Misplaced Pages

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93-612: Delaware Route 2 ( DE 2 ) is a 10.81-mile-long (17.40 km) east–west state highway located in the northern part of New Castle County in the U.S. state of Delaware . It runs from DE 72 and DE 273 on the eastern edge of Newark east to DE 52 in Wilmington . Between Newark and Wilmington, the route is a four- to six-lane divided highway called Capitol Trail and Kirkwood Highway that passes through suburban areas, running through Marshallton , Prices Corner , and Elsmere . In Wilmington, DE 2

186-519: A Thoroughbred horse racetrack, casino, and golf course. Following this, the road has a junction Milltown Road prior to crossing Mill Creek . In Marshallton , the route widens to six lanes and comes to an intersection with DE 7 (Limestone Road). Past this intersection, DE 2 continues past businesses and passes south of the Delaware State University Wilmington campus, crossing Duncan Road. The road comes to

279-549: A bridge over Red Clay Creek and the Wilmington and Western Railroad before reaching Prices Corner and an intersection with Newport Gap Pike, which heads northwest as DE 41 and southeast as DE 62 . At this point, DE 2 passes to the north of the Prices Corner Shopping Center and has a junction with Albertson Boulevard; this road heads north to provide access to Greenbank Road which in turn leads east to Centerville Road. The road comes to

372-465: A bridge over Centerville Road and heads north of a park and ride lot along Centerville Road before reaching a partial cloverleaf interchange with the DE ;141 freeway. The DE 141 interchange includes a ramp from Centerville Road that merges with the ramp from northbound DE 141 to eastbound DE 2. Following this interchange, DE 2 narrows to four lanes and continues east through

465-540: A divided highway between Prices Corner and Elsmere, with plans to extend the divided highway westward to bypass the two-lane section through Marshallton to the north along a new alignment. In 1939, the divided highway alignment of DE 2 was completed between DE 7 and Elsmere, with the exception of the bridge over the Red Clay Creek in Cranston Heights. This bridge was finished in 1940, completing

558-436: A family was $ 78,072. Males had a median income of $ 52,637 versus $ 41,693 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 31,220. About 6.6% of families and 10.3% of the population were below the poverty line , including 13.6% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over. As of the 2020 census , there were 570,719 people living in the county. According to the 2021 census estimates, its racial and ethnic makeup

651-458: A four-lane divided highway . The road turns northeast and passes under CSX 's Philadelphia Subdivision railroad line before it leaves Newark and continues through residential areas, briefly becoming undivided as it crosses White Clay Creek . After the road crosses Middle Run , DE 72 splits from DE 2 by heading northwest on Possum Park Road, with DE 2 continuing northeast through suburban areas consisting of homes and businesses as

744-667: A four-lane divided highway. The road passes to the south of the community of Pike Creek and intersects several roads including Polly Drummond Hill Road/Red Mill Road, North Harmony Road, and Upper Pike Creek Road. After the Upper Pike Creek Road intersection, the route crosses Pike Creek . At the Pike Creek Road junction, the road name becomes Kirkwood Highway. The highway continues through suburbs and reaches an intersection with Delaware Park Drive, an access road that leads south to Delaware Park , which consists of

837-770: A grade crossing with a junction between the Reading Railroad (now the East Penn Railroad) and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (now CSX's Philadelphia Subdivision) in Elsmere. In 1927, the state took over maintenance of the highway between the Maryland state line and Wilmington via Newark. In November 1931, the Marshallton Cutoff was opened, bypassing the narrow and winding route through

930-667: A high of 49,116 vehicles at the DE ;141 interchange to a low of 19,009 vehicles at the DE 9 intersection. The entire length of DE 2 is part of the National Highway System . The portion of present-day DE 2 between Prices Corner and Wilmington was built in 1881 as New Road, connecting Greenbank Mill to Wilmington. The road that ran from the Maryland state line west of Newark and through Newark to Wilmington, which would later become DE 2,

1023-487: A hill. The road passes homes, eventually narrowing back to two lanes. DE 41 reaches the Pennsylvania state line, where Gap Newport Pike continues northwest as PA 41 . DE 41 serves as part of the main route connecting Wilmington, Delaware , to Lancaster, Pennsylvania , and sees heavy truck traffic. DE 41 has an annual average daily traffic count ranging from a high of 22,650 vehicles at

