Delaware Hundreds
United States
Delaware Delaware Hundreds
The Hundreds of Delaware[edit | edit source]
In colonial times, townships were geographically divided into groups called Hundreds , patterned after the old English division of a county [1] Originally there were 5 Hundreds in New Castle, 5 Hundreds in Kent, and 2 Hundreds in Sussex. As the population grew, so did the groups of Hundreds. By 1875 the Hundreds grew to be the present day Thirty five. Delaware is the only state that continues to use this division. [2][3]
- Delaware 1868 Hundreds Maps
- Have You Ever Wondered ~ What is a Hundred?
- Boundaries of Counties and Hundreds
- List of Delaware Hundreds
- The Hundreds of Delaware at HMDB.org, The Historical Marker Database
History of Delaware's Hundreds[edit | edit source]
William Penn described it as settlements divided into sections of One Hundred Families. An old Saxon land division term for a parcel of land that is smaller than a county or shire yet larger than a tithing is what they called a "hundred". Ten freeholder families or ten tithings comprised a "Hundred" with 100 families each. This usually consisted households with the average of 10 members each, the family plus servants.[4]
A couple of great resources for histories of the various Hundreds can be found in History of Delaware : 1609-1888: Local History.[5] and History of the state of Delaware [6]
- Appoquinmink Hundred
- Baltimore Hundred Marker
- Broad Creek Hundred Marker-See Gumboro Hundred
- Cedar Creek Hundred History
- Dagsborough Hundred Marker-See Gumboro Hundred
- Georgetown Hundred Marker
- Gumboro Hundred Marker
- Indian River Hundred Marker
- Lewes and Rehoboth Hundred Marker
- Little Creek Hundred Marker
- Mill Creek Hundred History Blog
- Mispillion Hundred History
- Nanticoke Hundred Marker
- North MurderKill Hundred Marker
- Northwest Fork Hundred
- Pencader Hundred History
- Red Lion Hundred History
- St. George Hundred History
- Seaford Hundred Marker
- South Murderkill Hundred
- West Dover Hundred History
- White Clay Creek Hundred History
- Wilmington Hundred History
Maps[edit | edit source]
The State of Delaware has a color coded map of the Hundreds that is easily downloadable at The Hundreds of Delaware [7]
List of Delaware Hundreds[edit | edit source]
Hundreds of New Castle County[edit | edit source]
| Hundred | Abbrev | Estab | Parent Hundred | Primary Town | Name Origin | Notes |
| Appoquinimink Hundred | Appoqu | 1682 | Original | Townsend | Appoquinimink Creek | part is now Blackbird |
| Blackbird Hundred | Blackb | 1875 | Appoquinimink Hundred | Blackbird Creek | ||
| Brandywine Hundred | Brandy | 1682 | Original | Bellefonte | Brandywine Creek | |
| Christiana Hundred | Christ | 1682 | Original | Elsmere | Christiana River | Part is now Wilmington |
| Mill Creek Hundred | MillCr | 1710 | Christiana Hundred | Hockessin | Mill Creek | |
| New Castle Hundred | NewCas | 1682 | Original | New Castle | Town of New Castle | |
| Pencader Hundred | Pencad | 1710 | New Castle Hundred | Glasgow | Pencader (Welsh Tract) Church | |
| Red Lion Hundred | RedLio | 1710 | New Castle Hundred | Delaware City | Red Lion Creek | |
| St. Georges Hundred | StGeor | 1682 | Original | Middletown | St. George's Creek | |
| White Clay Creek Hundred | WhiteC | 1710 | Christiana Hundred | Newark | White Clay Creek | |
| Wilmington Hundreds | Wilmin | 1833 | Christiana Hundred | Wilmington | City of Wilmington | was part of Christiana |
Hundreds of Kent County[edit | edit source]
| Hundred | Abbrev | Estab | Parent Hundred | Primary Town | Name Origin | Notes |
| Dover Hundred | Dover | 1823 | St Jones Hundred | Dover | Divided into East and West Dover in 1859 | East and West Dover Hundreds |
| Duck Creek Hundred | DuckCr | 1682 | Original | Smyrna | Duck Creek | Part is in Little Creek and Part in Kenton |
| East Dover Hundred | EDover | 1859 | Dover | Dover Hundred | City of Dover | Formally Dover |
