I'd like to see videos about Africa and Asia. They're areas that aren't covered comprehensively by many geography channels on TH-cam. By the way, lose the topknot. It doesn't work for you ;)
As a native Delawarean, if asked why Delaware had such a small population, my answer would probably be just because it is so small. When compared to states nearby it is quite similar in density. The only thing Delaware really lacks in terms of population compared to its neighbors is a major city.
When I went to college in Utah and people found out I was from Delaware, a typical response was "Dela-where?". I even had one person ask me what country it's in.
Same here. It almost seems like no one has heard of Delaware outside of the tri state area. I used to get that question a lot. Yeah someone ask me what country it was in too. 😁
It kills me to see how ignorant people can be. I'm from Delaware and when you leave this state or talk to people far away from here you see how uneducated they are.
Delaware could easily be home to 4 to 5 million people if Wilmington had developed at the same rate as Philadelphia from 1820 to around 1950. But for reasons not well-known to me, Philadelphia stole Wilmington's economic thunder by around 1750, despite Wilmington being a port city closer to the Atlantic. Maybe because Philadelphia lies at the convergence of the Schuylkill and the Delaware rivers? So Wilmington, and Delaware in general, have been playing catch-up ever since.
Delaware was a part of the Province of Pennsylvania but since William Penn lived in Philadelphia and owned the colony, the economic resources were concentrated in Philadelphia. Even after being separated from PA in 1701, PA and DE shared the same governor until 1776 and those governor's opted to concentrate resources in Philadelphia.
@@bricky63b we don't want it. We the 6th most densely populated state by people to space. We only got 526 square miles with almost 1 million people now
Unless you're a geography nerd the odds of completing the 50 state challenge is remote. Everyone forgets Delware, Rhode Island and often Wyoming. @@valarieirons4447
Did the math, by population density delaware is actually more dense than my home state (PA), so technically the main reason why is that its 13 times smaller.
Most of PA is woods and mountains not the terrain to support large populations. Delaware on the other hand is about entirely on solid ground to support large populations.
While true of overall i would wonder how that compares to the eastern/south central counties that are normaly considered part of the ne megaoplious. For example my county is around 1k/sq mile while not being a suburb of a large city
500,000 people live above the Canal (the Canal is the dividing line between "upper" and the not so much slower anymore "lower" Delaware). If you travel in most places in Northern New Castle County above the Canal, there are really few places for large scale developments to happen due to all the suburban sprawl along Kirkwood Highway between Wilmington and Newark, along 202/Philadelphia Pike heading from Wilmington to the PA burbs, and 13 heading down from Wilmington towards New Castle. Its going to be interesting to see what's going to happen to Smyrna/Middletown in 20 years because so much Development is going on down there because there really isn't that much more land to Develop in the Wilmington/Newark area. Smyrna is about to BLOW up...and I can honestly see the cities of Middletown, Smyrna, and Dover basically merging to becoming one combined CSA metro in the next 20 to 30 years. Not to mention the beaches. The beach towns of Lewis, Rehoboth, Dewey, and Bethany population increase 12 fold during the summer. It's a nightmare driving down there during the summer beach season, and so many more homes are being build along those areas. But yeah, it has a small population, but its a lot more Densely populated than most other places in the US. And it really is a nice place to live. You are less than 3 hours from NYC, DC, The Pocono Mountains, Beaches, Amish Country, Philly, Baltimore and everything in-between, which is why I do believe New Castle County is one of the most underrated places to live in the United States of America.
When I first moved to Delaware 23 years ago, the whole "slower lower" thing held true, but in recent years with the amount of development in Smyrna, Middletown, and the beaches, I think it's about time to retire it bc there is so much development and higher traffic volumes now than years past. I agree that northern New Castle county is pretty much built out at this point hence why we see cornfield after cornfield turn into subdivisions further south. I agree that in the coming years, especially along the Route 1 corridor, the southern part of the state will become a denser unbroken chain of development from Middletown to Dover all the way to the beaches.
Once one leaves the Wilmington burbs, the rest of Delmarva is very rural. That is due to diatance frim Philly, and the Chesapeake Bay separating Baltimore/DC area from Delmarva. Delmarva is where the empty East really starts.
Great video, but no part of Delaware is within the Appalachian Mountains. The highest elevation is about 448 feet and entire state is very flat and within the Atlantic Coastal Plain.
Northern Delaware is part of the Piedmont Plateau. "The Piedmont physiographic province is within the Appalachian Highlands physiographic division." Wikipedia.
It is on the border of the Piedmont and even that is a bit of a stretch to consider the Appalachian Mountains. Delaware certainly does not include the “mountainous regions of Appalachia” as described in the video. Would you consider Philadelphia the Appalachian Mountains? I don’t think anyone would.
The highest hills, if you can call them that, are near that 12 mile circle separating DE from PA. They're only a quarter to a half the size of the hills in the hilly parts of Iowa.
The reason Delaware has such a low population is simply because it is so small. The population density is actually quite high at about 522/sq mile making it the 6th most densely populated state.
To be fair, I don't think land size is what makes the state small in Population. Take a look at Wyoming, It's Big in Land but small in population. Rhode island is smaller than Delaware but has a similar amount of people living there.
@@PaulsTechSpace RI is a lot closer to both Boston and NYC. Delaware is close to Philly, which is smaller than either. (Close to DC, too, but without a direct land route until the Chesapeake Bay bridge was built.) RI is right in the thick of "Megaopolis." Because DE is on an isolated peninsula (along with the East Shore of MD), Megalopolis hews to the west side of the bay, passing DE by.
Fun Fact: Prior to 1986, Metropolis from DC Comics, was canonically set in Delaware across the Delaware Bay from Gotham City NJ. Since then, the locations are kept vague. Smallville was in MD prior to 86 right across the DE border.
More movie trivia: if you look carefully in the movie Fight Club starring Brad Pitt, you will see clues that the setting is Wilmington, even though it's not ever overtly stated. A Wilmington zip code can be seen in one scene and then of course the stuff about the credit card companies, also a Wilmington industry.
@@1FlyingSolo1 I never knew that about Fight Club, one of my favorite movies. Delaware, in some of its more isolated areas off the Delaware Bay, has places named Whorekill, Murderkill, and Slaughter Beach. The first two are small rivers.