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1116-741: A mix of homes and businesses, crossing Little Mill Creek and passing to the south of the Wilmington VA Medical Center before it heads across Chestnut Run . At this point, the route enters the town of Elsmere and briefly turns southeast before curving back to the east and reaching an intersection with DE 100 (Dupont Road). Past this intersection, the road comes to a bridge over a junction between CSX's Philadelphia Subdivision and an East Penn Railroad line and then CSX's Market Street Industrial Track line and South Grant Avenue before running past homes and businesses as South Union Street. DE 2 leaves Elsmere and crosses into

1209-401: A two-lane undivided highway, crossing Hyde Run again, and heads towards Hockessin , with stretches of divided highway around the intersections with Millcreek Road/Hercules Road and McKennans Church Road/Loveville Road. In Hockessin, DE 41 meets the western terminus of DE 48 (Lancaster Pike) and merges onto Lancaster Pike. The Lancaster Pike alternates between a divided highway and

1302-470: A two-lane undivided road. DE 41 turns to the west-northwest and passes to the northeast of the Sanford School before it crosses Brackenville Road. At this intersection, the road widens to three lanes, with a second northbound lane for trucks for a short distance as it ascends a hill, before narrowing back to two lanes. The route enters business areas and becomes a three-lane divided highway, with

1395-487: A two-tiered, paramedic intercept EMS system. County paramedics are located in eight full-time stations and one part-time station that operates during the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., with a capability of calling in additional personnel during major emergencies or planned events. Basic life support (BLS) ambulance service is provided primarily by volunteer fire companies with the use of paid employees that are trained in fire suppression and EMS. Fire/Rescue protection

1488-401: Is Kenneth W. Boulden Jr. (D) The recorder of deeds is Michael Kozikowski (D). His office is responsible for receiving and recording deeds , mortgages and satisfactions thereof, assignments, commissions of judges , notaries , and military officers. The recorder of deeds' office is heavily computerized; electronic images of all recent documents and many others are available the office is in

1581-669: Is Scott T. Phillips. New Castle County has a strong zoning code, known as the Unified Development Code, or UDC. The UDC was developed by the Gordon Administration in response to public perception of over- and misdevelopment in the county. New building projects must go through a process of application and approval before construction is permitted to begin. By operation of state law, New Castle County has no responsibility whatsoever for maintenance of roadways . Public roadways are maintained exclusively by

1674-558: Is a two-lane divided highway before it crosses the Wilmington and Western Railroad at-grade south of Greenbank station and the Red Clay Creek in Greenbank . The route becomes an undivided road and continues through a mix of residential neighborhoods and woodland. The road crosses Hyde Run and comes to an intersection with Faulkland Road west of Brandywine Springs Park . Past this junction, DE 41 continues northwest as

1767-603: Is almost double the combined population of Kent and Sussex, the winner in New Castle County has also won Delaware overall in each of the last eighteen presidential elections. In 1992, 2000, 2004 and 2016, the Republican candidate carried Kent and Sussex, only to lose New Castle by double digits–enough of a margin to swing the entire state to the Democrats. New Castle was a bellwether from 1936 to 1996, as it backed

1860-596: Is based in the New Castle County Courthouse in Wilmington. The deputies assigned to this division organize and manage capias returns. They also transport prisoners for Superior Court, Court of Common Pleas, and Family Court. The civil division serves legal process, performs levies & impounds and sells property in satisfaction of judgments . The civil division also locates and apprehends individuals wanted for civil capias. The current sheriff

1953-551: Is located between East Main Street and East Delaware Avenue. East Delaware Avenue shifted farther to the south of East Main Street, with the one-way streets running between a residential neighborhood and East Delaware Avenue heading to the north of Newark High School . Past here, the route came to an intersection with DE 2/DE 72. At this point, DE 2 Bus. ended and eastbound DE 273 headed north with DE 2/DE 72 to rejoin westbound DE 273. The business route

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2046-511: Is located in Wilmington ; it opened in 1982. The Delores J. Baylor Correctional Institution , a women's prison housing pretrial and posttrial prisoners, is located in unincorporated New Castle County. Baylor opened on December 29, 1991. The Delaware male death row was in the JTVCC, while the female death row was in Baylor. Executions were to occur at JTVCC, prior to the 2016 suspension of it by

2139-597: Is provided by twenty-one volunteer fire departments throughout the county. The city of Wilmington has its own career municipal fire department and contracts with a private ambulance service for basic life support coverage. The contracted private ambulance service in Wilmington operates in a tiered response configuration with the New Castle County Paramedics. The Paul J. Sweeney Public Safety Building, located in Minquadale off of US 13 , houses

