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Delaware State...
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Delaware Counties
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Delaware Counties
Delaware has three counties: New Castle, Kent, and Sussex, the fewest counties of any U.S.
state. The origin of the county boundaries go back to former court districts. The powers of the counties'
legislative bodies are limited to issues such as zoning and development. |
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Kent County, Delaware
Kent County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education
County Seat: Dover
Year Organized: 1680
Square Miles: 591 |
Court House: 555 Bay Road
County Administrative Complex
Dover, DE 19901-0000
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Etymology - Origin of County Name
Kent was named in 1682 by William Penn for the English county of Kent.
Demographics:
County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick
Facts
History
Kent County is one of three counties in the small state of Delaware (only Rhode Island is smaller). In about 1670
Englishmen began to settle in the valley of the St. Jones river formally known as Wolf Creek.
Originally part of the Hoornkill district court established by the Dutch Governor Colve in 1673. Hoornkill was
divided into Saint Jones County and Deal County in 1680.
William Penn chartered Kent County as the Successor to St. Jones. Penn ordered a court town to be layed out, and the
courthouse was built in 1697. The town of Dover was finally layed out in 1717, and became the capitol of Delaware in
1777. In 1787 Delaware was first to ratify the U.S. Constitution, and became "the First State." Kent County was a small
grain farming region in the 18th Century.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 800 square miles (2,072 kmē), of which, 590
square miles (1,527 kmē) of it is land and 210 square miles (545 kmē) of it (26.30%) is water.
Neighboring Counties:
- New Castle County, Delaware - north
- Salem County, New Jersey - northeast
- Cumberland County, New Jersey - east
- Cape May County, New Jersey - east
- Sussex County, Delaware - south
- Caroline County, Maryland - southwest
- Queen Anne's County, Maryland - west
- Kent County, Maryland - west
- Delaware Bay; no land border
Cities and Towns:
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- Bowers |
town |
Incorporated Area |
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- Camden |
town |
Incorporated Area |
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- Cheswold |
town |
Incorporated Area |
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- Clayton |
town |
Incorporated Area |
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- Dover
(County Seat) |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Farmington |
town |
Incorporated Area |
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- Felton |
town |
Incorporated Area |
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- Frederica |
town |
Incorporated Area |
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- Harrington |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Hartly |
town |
Incorporated Area |
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- Houston |
town |
Incorporated Area |
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- Kenton |
town |
Incorporated Area |
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- Leipsic |
town |
Incorporated Area |
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- Little Creek |
town |
Incorporated Area |
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- Magnolia |
town |
Incorporated Area |
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- Smyrna |
town |
Incorporated Area |
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- Viola |
town |
Incorporated Area |
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- Woodside |
town |
Incorporated Area |
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- Wyoming |
town |
Incorporated Area |
County Resources:
Enter County Resources and Information Here
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County Resource Guide
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The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic
features of our country!"
But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.
Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally,
act locally." |
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