While downtown Wilmington is passable as Metropolis, nothing across the bay in NJ makes me think of Gotham. Lots of farm country. I’d buy it if they said it was Smallville. Trenton, up the river, okay that’s more Gotham. Or take the Turnpike to Newark (NJ, not DE) for a more Gotham vibe. IDK. 😅
🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:00 🌍 Introduction to Delaware's uniqueness 01:09 🕰️ Early History and Colonization of Delaware 03:42 🏞️ Geography of Delaware 05:48 🌊 Delaware's Unique Geography 08:07 📊 Factors Contributing to Delaware's Low Population 10:42 🚧 The 12-Mile Circle Boundary Made with HARPA AI
As a Pennsylvanian who has lived partly in Delaware (and has family down there), it didn't help Delaware's case that it kept getting punted between its various neighbors during the colonial period. Christina was founded by the Swedes (and Finns) as part of New Sweden, and when the Dutch of New Netherlands booted out the Swedes not long after its founding, only to have the Dutch be booted out by the English, you have a setup that it's land that's constantly changing hands. And that theme won't get any different later on. Virginia and Maryland both claimed portions of Delaware for themselves until the three counties got given to William Penn to be part of Pennsylvania. And arguably the three Lower Counties (as they were called at the time) likely would have integrated into Pennsylvania and the history of Delaware would have ended there--except Pennsylvania was founded by Quakers... and their governor William Penn decided to go back to Europe to drum up interest in settling Pennsylvania. The population of the new colony (and the three Lower Counties) couldn't agree with one another--so the Assembly that Penn set up decided to stop meeting since every Assembly meeting turned into long drawn out arguments, which meant that they also decided to stop collecting taxes. William Penn soon noticed that his money supply of taxes wasn't flowing and he wrote to the Assembly to fix the situation. The Assembly, not meeting, ghosted William Penn on paying him the taxes he was owed as Proprietor--and eventually William Penn responded by hiring a Puritan from Massachusetts to come down and settle the matter, which only backfired as the entire colony revolted to the Puritan's attempts to force the Assembly to meet, pass laws, and collect taxes. The Puritan eventually gave up when even the Assembly joined in the "we refuse to bow to your authority" protests that were having. They colonists complained to Penn for foisting a Puritan on their Quaker haven, Penn apologized but shifted the blame back on them for not working with him, so he was forced to drastic measures by calling in a Puritan. The Assembly promised to do better... and then they didn't, and William Penn eventually died in debtor's prison due to all the unpaid taxes from Pennsylvania colonists driving him into debt. I always consider it rather ironic that PA has statues of William Penn around (especially in Philly)--it's almost like a warning to anyone who tries to think they can control Pennsylvania: look what we did to our own founder, sure we like the guy now that he's dead and gone and can't order us around anymore. But look what we did to him: we drained his coffers and starved him of income until he died in debt and in prison--and don't think we won't do the same to you if you think about telling us what to do if we don't want to do it. That always seems to be the underlying sentiment there... All through this back and forth, the Lower three Counties watched the Upper three Counties pull all this and slowly and quietly started getting the idea that they'd rather not be associated with the Upper Counties moving forward. This eventually became formalized in 1704 when the Lower Counties got their own separate assembly instead of alternating locations as they had been prior, though they remained under the control of the Governor of PA for the rest of the Colonial period. So considering that Delaware, first a Swedish settlement, then a Dutch, then an English, then considered a pawn of Virginia, Maryland, and finally Pennsylvania--never really had a chance to establish itself. We should consider Delaware as the Korea of the Mid-Atlantic Colonies. Surrounded by larger neighbors and constantly fought for control over by those larger neighbors--and thus never allowed to really grow and develop on its own until the USA formed. Knowing that, it also really explains why Delaware was so keen to be the first state to adopt the Constitution--it ensured they wouldn't be controlled any longer by their neighbors.
That's changing at a fast rate right now as so many people are moving from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York to Delaware. Especially in the Wilmington area, Middletown, Smyrna and Dover. And honestly, the Wilmington area is just an extension of the Philly suburbs as alot of people in that area are originally from Philly. So do an update on this in 5 years and I'm sure you'll see a shift.
I’d like to hear more about Delaware’s main industries which you only mentioned briefly - Corporate Law, Banking and Chemistry. Interesting industries for a small state. Especially corporate law. Hmmm.
Delaware's Court of Chancery has long been the one where corporate disputes have been and are adjudicated. Consequently there is a large body of corporate law there. It is also the state where most corporations, large and small, are incorporated.
Exactly. I am born, raised, and still live in Delaware. I've noticed a very huge increase in Delaware's population over the past 30 years, especially in my native stomping grounds of Sussex County.
I saw the title and was like this video probably will be shit (I'm still a fan of Geoff's videos overall), but the answer is just too obvious and the question really isn't the question to ask. Now if he wants to focus on Sussex County and how relatively "empty" it is compared to New Castle and Kent Counties, then I will be far more interested (even though the answer is still obvious for those who have been down there). It's really interesting but some commenter noted that the "empty East Coast" really starts from around Sussex County downwards, and I don't disagree. It's very rural until you hit Virginia Beach.......
Great Video Geoff! I used to live on Maryland's Eastern Shore, now Coastal Virginia. We would go to Delaware for Gambling, Tax-Free shopping, and the best Ice Cream and Dairy farms in the country! One small note, when you talk about the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel you use footage of the Bay Bridge, which is a different bridge that connects Kent Island, Md with Annapolis, Md. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel is in the Southern Tip and connects Virginia Beach, Va to Cape Charles, Va. Keep up the great content!
@@dylancarter6375 good call out. Also the clip he kept showing of the coastal beauty is definitely not even Delaware or Maryland beaches. I live here so I would recognize that land
Delaware is unique in one aspect: the state still retains the division of counties by its colonial name, hundreds. Where other colonies changed their political boundaries to townships, Delaware still has 39 hundreds within its 3 counties. Currently, i live in Lewes and Rehoboth Hundred. I've lived in Lord Baltimore Hundred, Christiana Hundred, Wilmington Hundred, and Pencader Hundred. My family lives in Georgetown Hundred, Indian River Hundred, Gumboro Hundred, Appoquinimink Hundred, and Murderkill Hundred.
I’ve lived in DE all my life and the reason it has a low population compared to other states is it’s small size. It’s actually quite congested here and it keeps getting worse because they just keep building on land that used to be farmland and woods. I wish people would stop moving here
Mistake! You referenced the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel-which is in Virginia-while showing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-which is in Maryland. I moved to Annapolis in 1986 and they have been talking about a new bay crossing (because the two old spans are inadequate and, well, getting very old) ever since. Nearly forty years later and they have yet to come up with a plan.
@@jebwiseley1706 Thanks for the memories. I've been scared on more than one occasion driving across the Bay Bridge. There's even a car driving service you can hire who will drive you and your car over the bridge if you're too scared to do it yourself.
They haven't built a new stretch because of the amount of influence NIMBY's have. Nobody wants a second Bay Bridge near where they live so we're stuck figuring out how to add another bridge in the only place where a bridge currently stands.
@@JustMe-vn5pq I had to drive over the Bay Bridge through whatever blizzard hit us a couple years back. Was coming back from a wedding down in North Carolina. Definitely one of the biggest pucker factors I've felt in some time.
This covered nothing in regards to why 1 million people live here. Growing up here, I can tell you… people are moving here in droves… and we natives hate it
I have actually visited Delaware a few times. The northern county of New Castle really feels like a suburb of Philadelphia, but to the south Kent and Sussex counties are quite charming with fishermen and farms.
As a resident of Delaware, I must disagree to some degree. There is an influx of residents from New Jersey, New York, and PA to Sussex County, the most southern of the three counties in Delaware. Most of the reason for this influx is due to the lower property taxes as well as zero taxes on any purchases. Yes, you read that correctly. No sales tax. Also, once 65 years or older, you receive a reduction of property tax, which is already lower than the other states mentioned, especially NJ which is quite high! Last year Sussex county built 2500 homes. Just south in Wicomico County in Maryland, 250 homes were built. What does this tell you?