2232-444: Is routed along the one-way pair of Lincoln Street eastbound and Union Street westbound, passing through urban areas. What would become DE 2 was paved by 1924 and became a state highway in 1927, receiving the DE 2 designation by 1936. At this time, the western terminus of the route was at the Maryland state line southwest of Newark, where the road continued into that state as Maryland Route 279 (MD 279). The road

2325-501: Is subdivided into hundreds . New Castle County is apportioned into eleven hundreds: Brandywine, Christiana, Wilmington (the city of Wilmington, which, by law, is a hundred in itself), Mill Creek, White Clay Creek, Pencader, New Castle, Red Lion, St. Georges, Appoquinimink, and Blackbird. Ebright Azimuth , the highest natural point in Delaware at 448 feet (137 m), is located in New Castle County. The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal

2418-609: Is supported by local municipality police agencies in Middletown , Newark , Delaware City , Wilmington , Newport , Elsmere , the city of New Castle , the University of Delaware , as well as the Delaware State Police . New Castle County also operates a nationally accredited, county-run paramedic service through its Emergency Medical Services Division . NCC*EMS is the advanced life support (ALS) component of

2511-471: The Christina River and headed into residential areas. The road changed names to South Main Street and became undivided as it passed businesses before reaching downtown Newark. Here, DE 2 Bus./DE 896 intersected DE 273, with the road splitting into a one-way pair. Eastbound DE 2 Bus./northbound DE 896 ran concurrent with eastbound DE 273 on West Delaware Avenue, heading to

2604-545: The Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) proposed the renumbering of routes in and around Newark. The plan called for DE 2 to start at DE 273 (Main Street) east of Newark instead of at the Maryland state line as well as the removal of the DE 2 Bus. designation through Newark. In addition, the portion of Elkton Road between the Maryland state line and DE 4/DE 896 (Christiana Parkway)

2697-761: The Delaware Supreme Court . New Castle elects a substantial majority of the state legislature, with 27 state house districts and 17 state senate districts based in the county. New Castle County is home to two minor league sports teams: the Wilmington Blue Rocks (baseball) and the Delaware Blue Coats (basketball), both of which play in Wilmington. It also has a professional auto racing track in New Castle known as Airport Speedway, with races on Saturday nights throughout

2790-761: The Union Park Gardens neighborhood. At this point, DE 2 becomes North Lincoln Street eastbound and North Union Street westbound, with the westbound direction forming a concurrency with westbound DE 48 between West 2nd Street and Lancaster Avenue. The highway enters the Little Italy neighborhood, where it intersects the northern terminus of DE 9 at West 4th Street. The route continues north to its eastern terminus at DE 52 (Pennsylvania Avenue) just east of where CSX's Philadelphia Subdivision railroad line passes over DE 52. DE 2 has an annual average daily traffic count ranging from

2883-477: The 1980s, with the old alignment south of DE 2 becoming part of DE 62. In 2015, the southern terminus was cut back to its current location, removing the concurrency with DE 2. DE 41 begins at an intersection with DE 2 (Kirkwood Highway) in Prices Corner , heading northwest along Newport Gap Pike. South of DE 2, Newport Gap Pike continues southeast as DE 62 . DE 41

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2976-668: The Capitol Trail as the travel corridor eventually led to the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. ; the trail further extended north to Philadelphia and south to Atlanta . By 1924, the roadway between the Maryland state line west of Newark and Wilmington was paved. In 1925, suggestions were made for the state to take over maintenance of the highway connecting the Maryland state line to Newark and Wilmington. The same year, recommendations were made to remove

3069-476: The Colony of Delaware. In September 1673, a Dutch council established a court at New Castle with the boundaries defined as north of Steen Kill (present-day Stoney Creek) and south to Bomties Hook (renamed Bombay Hook). In 1681, a 12-mile arc was drawn to specifically delineate the northern border of New Castle County as it currently exists. In 1685, the western border was finally established by King James II; this

3162-765: The Delaware Code. The county is drained by Brandywine Creek , Christina River , and other channels. Its eastern edge sits along the Delaware River and Delaware Bay . Two small exclaves of the county and the state lie across the Delaware River, on its east bank on the New Jersey side, Finns Point adjacent to Pennsville Township, New Jersey , and the northern tip of Artificial Island , adjacent to Lower Alloways Creek Township, New Jersey . New Castle County, like all of Delaware's counties,