| Kenton Hundred | Kenton | 1869 | Duck Creek Hundred | Kenton | Town of Kenton | Was Duck Creek and Little Creek |
| Little Creek Hundred | LitCrk | 1869 | Original | Leipsic | Little Creek | Was Part of Duck Creek |
| Milford Hundred | Milfor | 1830 | Mispillion Hundred | Milford | City of Milford | Was Part of Mispillion |
| Misipillion Hundred | Mispil | 1682 | Original | Harrington | Mispillion River | Part is now MIlford |
| Murderkill Hundred | Murder | 1682 | Murderkill Hundred | Camden | Murderkill | Is now North and South Murderkill |
| North Murderkill Hundred | NMurde | 1855 | Motherkill Hundred | Camden | Murderkill River | Was Part of Murderkill |
| St. Jones Hundred | StJone | 1682 | St. Jones Hundred | Dover | Renamed Dover | Dover was divided to East and West Dover |
| South Murderkill Hundred | SMurde | 1855 | Murderkill Hundred | Felton | Murderkill River | Was Part Of Murderkill |
| West Dover | WDover | 1859 | Dover Hundred | Hartly | City of Dover | Was Part Of Dover |
Hundreds of Sussex County[edit | edit source]
| Hundred | Abbrev | Estab | Parent Hundred | Primary Town | Name Origin | Current Name |
| Baltimore Hundred | Baltim | 1775 | Worcester County, MD | Millville | Part of never-erected Maryland county | Was Part of Worcester County, MD |
| Broadcreek Hundred | BroadC | 1775 | Somerset County, MD | Bethel | Broadkill River (also known as Broad Creek) | Part is now Gumboro & Dagsboro; was MD |
| Broadkill Hundred | Broadl | 1696 | Broadkill Hundred | Original | Milton | Broadkill River Part is now in Georgetown Hundred. Variant name is Broadkiln. |
| Cedar Creek Hundred | CedarC | 1702 | Broadkill Hundred | Milford | Cedar Creek | Part Established in 1696 as an original Hundred, part of area called "Old Sussex". Part is now in Georgetown Hundred. Variant name is Broadkiln. |
| Cedar Hook Hundred | CedarH | 1702 | Cedar Creek Hundred | Milford | Cedar Creek | Now Cedar Creek |
| Dagsborough Hundred | Dagsbo | 1773 | Worcester County, MD | Millsboro | Dagsboro | Part was Broad Creek; Part was MD, 1775 |
| Deep Creek Hundred | DeepCr | Somerset County, MD | Now Nanticoke | |||
| Georgetown Hundred | George | 1863 | Broadkill Hundred | Georgetown | Georgetown | Also 1833-35; was Part of Broadkill |
| Gumborough Hundred | Gumbor | 1873 | Dagsboro Hundred | Gumboro | Was Part of Broad Creek and Dagsboro | |
| Indian Creek Hundred | Indian | 1706 | Now Indian River | |||
| Indian River Hundred | IndiaR | 1706 | Lewes & Rehoboth Hundred | Angola | Indian River (inlet and bay) | Also Called Indian Creek |
| Lewes & Rehoboth Hundred | LewesR | 1692 | Original | Lewes | Lewes (Whorekill) | Was Also Rehoboth |
| Little Creek Hundred | LitCrS | 1774 | Somerset County, MD | Laurel | Little Creek | Was Part of Somerset County, MD |
| Nantiocke Hundred | Nantic | 1775 | Somerset County, MD | Nanticoke River | Was Deep Creek | |
| Northwest Fork Hundred | Northw | 1775 | Dorchester County, MD | Bridgeville | Northwest Fork, Nanticoke River | Part is Now Searford: Was Maryland |
| Seaford Hundred | Seafor | 1869 | Northwest Fork Hundred | Seaford | Seaford | Was Part of Northwest Fork |
Sources and Footnotes[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Hundred County Subdivision.
- ↑ University of Delaware Library ~ The Hundreds of Delaware
- ↑ Alice Eichholz, ed., Redbook: American State, County, and Town Sources, 3rd ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 297. (FS Library Book 973 D27rb). [WorldCat entry].
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "List of hundreds of Delaware" in Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_hundreds_of_Delaware, accessed 27 October 2023.
- ↑ John Thomas Scharf; History of Delaware : 1609-1888: Local History
- ↑ Henry Clay Conrad: History of the state of Delaware
- ↑ Delaware List of Hundreds