In Boy Scouts, we would pronounce Lenape like Len-ah-Pay and Lewes is like Lewis (as in Lewis & Clark), but the latter could be a Delaware thing and most people in the Philly area just pronounce it that way
I was on internship last summer in Delaware and I feel like one of the reasons is the lack of public transportation/metro that links Dover to wilmington and DC/Baltimore. I feel like more people would live there if they could just take the train to work (like people living in NJ going to work in NYC).
@@mak529 Trouble is there are no trains going downstate, and the bus system is horribly unreliable. That really limits the areas of the state that benefit from SEPTA and MARC connections.
@@john_savage It'll be changing soon. Plans are in the works. The problem with such a development has always been about justifying the major cost with the demand. As the demand rapidly grows, the cost of such a statewide metro system becomes more feasible to justify. The state is nearing that justifiable point very quickly.
I'm from MD. PA is actually the least populated by size. PA is a bunch of mountains and small towns. Outside of Philly and Pittsburgh it's referred to as Pensyltucky outside of those two cities for a reason.
Exactly right. Just for grins, I tried to figure out what the population density would be if PA didn't have Philly or Pittsburgh. It was similar in density to those big states which are far from the "madding crowds" of the East Coast, like Kentucky, Washington, Wisconsin, or Missouri. The beginning of the 1978 movie "The Deer Hunter" is set in rural PA.
@@JustMe-vn5pq Actually, the beginning of Deer Hunter was set in Allegheny County. It was set in an old Mill Town. There were few Steel Mills outside of Allegheny County. The old Steel Mills ran from just outside the Downtown on the South Side along the Monongahela River. All the way to Irwin Pa. If I remember the Deer Hunter, I was set in either Braddock, Clairton, Duquesne, or McKeesport. But I think it was either Clairton or Duquesne. They were all mill towns. Homestead was were the Homestead works of United States Steel. In Braddock, the Edgar Thompson Works of USS still operates, and Irwin works of USS still operates. All the rest is gone. I only know South Western Pennsylvania. Philadelphia is like a foreign country to us. I have to go now I will finish this later.
Philadelphia is a strange place. You know Sylvester Stallone way of talking, it's not a speech impediment, that's how people from Philadelphia talk. Pittsburgh had 2 revolts against Philadelphia. 1st was the Whiskey Rebellion, the capital was in Philadelphia at that time the second was in 1876 the Pennsylvania Railroad Strike. Philadelphia sent the Pennsylvania National Guard. Pittsburghers sat up on a hill above the Railroad Yard, and pinned down the National Guard. Philadelphia sucked money out of Pittsburgh. The county surrounding Pittsburgh. Washington County, Westmoreland County, Butler County, and Beaver County surround Allegheny County. Towns that are close to the Allegheny County are some of the Ritzy Towns, like Cranberry, Peters, and Imperial. The farther you get away from Allegheny County the more rural it gets. During the Covid19 lockdown, I'd get in my car and ride the old routes like Rt 88, Rt 19, & Rt 22. ⛽ was cheap, and there was no one on the roads. One time I ended up in West Virginia, another time in Ohio. Riding those rural road was nice. I'd pass farms, small towns, and the homes were all nice. Down in Green County is sparsely populated, there is Waynesburg University, and a Federal Prison. Other then that there isn't much. I remember in 1990 doing an Electrical job in a ⛽ station. One of the workers said that they were getting building codes in Waynesburg, but not outside the city limits. I called that God's country. Another place like that is Poke County, if you go in back country of Polk County then you will find home with cars up on cement blocks. When I buy me cars, which are always old, I buy them from the country areas. In Allegheny County, cars cost more, but out in the country prices are lower. It is because people buy cars close to were they live. Out in the country , there's few people, so it takes a long time to sell a car. You said you are from Maryland. My Great grandfather grew up in Mt Savage. There was an Iron factory in Mt. Savage. As the family story goes, my Great Grandfather was 5 years old during the potatoe famine. His maternal Grandfather took him to Mt. Savage. The rest of the family stayed in Ireland and starved.The owner of the Iron works was a man by the name of Arnold, who hired Irish to work in the Iron Works. During that period, Mt Savage was the 3rd largest city in Maryland When the iron ore mine was depleted, the Iron Works. closed My Great grandfather migrated to Pittsburgh. In 1870, he bought a lot of land in Pittsburgh, and built a successful Blacksmith business, and prospered.
Yeah I live in MD too and I often forget that only 1 county lies between me and PA but not the parts of PA that actually matter (Philly and Pittsburgh).
Good video, but for one thing. When you were talking about the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, which connects Maryland's lower Eastern shore with Virginia, the picture you showed was of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, which connects Maryland's western shore to Kent Island.
@@AprilCustins You are correct. But the comment you are replying to is just pointing out that he didn't use footage of the Bay Bridge-Tunnel, he used footage of the Bay Bridge in MD.
A couple of off the top of my head thoughts. I moved to Wilmington in 1996 for a job that ended in 2004. I stayed here. When I first got here I would ask my co-workers what’s good about Wilmington? They’d say it’s close to Philadelphia and Baltimore, and even NYC. I ask again what’s good about living in Wilmington? They said well, you’re close to Philadelphia etc etc. I had mostly lived in places where the majority of people were from somewhere else. Delawareans mainly stay here, or if they leave they come back home. When people asked me where’d you go to school, at first I said Florida State and then UNC. I got the stink eye. They meant high school. One more thing- it really bugs me when people make a video about some place and they don’t even bother to learn how to pronounce the name of places. Lewes has two syllables.
As a native southern Delawarean for 43 years, it doesn’t feel like people forgot about us considering they are moving here in droves from PA, NJ, and NY to take advantage of our low property taxes, and no sales tax. (Also, it’s pronounced Lou-Iss) 😊
If all of northern Delaware (north of the canal) consolidated into a single city then it would be one of America's larger cities. It's mostly suburban so it has a lot of potential to develop more.
Glasgow should be merged into Bear to form an official City of Bear, and the western Newark hundred/township along R.40 should be given to Bear as well since it's practically in Bear anyway. Bear is already the 5th largest city/town in the state, and yet isn't officially considered one. Which is very odd.
It is a shame that Delaware is growing so badly. The sprawl is insane for a state as small as ours. I grew up in Saint Georges and remember a time before the Rt. 1 bridge was built. The growth in Middletown is nonsensical.
I'm from Delaware and Delaware is actually the best location to be in for entertainment. In one night you could end up in all 3 states. You can dine in Philly, go to NY for a broadway show, stop in NJ for the casino and head back home to Delaware.....I'm not joking. I used to work in Philly, lived in DC and commuted to NY. I used to literally ride the train from Delaware to DC, then jump back on the train and head straight to NY and then catch the train back to Delaware. This is why I will never move to Philly, NY or NJ. There's no need too. Besides Delaware has extremely low property taxes and you can get more house for you money. Why live there when you can live here for less money and get to Philly in about 20 minutes from Downtown Wilmington?