3255-470: The Delaware Department of Transportation, while roadways within neighborhoods and developments are, pursuant to County code, maintained by homeowners' or neighborhood associations. The Department of Public Works maintains essential infrastructure elements such as sanitary sewers and drainage ways. It also maintains County-owned parks and buildings such as County libraries. It does not maintain

3348-561: The Dutch established New Amstel in present-day Delaware , fairly coterminous with today's New Castle County. The establishment was not stable, and it was transferred to the British under the Treaty of Westminster on February 9, 1674. On November 6, 1674, New Amstel was made dependent on New York Colony, and was renamed New Castle on November 11, 1674. On September 22, 1676, New Castle County

3441-506: The Dutch, was renamed Fort Altena and New Netherland ruled once again. John Paul Jacquet was immediately appointed governor, making New Amstel the capital of the Dutch-controlled colony. The Dutch West India Company conveyed land from the south side of Christina Kill to Bombay Hook , and as far west as Minquas land. This land was known as the Colony of The city. On December 22, 1663, the Dutch transferred property rights to

3534-754: The Ferris School for Boys, and the Grace and Snowden Cottages are in unincorporated New Castle County. Several Delaware Department of Correction facilities are located in the county. The James T. Vaughn Correctional Center (JTVCC), formerly the Delaware Correctional Center, is a men's prison in unincorporated New Castle County, housing sentenced prisoners; Vaughn opened in 1971. The Howard R. Young Correctional Institution , renamed from Multi-Purpose Criminal Justice Facility in 2004 and housing both pretrial and posttrial male prisoners,

3627-771: The Gap Road was upgraded to a state highway. DE 41 was designated to run from US 40 (now DE 9 / DE 273 ) in New Castle north to PA 41 at the Pennsylvania state line in Hockessin by 1936. It followed Basin Road north to Newport, James Street through Newport, and the Newport Gap Pike north of there. By 1952, DE 141 was designated to run concurrent with DE 41 from New Castle to north of Newport. In 1954, plans were made to replace

3720-572: The Gap and Newport Turnpike began in 1809 and was completed in 1818. By 1920, this road was maintained by the county. The road north of Lancaster Pike was proposed as a state highway four years later. A year later, a state highway was completed on what would become DE 41 between New Castle and Prices Corner. Plans were underway in 1927 to replace the outdated swing bridge over the Christina River in Newport. Contracts for this project were awarded

3813-509: The Lenape had sold part of the property to the Swedes in 1638. Stuyvesant began to build Fort Casimir (contemporary New Castle ). In 1654, Johan Risingh , commissary and councilor to the governor Lt. Col. Printz, officially assumed Printz's duties and began to expel all Dutch from New Sweden. Fort Casimir surrendered and was renamed Fort Trinity in 1654. The Swedes had complete possession of

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3906-504: The New Castle County Police and Emergency Medical Services Division Headquarters and the emergency communications center supporting 9-1-1 services. The present building opened in 2007 with a construction cost of US$ 50,000,000. The Headquarters occupied a former elementary school building on the same site prior to erection of the current building. New Castle is a strongly Democratic county. Because its population

3999-622: The Old Lancaster Road intersection to a low of 10,332 vehicles at the McKennans Church Road/Loveville Road intersection. The entire length of DE 41 is part of the National Highway System . What is now DE 41 was originally chartered as the Gap and Newport Turnpike on January 30, 1808, an extension of the 1807-chartered turnpike in Pennsylvania that was to run from Gap, Pennsylvania , southeast to Newport, Delaware . Construction of

4092-760: The Pennsylvania state line. These improvements constructed a bypass of Hockessin and added truck lanes on steep grades. This project was scheduled for completion in July 1955. The former alignment of the route through Hockessin became Old Lancaster Pike. The new northbound lanes of DE 41/DE 141 through the I-95 interchange opened in November 1962, at which point construction on the southbound lanes began. The southbound lanes of DE 41/DE 141 opened in June 1964, enabling directional flow of DE 41/DE 141 through

4185-499: The University of Delaware maintain their own police emergency call centers. New Castle County has its own nationally accredited police department. The New Castle County Police Department is the second largest police organization in the state of Delaware. New Castle County maintains a county wide police force with authorization to enforce laws throughout the county, including within incorporated municipalities. The county police force

4278-407: The age of 18 living with them, 46.6% were married couples living together, 14.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.5% were non-families, and 26.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.11. The median age was 37.2 years. The median income for a household in the county was $ 62,474 and the median income for

