various times throughout the school year, stories by DelTech students majoring in communications)

Radio

Call sign	Frequency	City of license	Owner	Format
WUSX	0098.5 FM	Seaford	Adams Radio Group	Country
WGMD	0092.7 FM	Rehoboth Beach	Resort Broadcasting Co., LLC	News Talk Information
WJKI-FM	0103.5 FM	Bethany Beach	The Voice Radio, LLC	Classic Rock
WJWL	0900 AM	Georgetown	Great Scott Broadcasting	Spanish Variety
WKDB	0095.3 FM	Laurel	Great Scott Broadcasting	Contemporary Hit Radio
WOCM	0098.1 FM	Selbyville	Irie Radio, Inc.	Album Adult Alternative
WRBG-LP	0106.5 FM	Millsboro	Rhythm and Blues Group Harmonty Association, Inc.
WSUX	1280 AM	Seaford	Great Scott Broadcasting	Spanish Variety
WZBH	0093.5 FM	Georgetown	Adams Radio Group	Active Rock
WZEB	0101.7 FM	Ocean View	Great Scott Broadcasting	Contemporary Hit Radio
WXDE	0105.9 FM	Lewes	Delmarva Broadcasting Company	News Talk

Television

Sussex County is officially classified as being part of the Salisbury television market. However, due to the association with the Philadelphia and Baltimore metropolitan areas, their channels are usually available on cable and sometimes provide news coverage.
WBOC, Salisbury, CBS & Fox
WDPB, Seaford, PBS
WMDT, Salisbury, ABC & The CW
WRDE-LD, Salisbury, NBC and MyTV
WBAL, Baltimore, NBC
WJZ, Baltimore, CBS
WCAU, Philadelphia, NBC
WTXF, Philadelphia, Fox