The only way you're making it from Market street to Market street in 20 minutes is at 3 am, cannonball run style up I-95 in something wicked. A sane man would claim 40 minutes well outside of rush hour and even that is speeding.
Geoff, I really enjoyed this video! It has been many years, but I have visited Delaware before! Thank you for the reminder that it is rightfully named The First State because it was the first state to ratify The Constitution. I had forgotten how far north Wilmington is located in Delaware. And you just taught me something I did not know before: The Twelve Mile Circle. What a really neat part of history! I have said int he past that geography plays a huge role in how history occurs. And this is certainly true with Delaware. Thank you so much for what you shared in this video.
Part of the problem for Delaware population density is that while the northern part of the state has access to Route 95, the main route through this part of the country, that road only runs through the northernmost part of the state. Everything to the south connects to secondary roads that run through the most rural parts of Maryland. The southern end of Delaware, other than beach communities is very rural and anything further south into Maryland is virtually the same. In this respect, while Delaware appears to be in the "middle of the action" on a map, the reality is that it, along with Maryland's eastern shore is quite isolated. My folks moved to Dover in 1964. Back then it had about 5000 people and was extremely isolated. Having been raised in Chicago, I hated it. Once I got to college, I only came back to Dover to see my folks. Today, Dover is a total schiithole. Major homelessness, dangerous downtown, high crime. Very sad.
On some maps, Superman's Metropolis is in Delaware on Delaware Bay across from Batman's Gotham in New Jersey. In the real world, there are no major population centers in either location but plenty of wetlands instead.
Another great video! Nobody presents geography like you! I have recommended your videos to elementary schools in my village in NJ, where I am a substitute teacher.
Delawarean here. A few fact checks. * It's pronounced "LOO-is" not "Lewws". * That's the Chesapeake Bay Bridge (which connects one half of Maryland to the other), not the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (which connects one half of Virginia to the other). * For as small as Delaware is, it's essentially two states. North of the Canal is very suburban, more prosperous, and votes Democrat. (Joe Biden Country) North of the Canal is what makes Delaware the sixth most densely populated state in the Union. * South of the Canal is more rural, not quite as prosperous, and votes Republican. If you drive the back roads of Kent and Sussex Counties, you will see, from time to time, a Confederate battle flags and "Let's Go Brandon" posters. * Due to the low cost of living, a lot of folks from surrounding states are retiring to Delaware, especially to Sussex County. It's also commutable to Philly, D.C. and Baltimore.
Huge (inconsiderate) black population. The Wilmington folks don't always like staying in Wilmington. Most shootings outside of Wilmington (and New Castle rt9 area) are often caused by Wilmington residents
Currently moved here from New Jersey . 5 months in. It’s nothing here. Will be moving back to New Jersey lol ! Don’t get me wrong I love how cheap it is with no sales tax! It’s way too much traffic & takes 20 min plus to get every where and not too many back roads. Always have to get on the highway. It’s just nothing like NJ❤.
75% chance you won't move. Lol Folks say that all the time and never act on it, or they do and end up coming back because they miss the affordability and comfortable weather conditions of the state. I'm from NY and have been here for over 20 years. DE is one of those states that just grows on you hard. There's little sensible reason to leave it for most people.
@@LongIslandNY-op8su I moved here from Texas 6 years ago. My wife and I love it here. A for the traffic we just learn to work around it hitting the back streets and staying out of Rehoboth in the summertime.
Having lived in Delaware most of my life, I've watched unbelievable development in the past 10 years. Not long ago, our population was under 1 million, now I wouldn't be surprised if it was 1.2 or 1.3 million shortly.
@theoneandonly7782 about a year ago, it was over 900,000. I was only speculating. The amount of development around here is nuts. Housing developments are seemingly going up weekly everywhere. I've read articles locally. How services are being stretched thin, especially health care. We will see. Thanks for checking in.
@@ScottDabson I'm not the Pop Stat Police, I had occasion to check the stat awhile ago and was shocked to learn it was below 1M. So yeah, about 1M or so now, whatever. Middletown area is growing like crazy and has over the last 10 years, I've observed that too. The riverfront area in Wilmington is looking good, better and better in recent years.
As someone who moved to Delaware 4 years ago, chased from NJ by out of control property taxes, I can say for sure that this tiny state is rapidly filling in with residents. Our neighborhood was once farmland, and this is a common story throughout the lower two thirds of the state. Farms and orchards are getting bought up by developers and houses are sprouting from the ground seemingly overnight. My commute to work only took about 15 minutes two years ago, but now regularly takes close to 25 minutes due to increased traffic.The contractor who built our home would jokingly call Delaware "South Jersey," and there's plenty of truth to that. On a regular basis, while out in public we meet more people who have moved here than were raised here.
In South Jersey, can confirm I know lots of people who used to live here but have since moved to Delaware for cost of living purposes. I was nearly one of them as a kid when my dad got his job transferred to Wilmington for two years. The exodus is real!
There are a few reasons but for me (I lived in DE for 40 years before moving to PA), primarily it's the quality of public education, traffic density, and public services. While having a low tax rate is attractive on the surface, the low state tax impacts the quality of public education and public services and there's a huge gap compared to neighboring states like PA and NJ. And the traffic...any of the key roads making up the DE roadnet (I95, RTS 1, 7, 13) is a nightmare to travel on.
There's a map from an old DC comic that has Metropolis in DE and Gotham across the Delaware Bay in New Jersey. I remember looking at it and thinking "Why aren't there two major cities there?"
Lmao I just looked that map up. Judging by the star, it looks like Metropolis would around Seaford, which has about 8,000 people in it. I was just there about a month ago and it's the quaintest little town you've ever seen haha.
The peninsula was divided by colonial Virginia in the south and the Calvert family in the north. The Calvert family owned the province of Maryland and used it as a haven for like minded English Roman Catholics. William Penn was deeded Pennsylvania later. In the meantime, the brother of the king, the Duke of York, benefitted from the Dutch colonies being ceded to the English crown. Present day New Castle was one of the Duke's settlements. The more famous being New Amsterdam in present day Manhattan. Penn arrived at New Castle, was presented with the key to the town, and sailed north to present day Pennsylvania. Penn, realizing his colony was 88 miles from the ocean, petitioned the King for a fresh water port along the bank of the Delaware Bay. King granted petitioned, Penn sent Pennsylvania settlers to present day Slaughter Beach. The port's purpose was to provide fresh water and food to arriving ships before they headed up the Delaware. The Calvert family, being the rightful owners of the peninsula, didn't like the encroachment. The sent their militia and slaughtered Penns people. Hence the name. Penn wasn't too happy and sued the Calvert family in court. Back and forth the court battles went, Penn died and his children settled the dispute with Lord Baltimore, who is the head of the Calvert family. The next part is where the OP gets wrong. The king asked the people on the peninsula who they wanted to be their governor. Since the Methodist Church in America was founded along the Murderkill River nearby present day Frederica, the peninsula was full of Methodist churches and settlements. They didn't wish to be a part of the Roman Catholic Maryland colony and voted to take their chances with the less strict Quakers. The king divided the peninsula but rivers. Rivers and the land around them that flowed into the Chesapeake remained with Maryland. Rivers that flowed to the Delaware were given to Pennsylvania. Both the Penn family and the Calvert family had to pay for two English surveyors to mark the boundary between Pennsylvania and Maryland, Mason and Dixon. But Pennsylvania never owned the 12 mile circle of land around New Castle, that always remained with the Duke of York. Pennsylvania had to pay rent to the Duke so the lower three counties of Pennsylvania could be joined with the upper 5 counties of Pennsylvania. Delaware seceded from Pennsylvania in June 1776 with a letter written to the King telling him to get ducked along with the province of Pennsylvania. Delaware celebrates this day every year in New Castle with Separation Day. The Declaration of Independence was written a month later. Lewes, Sussex County, Delaware, is pronounced like it's namesake, Lewes, Sussex County, England, as LOO-is. Lou's is the name of a top less bar in Tinicum, Pennsylvania. Don't confuse the pronunciation.