4371-428: The age of 18 living with them, 49.60% were married couples living together, 13.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.70% were non-families. 25.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.09. In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.90% under

4464-468: The age of 18, 10.30% from 18 to 24, 31.50% from 25 to 44, 21.70% from 45 to 64, and 11.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 94.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.80 males. The median income for a household in the county was $ 52,419, and the median income for a family was $ 62,144. Males had a median income of $ 42,541 versus $ 31,829 for females. The per capita income for

4557-467: The city of Wilmington in the Canby Park Estates neighborhood. The road passes to the north of Canby Park, where it splits into the one-way pair of South Lincoln Street eastbound and South Union Street westbound and heads northeast. The one-way pair, which carries two lanes in each direction, passes urban homes and businesses and reaches an intersection with DE 48 (Lancaster Avenue) in

4650-710: The community of Marshallton. This section included a through plate girder bridge over the Red Clay Creek. In the 1930s, plans were made to build a divided highway alignment of the Capitol Trail between Wilmington and Stanton , including a bypass of Marshallton, as a result of the construction of the Delaware Park racetrack, which opened in 1937. In 1936, DE 2 was designated to run from the Maryland state line southwest of Newark, where it connected to MD 279 , east to DE 52 in Wilmington, following Elkton Road, Main Street, Capitol Trail, New Road, and Union Street. In 1938, construction began on widening DE 2 into

4743-410: The concept of "row offices" from Pennsylvania, so-called because all of these county offices could be found in a row in smaller courthouses. In Delaware, these offices are clerk of the peace , recorder of deeds , register of wills, and sheriff . The office of clerk of the peace is unique among the 50 states; the office-holder's function is almost exclusively to perform marriages. The current incumbent

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4836-532: The concurrency in both directions with northbound DE 896 ended. DE 2 Bus./DE 273 passed through the University of Delaware campus and continued through the commercial downtown as East Delaware Avenue eastbound and East Main Street westbound. Farther east, the one-way pair crossed the Pomeroy and Newark Rail Trail and passed the Newark Transit Hub serving DART First State buses, which

4929-563: The county in 1992 and, like many urban counties, New Castle stayed Democratic ever since. The Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth, and Their Families (DSCYF) has its headquarters in the Delaware Youth and Family Center (DYFC), located in unincorporated New Castle County, near Wilmington . Several DSCYF juvenile facilities, including the New Castle County Detention Center (NCCDC),

5022-544: The county was $ 25,413. 8.40% of the population and 5.60% of families were below the poverty line . Out of the total population, 10.20% of those under the age of 18 and 7.40% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line. As of the 2010 census , there were 538,479 people, 202,651 households, and 134,743 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,263.2 inhabitants per square mile (487.7/km ). There were 217,511 housing units at an average density of 510.2 per square mile (197.0/km ). The racial makeup of

5115-426: The county was 65.5% white, 23.7% black or African American, 4.3% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 3.5% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 8.7% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 19.2% were Irish , 15.0% were German , 11.7% were Italian , 11.3% were English , 6.2% were Polish , and 3.0% were American . Of the 202,651 households, 33.8% had children under

5208-690: The county. The population density was 1,174 inhabitants per square mile (453/km ). There were 199,521 housing units at an average density of 468 per square mile (181/km ). The racial makeup of the county was 73.12% White , 20.22% Black or African American , 0.20% Native American , 2.59% Asian , 0.03% Pacific Islander , 2.22% from other races , and 1.62% from two or more races. 5.26% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 14.6% were of Irish , 11.4% Italian , 10.9% German , 8.8% English and 5.4% Polish ancestry. 89.5% spoke English and 5.3% Spanish as their first language. There were 188,935 households, out of which 32.50% had children under

5301-419: The east, while westbound DE 2 Bus./southbound DE 896 remained along South Main Street, also concurrent with eastbound DE 273. The one-way pair carried two lanes in each direction. Westbound DE 2 Bus. entered South Main Street from West Main Street, which also carried the westbound direction of DE 273 and the northbound direction of DE 896. At the intersection with South College Avenue,

5394-569: The end of the divided highway in Elsmere and Union and Lincoln streets in Wilmington. Due to World War II and steel shortages, construction of the bridge was delayed until after the war. In December 1949, the bridge carrying the route over the Reading Railroad and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in Elsmere was opened to traffic, with final work on the bridge finished in 1950. In 1956, DE 2 and DE 273 were routed onto