Just found your TH-cam channel. Love it! (and love geography as well). Have you ever considered posting a video about the unusual "panhandle" area of Western Maryland? It feels more like PA or WV. And at the eastern border of this region -- where the town of Hancock is located -- the state of Maryland is only 1.8 miles wide.
I am glad you focused on the Twelve Mile border, and finally showed that a piece of Delaware is on the "New Jersey side". Fishermen in New Jersey sometimes get hassled when they fish in the Delaware and don't have a license from Dover.
@@btothek4989 It's true. If you are standing on the shore in New Jersey, then you are OK. But if you go out in a boat on the Delaware, technically you are in Delaware!
:A Delaware fishing license is now required for anglers aged 16 and over fishing the Delaware Bay and Delaware River between the upstream tip of Artificial Island and the Delaware-Pennsylvania state line. In that section of the river, the Delaware state boundry extends to the New Jersey shoreline. However, when fishing from shore in New Jersey along that section of the river, a Delaware fishing license is not required. Delaware fishing license information can be found at www.fw.delaware.gov/Fisheries/Pages/NewFishingLicense.aspx."
Honestly as a native Delawarean I’ve never wanted my state to be like the others. We enjoy no sales tax, our taxes are dirt cheap compared to New Jersey, Pennsylvania, & Maryland. Before modern day transportation the lower 2/3rds of Delaware (along with MD & VA eastern shores) were isolated. Like others have mentioned Philadelphia (and possibly Baltimore to a smaller degree) stole Wilmingtons thunder. We have a small population but Middletown to Wilmington and Lewes/Rehoboth to Bethany Beach/Longneck is an absolute nightmare to travel to nowadays and stays crowded. DelDOT has not kept up with road construction for the amount of traffic we have in those mentioned corridors and the fact that you have to use an overcrowded bridge or road to get into or out of the Delmarva Peninsula doesn’t help any.
This is true. When traveling by car near Delaware, I try my best to stay on Maryland roads, because DE roads are the worse. The difference is really like night and day.
@@hightide1500 It's not that the roads are bad condition wise, it's just that there just isn't enough major cross roads in the state now that the population has grown so much and continues to rapidly grow. The state gov. is against taking out major loans for infrastructure because it will mean they'll have to make major adjustments to the state's taxing standards to pay them off which will effect its position as a tax haven. So it's alternative solution is to attract more large businesses, tourist and high income earners to the state in which to obtain more revenue from. That process takes a while to obtain the needed revenue results.
How could you mention the 12 mile arch and NOT mention the two exclaves it stole away from New Jersey? You even have them in your animation. Two artificially created land masses on the New Jersey side were granted to Delaware by the 12 mile arch. One is an army administered nature reserve and the other is on the grounds of a nuclear plant. Both are uninhabited.
No part of Delaware touches the Appalachian Mountains. . . You were showing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge - which crosses the Bay between Annapolis & the Eastern Shore. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel is located in Virginia - connecting the Eastern Shore of Virginia with the Virginia Beach/Norfolk area. Actually, lots of people move to Delaware, good tax breaks for retired folks & no sales tax. But the ‘beach traffic’, NASCAR traffic ( Dover ) & ( north of the C&D canal, the I-95 traffic is horrendous!
Delaware was just short from 1 million people in 2020, being unable to get a second representative in Congress. I believe its going to be so overpopulated for one in this decade.
I can't imagine that we don't get a second representative in 2030. As for where the districts would be, if Democrats wanted to have a chane at 2 Democratic representatives, they could have the districts split east west, in which the more eastern district would be guaranteed to be held by a Democrat and the Western district would be more competitive as it would be including the very rural and conservative portions of Western Sussex County. I imagine however the districts would split above the canal and below the canal.
@@ThePhl4ever Delaware’s second district in 2030 I imagine will be a lost seat from Pennsylvania, which the state actually did lose a seat in 2020 from 2010. Then the representative who held that seat will run for Delawares second district in 2032.
As a Delawarian, if someone asked why Delaware has such a small population, I'd ask: WHERE? The northern half of the state is so overcrowded I can hardly go 10 miles in 30 minutes any time between 2 and 6 PM on a 5 lane, perfectly straight highway, with no on or off ramp for 2 or 3 miles.
The whole Delmarva is actually pretty isolated. It's actually a man made island because of the C&D canal and there are only 5 bridges in and out. Northern Delaware is pretty much just rhe Philly suburbs. The rest of the state is more like the rest of the Delmarva - farmland and beaches that serve the bigger cities that surround it.
As a resident of the area having grown up in Philadelphia, we always saw the fact that Delaware had no State Sales Tax as a nice reason to visit. Though never really got the bug to move there. We do frequent the DE beaches as they are a nice alternative to NJ.
I went to University of Delaware and was a geography major...Had renowned climatologist Dr. John Mather as a professor...He taught us not to believe the hype about climate change....Thankful for that.
Delaware has on highway, Rt-1, a very cheap toll road, that only runs down to Dover, no interstate highway whatsoever. Always found that to be kinda odd & extremely frustrating.
Fun fact: the highest point in DE is marked with a bench and plaque. Its on the north end and about 30 seconds to the PA border. I wondered for years why people were stopping at this random bench and taking pictures.
Good job on this. I honestly rarely think about Delaware. You should do a video like this on West Virginia. Every state that borders it has a much larger population, with major cities. 🙌
@papagramps1257 oh for sure. It is a beautiful state. There's just no opportunities for people, no real cities, no jobs and a horrible problem with drugs. It's sad honestly.
My hometown of Penns Grove, NJ had begun planning a riverwalk / entertainment area out onto the Delaware River, but apparently DE wouldn’t allow NJ to build past its shore! I don’t know all of the details, but it’s certainly interesting.
Northern rural Delaware is beautiful. We considered moving there when we relocated, but the school districts were better in SE PA...as they should be, given the difference in taxes.