5487-648: The following year. The replacement bridge over the Christina River, a bascule bridge , opened on December 1, 1929. In 1927, plans were made to replace the grade crossing at the Pennsylvania Railroad line (now Amtrak 's Northeast Corridor ) in Newport with an underpass under the tracks. Work on this underpass began in 1929. The crossing under the Pennsylvania Railroad was finished and opened to traffic in June 1930. In 1929,

5580-522: The highest population and population density of any Delaware county, and it is the smallest county in the state by area. It has more people than the other two counties, Kent and Sussex , combined. It is also the most economically developed of the three. The first permanent European settlement on Delaware soil was Fort Christina , resulting from Peter Minuit 's 1638 expedition on the Swedish vessels Fogel Grip and Kalmar Nyckel . The Swedes laid out

5673-429: The improvement of DE 2 into a divided highway between DE 7 and Elsmere. The new divided highway routing of DE 2 was extended west from DE 7 to Pike Creek Road in 1941. The bypassed former alignment of the route between Pike Creek Road and Prices Corner became known as Old Capitol Trail. On May 9, 1941, the new alignment of DE 2 between Pike Creek Road and the east end of New Road in Elsmere

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5766-410: The interchange. The southern terminus of DE 41 was truncated to DE 141 north of Newport by 1971, eliminating the concurrency with that route. By 1981, DE 41 was realigned to follow DE 2 to end at an interchange with DE 141, with DE 62 being designated along the former DE 41 south of DE 2. In 2015, the Delaware Department of Transportation proposed cutting back

5859-544: The intersection with US 13 /US 40/ US 202 in Basin Corner with a modified cloverleaf interchange in an effort to reduce traffic congestion. Construction on the interchange began in September of that year. The interchange between US 13/US 40/US 202 and DE 41/DE 141 was completed in 1956. In April 1954, work began to improve DE 41 between the DE 48 intersection and

5952-579: The intersection with DE 2 and DE 62. The entire route is in New Castle County . Delaware Route 2 Business ( DE 2 Bus. ) was a 2.91-mile (4.68 km) long business route of DE 2 that ran through the city of Newark. The business route ran northeast from its western terminus at an intersection with DE 2/DE 4/DE 896 southwest of downtown Newark along four-lane divided Elkton Road, concurrent with DE 896. From this point, DE 2 Bus./DE 896 crossed

6045-478: The national winner in every presidential election. It became the longest-running national bellwether after 1996, when Okanogan County, Washington , voted for Bob Dole . In 2000, Valencia County, New Mexico became the longest presidential bellwether. Former governor Ronald Reagan won the county by just one vote over President Jimmy Carter in 1980. The county was won by the Republican presidential candidate from 1980 through 1988. This changed when Bill Clinton won

6138-467: The one-way pair of Delaware Avenue eastbound and Main Street westbound in downtown Newark following an eastward extension of Delaware Avenue to the intersection between DE 2 and DE 273 east of the city. In 1957, work began to widen DE 2 into a four-lane divided highway between the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (now CSX's Philadelphia Subdivision) bridge in Newark and DE 7. The divided highway

6231-492: The process of imaging further back with the eventual goal of all documents in the office's possession being available electronically. Computerized indexing and searching is also available. The register of wills is Ciro Poppiti, III. His office receives and records wills and small-estate affidavits upon an individual's death, and issues letters of administration to estate executors . The sheriff of New Castle County has two divisions, criminal and civil. The criminal division

6324-555: The southbound direction gaining a truck lane as it descends a hill. The median turns into a center left-turn lane as the road runs past more developments, passing northeast of a park and ride lot located at a bank, and crosses the Wilmington and Western Railroad again at-grade. The route passes north of a park and ride lot at the Hockessin Memorial Hall before it comes to the Yorklyn Road intersection, where

6417-556: The southbound direction narrows to one lane. The road briefly becomes a divided highway at the Valley Road junction and crosses Mill Creek , leaving the center of Hockessin. On the western corner of this intersection is the Elsie Walker Rest Area, a small park that serves as a picnic area . Past the Valley Road intersection, the route widens to three lanes, with a truck lane in the northbound direction as it climbs

6510-412: The southern edge of Newark was completed in September 1983. By 1990, DE 2 was realigned to bypass Newark along Christiana Parkway, which also carried portions of DE 4 and DE 896 , Chestnut Hill Road, which also carried DE 4, and South Chapel Street and Library Avenue, which was also DE 72. With this realignment, the former route through Newark became DE 2 Bus. In 2013,

6603-466: The southern terminus of DE 41 from the interchange with DE 141 to the intersection with DE 2 and DE 62, eliminating the concurrency with DE 2, and also eliminating signage for DE 41 along DE 141. This change was made in order to reduce sign clutter and also reduce truck traffic along the southern portion of DE 41 by directing truck traffic to use DE 141 and DE 48 instead to reach DE 41. A public workshop on

6696-399: The summer. County-wide overlay district: New Castle County Vocational-Technical School District 39°35′N 75°38′W  /  39.58°N 75.64°W  / 39.58; -75.64 Delaware Route 41 DE 41 was originally chartered as the Gap and Newport Turnpike in the 19th century. In the 1920s and 1930s, this road was upgraded to a state highway. DE 41

6789-492: The territory along the Delaware River to England. In 1664, the duke of York, James , was granted this land by King Charles II . One of the first acts by the Duke was to order removal of all Dutch from New Amsterdam ; he renamed New Amstel as New Castle. In 1672, the town of New Castle was incorporated and English law ordered. However, in 1673, the Dutch attacked the territory, reclaiming it for their own. On September 12, 1673,

6882-607: The town at the site of modern-day Wilmington. They contracted with the Lenape Native Americans for land of Old Cape Henlopen north to Sankikans (Trenton Falls), and inland as far as they desired. However, a dispute ensued between the Swedes and the Dutch, who asserted a prior claim to that land. In 1640, New Sweden was founded a few miles south of Christina . In 1644, Queen Christina appointed Lt. Col. Johan Printz as Governor of New Sweden . She directed boundaries to be set and to reach Cape Henlopen north along

6975-439: The water distribution system, which is owned and operated by several private companies. In general, it also does not maintain stormwater management facilities within subdivisions. Access to 911 emergency services is provided by New Castle County through their emergency communications center for all fire/rescue/emergency medical services (EMS) throughout the county and the majority of police services, though Newark, Wilmington, and

7068-616: The west side of Godyn's Bay ( Delaware Bay ), up the South River ( Delaware River ), past Minquas Kill ( Christina River ), to Sankikans (Trenton Falls). Printz settled on Tinicum Island , as the seat of government and capital of the New Sweden colony. Peter Stuyvesant , Governor of New Netherland , sailed up the South River in 1651. He purchased land from the Lenape that covered Minquas Kill to Bompties Hook ( Bombay Hook );

7161-416: The west side of the Delaware River. On June 21, 1654, the Lenape met with the Swedes to reaffirm the purchase. Having learned of the fall of Fort Casimir, the Dutch sent Stuyvesant to drive the Swedes from both sides of the river. They allowed only Dutch colonists to settle in the area and on August 31, 1655, the territory was converted back to Fort Casimir. Consequently, Fort Christina fell on September 15 to

7254-463: The western terminus of DE 2 to the intersection with DE 72 and DE 273 in the eastern part of Newark. Major intersections The entire route was in Newark , New Castle County . New Castle County, Delaware New Castle County is the northernmost of the three counties of the U.S. state of Delaware (New Castle, Kent , and Sussex ). As of the 2020 census , the population

7347-632: Was Joe Biden , the 46th and current president of the United States , who represented the 4th district from 1971 to 1973. Current county council members are: As with Delaware's other two counties, New Castle County has no judiciary of its own. All judicial functions, except for Alderman's Courts, are managed and funded by the state of Delaware . In New Castle County, only the cities of Newport and Newark have alderman's courts. These courts have jurisdiction over driving offenses, misdemeanor criminal charges, and minor civil claims. The county retains

7440-411: Was 54.8% non-Hispanic white, 27.2% African American, 0.5% Native American, 6.0% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 2.8% multiracial, and 11% Hispanic or Latino of any race. The county is headed by a county executive , currently Matthew S. Meyer . The chief administrative officer, who is the county's second-in-command, is appointed by the county executive and serves at his or her pleasure. Vanessa S. Phillips

7533-497: Was 570,719, making it the most populous county in Delaware, with nearly 60% of the state's population of 989,948. The county seat is Wilmington , which is also the state's most populous city. New Castle County is included in the Philadelphia - Camden - Wilmington , PA-NJ-DE-MD Metropolitan Statistical Area . The county is named after William Cavendish, 1st duke of Newcastle ( c.  1593 –1676). New Castle County has