Good overview - thanks! My feedback is that there are no Appalachian foothills in the state (not sure where that footage was from, but I’ve been all over it and have never seen anything like that).Also, when you described the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (which I will drive over today), you showed footage of the Bay Bridge, which also spans the Chesapeake Bay, but it connects the western and eastern Maryland shores of the Bay, and is just east of Annapolis (I’ll also be driving over that bridge today). Hope that helps!
For several years, I attended a week long summer program a=of the US Chamber of Commerce program at the University of Delaware. I learned then that it’s a great place: not too crowded, great beaches, fairly rural save Wilmington, and fairly close (within two hours) of NYC, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and DC.
Im from Delaware and hanging out in all those cities is the norm. Parts of Delaware is an easy commute to all 4 cities. We go to professional sports events of which all 4 cities have, concerts as well off broadway and broadway shows. Delaware also has the advantage of a much lower cost of living as well. And I can’t forget the outdoors…..mountains, hiking trails, beaches, state parks……. so much to do in a 2 hr radius . Never a reason to be bored here.
I think it’s more odd that given that it doesn’t - since MD wraps around it to the west and south, that MD just suddenly stops and the bottom tip is VA. I saw a map - on paper- this was a few decades ago when I was a young driver - and said why is the tip of MD the same color as VA? Yeah… When I eventually drove down US-13 and crossed the CBBT I saw it all differently than as a child going to WDW. I also found it interesting that DE controls the Delaware River across from NJ as opposed to how PA and NJ share it and I think split it down the middle. So crossing the Del Mem Br you are only in NJ when over NJ soil. As an aside, my profile picture is from years ago. My child has now obtained a license to operate a motor vehicle. Some of my “now pay attention to this and that” got in there but recently , after an independent cruise , I heard my kid say “I was wondering what “DEL MEM BR” was and was Dell selling memberships to something to do with their computers but then as I got close I finally figured out that it meant Delaware Memorial Bridge!” 😂 I had a good laugh.
Because the jobs are lacking and low paying. Rent/home owning are absurd (northern region) considering how low the pay is in the state. Have to suffer from the grueling traffic of Philadelphia or NJ (tolls) or hour long trek to Baltimore just to earn a respectable income and if you live anywhere past an hour from the 95 corridor (lower half of the state) forget about it. That’s why about 50% of the population lives in the northern part (New Castle Co.) and there is really limited space for occupancy. Crime in the biggest city Wilmington in horrendous which causes families to flock to the suburbs which are dry and boring. Really the most exciting part about living in Delaware is it’s a pretty easy commute to Philadelphia (non rush hours) and good proximity from NYC and DC by either drive or train. In summary no one lives here because of the space, lack of pay, crime in certain parts and the fact that 2/3rds of the state is completely isolated from any real economic advancement/entertainment (besides the beaches in summer, also insanely expensive to live) is in a nutshell why Delaware remains so small in population.
you're correct about why DE has a small pop. to add to the list though...you mentioned DE has a lot of coastal areas that are preservations...true...but that are a lot of established communities into those coastal areas which are quite anti-development...Bethany Beach is one of those areas...generally, the full-time residents don't want to see their sleepy beach town turn into a rowdy party city like Ocean City, MD....so to add to your list, there's a good deal of anti-development
Another interesting result of the 22 mile circle is the emergence of Delaware land on the east bank of the Delaware river. Land reclamation and dumping of dredged materials have resulted in a significant piece of land owned by Delaware on the east bank.
The Delaware River/Bay has a shallow, brackish, marshy shore line on both the Delaware and New Jersey sides. From the canal to Cape May (NJ)/Lewes (DE), there are no natural ports for vessels of any size, unlike the Chesapeake Bay to the south, which is the sailing capital of the East Coast (sorry, Newport (RI). Development on this marshy terrain is not feasible and yes, the Jersey side is almost as poorly suited to development for the same reasons. Being on a waterway is not enough to attract population growth; it has to have suitable economic potential.
Good video. You missed an important feature; the state's lack of available water power. The Fall Line only runs through a tiny portion of Delaware's NW corner. The state's flatness doesn't impede growth and there is plenty of available fresh water but its lack of waterfalls, falling water for energy to power early mills and plants, meant that early industrialists needed to locate their factories elsewhere. This meant no jobs for the waves of immigrants in the 19th century other than around Wilmington. There was no reason to have a city further south in Delaware since no trade routes other than along the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal.
I don't know what the Dutch would think about being "forced out of the Americas once and for all" in 1664. They still have a sizable presence in the Caribbean (considered North America) and had Dutch Guiana in South America until it became Suriname on independence.
Yeah you're right, in fact the [now] US virgin islands was purchased from the Dutch governtment in 1919 immediately following the first world war. I believe at least at that particular time in history, to be primarily used as/to create, or definitely extend, more of a defensive perimeter/buffer zone for the southeast United States, the gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, and allowing for permanent & reliable military installations to be built there, with a particular emphasis towards US naval forces; especially the launching & retrieval, maintenance/repairs, rearming/refueling & staging of submarines, anti-submarine warfare & even anti-aircraft operations, and generally for smaller, lighter, faster patrol boats, although just about any vessel/aircraft could utilize the facilities that were eventually built. They also constructed & began operating communications, intelligence & eventually radar stations as well, although by 1918 (right before the territory was purchased) the armistice had already been signed & WWI over, and it wouldn't be until the late 1930's/early 1940's that the onset of WWII for the government to reinvigorate their needs, efforts & appreciation once more towards the benefits of having made the several million dollar purchase of the 3 main islands' purchase roughly 20 years prior. And although it was acquired in 1919, the native Virgin Islanders wouldn't in fact become actual US citizens for another decade, in 1929. Hell, even today, despite them technically being US citizens (of sorts), receiving federal funding & oversight, and definitely falling under US Federal Law & Government jurisdiction, Virgin Islanders don't get to vote in the national level general election, even though they for some odd reason CAN vote in the primary... but from what I've always understood, most still don't, and could honestly care less about mainland (aka "stateside") politics, government, leadership, affairs, etc. Typically when it comes to the USVI citizenry voting for anyone/anything, it's just pertaining to the local/island-wide/district and/or territorial-wide election(s), and like the states, they elect a territorial governor, and I do believe they have at least 2 representatives in Washington in the House, but not in the Senate. Before America came along though, at one time (or sometimes multiple times even) or another, going all the way back to the 1700s, perhaps even 1600s, for centuries the Virgin islands (like much of the rest of the Caribbean) were originally settled predominantly by plantation owners to support the cultivation of sugarcane, and subsequent production & exportation of sugar, molasses, & rum, as well as a variety of tropical fruits (namely mangoes, coconuts, passion fruit, limes & plantains) although other crops were also grown. Over their 400+ year history, they were subject to British, French, Spanish, Danish and eventually Dutch colonial rule, until finally we came along lol
You forgot to mention the squabbles between Maryland and Pennsylvania over the boundaries of Delaware's lower county, Sussex. The border between Maryland and Delaware was disputed for a long time.
Delaware is the 6th most densely populated states, so it's lack of total population is purely a matter of size. Which some how you completely never mentioned.