7626-512: Was appointed CAO in March 2018. The county's legislative body is a thirteen-member county council , consisting of twelve members elected by district and one president elected at large. The council is tasked with drafting laws and managing county government services, public health ordinances, land use , transportation, and zoning . New Castle County Council doubled in size to thirteen from seven members in 2004. Its most famous council member

7719-492: Was built through New Castle County, and adjoining Cecil County, Maryland, between 1822 and 1829. Almost all of the county has a humid subtropical climate ( Cfa ) except for the highest area around Ebright Azimuth where the climate is hot-summer humid continental ( Dfa .) The hardiness zone is 7b except in some higher areas close to the Pennsylvania border which are 7a. As of the census of 2000, there were 500,265 people, 188,935 households, and 127,153 families residing in

7812-450: Was created by 1990 when DE 2 was routed to bypass Newark to the south. In 2012, the Newark city council voted in favor of renaming the portion of Elkton Road carrying DE 2 Bus./DE 896 between West Park Place and West Main Street to South Main Street in order to promote businesses along this stretch of road. The change went into effect January 1, 2013. DE 2 Bus. was decommissioned in 2013 as part of changes that also truncated

7905-555: Was decommissioned. The westernmost portion of the former route was designated as DE 279 , matching the route number just across the Maryland state line. DE 2 begins at an intersection with DE 72 and DE 273 in the eastern part of the city of Newark , where DE 72 continues south on Library Avenue and DE 273 runs west along the one-way pair of East Delaware Avenue eastbound and East Main Street westbound and east along Ogletown Road. From here, DE 2 heads north concurrent with DE 72 on Capitol Trail,

7998-470: Was designated by 1936 to run from U.S. Route 40 (US 40, now DE 9 / DE 273 ) in New Castle north to the Pennsylvania border in Hockessin. In the 1950s, DE 141 became concurrent with the route from New Castle to north of Newport . DE 41 was removed from the DE 141 concurrency in the 1970s and was realigned to follow DE 2 east to an interchange with DE 141 in

8091-405: Was extended west from DE 7 to Red Mill Road by 1959. Also by this time, the route was split into a one-way pair in Wilmington on Union Street and Lincoln Street. The road between Newark and Red Mill Road became a divided highway by 1964. The portion of DE 2 along Elkton Road between the Maryland state line and Newark was widened into a divided highway in 1972. The Christiana Parkway around

8184-409: Was formally placed under the Duke of York's laws. It gained land from Upland County on November 12, 1678. On June 21, 1680, St. Jones County was carved from New Castle County. It is known today as Kent County, Delaware . On August 24, 1682, New Castle County, along with the rest of the surrounding land, was transferred from the Colony of New York to the possession of William Penn , who established

8277-487: Was named the Robert Kirkwood Highway in honor of Robert Kirkwood , an American Revolutionary War soldier from Newark. The portion of the route between DE 273 and Pike Creek Road retained the name Capitol Trail. In 1940, plans were made to eliminate the grade crossing with the railroad junction in Elsmere by replacing it with a bridge over the tracks along with a new alignment for DE 2 between

8370-643: Was originally a narrow and winding unpaved county road. Since the 1910s, this roadway became part of a branch of the Lincoln Highway, a name it would retain until 1938. The Lincoln Highway name continued northeast of Wilmington along the Philadelphia Pike, which is present-day U.S. Route 13 Business (US 13 Bus.) and US 13 , to the Pennsylvania state line in Claymont . The highway between Newark and Wilmington also became known as

8463-425: Was progressively widened into a divided highway from Wilmington to Newark between 1940 and 1964, bypassing some portions of the road which are now known as Old Capitol Trail. DE 2 was routed to bypass Newark to the south by 1990, with DE 2 Business (DE 2 Bus.) designated on the former route through Newark. In 2013, the western terminus of DE 2 was truncated to its current location and DE 2 Bus.

8556-439: Was set as a line from Old Cape Henlopen (presently Fenwick ) west to the middle of the peninsula and north up to the middle of the peninsula to the 40th parallel. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 494 square miles (1,280 km ), of which 426 square miles (1,100 km ) is land and 68 square miles (180 km ) (13.8%) is water. The boundaries of New Castle County are described in § 102 of

8649-463: Was to be designated as DE 279 . The goal of the project was to "simplify the route designations in Newark, reduce sign clutter, and reduce sign maintenance costs." The changes were completed in the middle part of 2013. In September 2015, the concurrency with DE 41 in Prices Corner was removed when the southern terminus of DE 41 was cut back from the interchange with DE 141 to

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