The first 100 people to use code GeographyByGeoff with the link below will get 60% off of Incogni: incogni.com/geographybygeoff
please do what if the Midwest was a country
Does Incogni has population density layers? Also, how well do the datasets integrate with Tableau? Also, what nature datasets come with the Software?
I'd like to see videos about Africa and Asia. They're areas that aren't covered comprehensively by many geography channels on TH-cam.
By the way, lose the topknot. It doesn't work for you ;)
make a video about night life in Delaware because trying to date in this state is a nightmare
Anyone wearing a T shirt with Portland has no right to talk down about other cities or stares. It was a nice city ...
As a native Delawarean, if asked why Delaware had such a small population, my answer would probably be just because it is so small. When compared to states nearby it is quite similar in density. The only thing Delaware really lacks in terms of population compared to its neighbors is a major city.
I was going to say "Wilmington," but it's really almost a suburb of Philly.
I think that the guy who made this video doesn't live near here.
@@s99614 He's from Oregon.
Cities are small, so...
Dover 113k
When I went to college in Utah and people found out I was from Delaware, a typical response was "Dela-where?". I even had one person ask me what country it's in.
I always wanted to visit Delaware
Same here. It almost seems like no one has heard of Delaware outside of the tri state area. I used to get that question a lot. Yeah someone ask me what country it was in too. 😁
That's because those people don't learn about anything east of the Mississippi. They can't even tell you where DC is.
Most geographically informed Americans
It kills me to see how ignorant people can be. I'm from Delaware and when you leave this state or talk to people far away from here you see how uneducated they are.
Delaware could easily be home to 4 to 5 million people if Wilmington had developed at the same rate as Philadelphia from 1820 to around 1950. But for reasons not well-known to me, Philadelphia stole Wilmington's economic thunder by around 1750, despite Wilmington being a port city closer to the Atlantic. Maybe because Philadelphia lies at the convergence of the Schuylkill and the Delaware rivers? So Wilmington, and Delaware in general, have been playing catch-up ever since.
Delaware was a part of the Province of Pennsylvania but since William Penn lived in Philadelphia and owned the colony, the economic resources were concentrated in Philadelphia. Even after being separated from PA in 1701, PA and DE shared the same governor until 1776 and those governor's opted to concentrate resources in Philadelphia.
Wilmington is full. I live in Delaware
@@bricky63b we don't want it. We the 6th most densely populated state by people to space. We only got 526 square miles with almost 1 million people now
@@ou1ixesyou mean state we don't have provinces
The "states" were organized as provinces in the colonial era under England@@highlymedicated2438
If someone asked me on the street "Why is Delaware so under populated?" I would probably just answer "Because everyone forgets Delaware exists?". 🤣
As a Delawarean, I'm happy that a lot of people forget it exists. 😂 We get too many visitors from NY, PA, NJ and elsewhere as it is.
@@jamesplymire5342 stop the cap ain’t no one got time for hellawere
Local Delaware joke is.. Dela -Where??? In reference to how many outsiders don't know the state.
tx for reminding me! Seriously!
Unless you're a geography nerd the odds of completing the 50 state challenge is remote. Everyone forgets Delware, Rhode Island and often Wyoming. @@valarieirons4447
Did the math, by population density delaware is actually more dense than my home state (PA), so technically the main reason why is that its 13 times smaller.
Most of PA is woods and mountains not the terrain to support large populations. Delaware on the other hand is about entirely on solid ground to support large populations.
Apparently he didn't do the math and couldn't be bothered to talk about density at all in a 13 minute video.
Well yeah there's huge portions of rural area in Pennsylvania
While true of overall i would wonder how that compares to the eastern/south central counties that are normaly considered part of the ne megaoplious. For example my county is around 1k/sq mile while not being a suburb of a large city
Yeah, a quick glance at the size of each state reveals this
500,000 people live above the Canal (the Canal is the dividing line between "upper" and the not so much slower anymore "lower" Delaware). If you travel in most places in Northern New Castle County above the Canal, there are really few places for large scale developments to happen due to all the suburban sprawl along Kirkwood Highway between Wilmington and Newark, along 202/Philadelphia Pike heading from Wilmington to the PA burbs, and 13 heading down from Wilmington towards New Castle.
Its going to be interesting to see what's going to happen to Smyrna/Middletown in 20 years because so much Development is going on down there because there really isn't that much more land to Develop in the Wilmington/Newark area. Smyrna is about to BLOW up...and I can honestly see the cities of Middletown, Smyrna, and Dover basically merging to becoming one combined CSA metro in the next 20 to 30 years.
Not to mention the beaches. The beach towns of Lewis, Rehoboth, Dewey, and Bethany population increase 12 fold during the summer. It's a nightmare driving down there during the summer beach season, and so many more homes are being build along those areas.
But yeah, it has a small population, but its a lot more Densely populated than most other places in the US. And it really is a nice place to live. You are less than 3 hours from NYC, DC, The Pocono Mountains, Beaches, Amish Country, Philly, Baltimore and everything in-between, which is why I do believe New Castle County is one of the most underrated places to live in the United States of America.
I could not agree more with what you've said. I'm a Newark native.
When I first moved to Delaware 23 years ago, the whole "slower lower" thing held true, but in recent years with the amount of development in Smyrna, Middletown, and the beaches, I think it's about time to retire it bc there is so much development and higher traffic volumes now than years past.
I agree that northern New Castle county is pretty much built out at this point hence why we see cornfield after cornfield turn into subdivisions further south.
I agree that in the coming years, especially along the Route 1 corridor, the southern part of the state will become a denser unbroken chain of development from Middletown to Dover all the way to the beaches.
We say any place above the canal is Pennsylvania. People from there aren't like us in Slower Lower.
There is no longer a slower lower Delaware. Kent and Sussex Counties are growing faster than Newcastle County.
@@1FlyingSolo1 it sucks.
Once one leaves the Wilmington burbs, the rest of Delmarva is very rural. That is due to diatance frim Philly, and the Chesapeake Bay separating Baltimore/DC area from Delmarva. Delmarva is where the empty East really starts.
Great video, but no part of Delaware is within the Appalachian Mountains. The highest elevation is about 448 feet and entire state is very flat and within the Atlantic Coastal Plain.
This point bothered me too haha. Delaware is flat coastal plains.
Northern Delaware is part of the Piedmont Plateau. "The Piedmont physiographic province is within the Appalachian Highlands physiographic division." Wikipedia.
It is on the border of the Piedmont and even that is a bit of a stretch to consider the Appalachian Mountains. Delaware certainly does not include the “mountainous regions of Appalachia” as described in the video. Would you consider Philadelphia the Appalachian Mountains? I don’t think anyone would.
the highiest point is iron hill
The highest hills, if you can call them that, are near that 12 mile circle separating DE from PA. They're only a quarter to a half the size of the hills in the hilly parts of Iowa.
The reason Delaware has such a low population is simply because it is so small. The population density is actually quite high at about 522/sq mile making it the 6th most densely populated state.
To be fair, I don't think land size is what makes the state small in Population. Take a look at Wyoming, It's Big in Land but small in population. Rhode island is smaller than Delaware but has a similar amount of people living there.
At 1 Million, it's a miracle how it grew so populated.
@@PaulsTechSpace
RI is a lot closer to both Boston and NYC. Delaware is close to Philly, which is smaller than either. (Close to DC, too, but without a direct land route until the Chesapeake Bay bridge was built.)
RI is right in the thick of "Megaopolis." Because DE is on an isolated peninsula (along with the East Shore of MD), Megalopolis hews to the west side of the bay, passing DE by.
@@bcubed72 Philly isn't smaller than Boston.
@@TrainsFerriesFeet Hmm. Well, color me surprised.
Fun Fact: Prior to 1986, Metropolis from DC Comics, was canonically set in Delaware across the Delaware Bay from Gotham City NJ. Since then, the locations are kept vague. Smallville was in MD prior to 86 right across the DE border.
More movie trivia: if you look carefully in the movie Fight Club starring Brad Pitt, you will see clues that the setting is Wilmington, even though it's not ever overtly stated. A Wilmington zip code can be seen in one scene and then of course the stuff about the credit card companies, also a Wilmington industry.
@@1FlyingSolo1 I never knew that about Fight Club, one of my favorite movies. Delaware, in some of its more isolated areas off the Delaware Bay, has places named Whorekill, Murderkill, and Slaughter Beach. The first two are small rivers.
Fight Club is based in Wilmington too.
Wilmington is pretty rough. Fits right in with jersey, Philly, Chicago, etc
While downtown Wilmington is passable as Metropolis, nothing across the bay in NJ makes me think of Gotham. Lots of farm country. I’d buy it if they said it was Smallville. Trenton, up the river, okay that’s more Gotham. Or take the Turnpike to Newark (NJ, not DE) for a more Gotham vibe.
IDK. 😅
girl so many people have been moving here and we hate it 😭😭 the beaches are always packed now
💯 We can't even enjoy our own state. 😢
What do you mean? 🌚 We were from Delaware all along.
The pandemic started New Yorkers moving out to surrounding states. After NYC, everything seems reasonable.
@@haewonized They're gonna be disappointed! 😂
Great video. As a life long Delaware resident I have 1 correction. Lewes is pronounced Lew-iss.
And Newark is pronounced New-wark, etc.
Yeah I've never heard anyone pronounce Lewes as loues.
When I lived in Philly and I pronounced it noork (I'm originally from north jersey) they quickly corrected me New ark 😅😅😅
Also, the Indian tribe he mentions - the Lenape - I've always pronounced it as LEN-uh-pee. I forget how he said it, but it was much different.
@jimcharles9705 same for me. Also I was hoping to hear him pronounce Hockessin. Most out of staters get that wrong. Gotta emphasize the Ho! 😁
Im in DE ,10 minutes from New Jersey 10 minutes from Pennsylvania 10 minutes from Maryland
Newark stand up!
SAMEEEE. I love it!
😏😆
I’ve driven by your house on my 90 minute drive to NJ, or I can take a 90 minute ferry.
So cool, and those winters, aww!!
🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:
00:00 🌍 Introduction to Delaware's uniqueness
01:09 🕰️ Early History and Colonization of Delaware
03:42 🏞️ Geography of Delaware
05:48 🌊 Delaware's Unique Geography
08:07 📊 Factors Contributing to Delaware's Low Population
10:42 🚧 The 12-Mile Circle Boundary
Made with HARPA AI
The 12-mile circle was a surprising fact. Thanks for posting.
As a Pennsylvanian who has lived partly in Delaware (and has family down there), it didn't help Delaware's case that it kept getting punted between its various neighbors during the colonial period. Christina was founded by the Swedes (and Finns) as part of New Sweden, and when the Dutch of New Netherlands booted out the Swedes not long after its founding, only to have the Dutch be booted out by the English, you have a setup that it's land that's constantly changing hands. And that theme won't get any different later on. Virginia and Maryland both claimed portions of Delaware for themselves until the three counties got given to William Penn to be part of Pennsylvania.
And arguably the three Lower Counties (as they were called at the time) likely would have integrated into Pennsylvania and the history of Delaware would have ended there--except Pennsylvania was founded by Quakers... and their governor William Penn decided to go back to Europe to drum up interest in settling Pennsylvania. The population of the new colony (and the three Lower Counties) couldn't agree with one another--so the Assembly that Penn set up decided to stop meeting since every Assembly meeting turned into long drawn out arguments, which meant that they also decided to stop collecting taxes. William Penn soon noticed that his money supply of taxes wasn't flowing and he wrote to the Assembly to fix the situation. The Assembly, not meeting, ghosted William Penn on paying him the taxes he was owed as Proprietor--and eventually William Penn responded by hiring a Puritan from Massachusetts to come down and settle the matter, which only backfired as the entire colony revolted to the Puritan's attempts to force the Assembly to meet, pass laws, and collect taxes. The Puritan eventually gave up when even the Assembly joined in the "we refuse to bow to your authority" protests that were having. They colonists complained to Penn for foisting a Puritan on their Quaker haven, Penn apologized but shifted the blame back on them for not working with him, so he was forced to drastic measures by calling in a Puritan. The Assembly promised to do better... and then they didn't, and William Penn eventually died in debtor's prison due to all the unpaid taxes from Pennsylvania colonists driving him into debt. I always consider it rather ironic that PA has statues of William Penn around (especially in Philly)--it's almost like a warning to anyone who tries to think they can control Pennsylvania: look what we did to our own founder, sure we like the guy now that he's dead and gone and can't order us around anymore. But look what we did to him: we drained his coffers and starved him of income until he died in debt and in prison--and don't think we won't do the same to you if you think about telling us what to do if we don't want to do it. That always seems to be the underlying sentiment there...
All through this back and forth, the Lower three Counties watched the Upper three Counties pull all this and slowly and quietly started getting the idea that they'd rather not be associated with the Upper Counties moving forward. This eventually became formalized in 1704 when the Lower Counties got their own separate assembly instead of alternating locations as they had been prior, though they remained under the control of the Governor of PA for the rest of the Colonial period.
So considering that Delaware, first a Swedish settlement, then a Dutch, then an English, then considered a pawn of Virginia, Maryland, and finally Pennsylvania--never really had a chance to establish itself. We should consider Delaware as the Korea of the Mid-Atlantic Colonies. Surrounded by larger neighbors and constantly fought for control over by those larger neighbors--and thus never allowed to really grow and develop on its own until the USA formed.
Knowing that, it also really explains why Delaware was so keen to be the first state to adopt the Constitution--it ensured they wouldn't be controlled any longer by their neighbors.
Had to give this a like because it’s so thorough.
All this History…
And Nothing About Slavery??
good read, thanks
Super interesting and helpful info as someone researching DE again for a population map analysis
That's changing at a fast rate right now as so many people are moving from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York to Delaware. Especially in the Wilmington area, Middletown, Smyrna and Dover. And honestly, the Wilmington area is just an extension of the Philly suburbs as alot of people in that area are originally from Philly. So do an update on this in 5 years and I'm sure you'll see a shift.
Many people from Philly are moving out of the city to Delaware
That sea level comparison between Florida and Delaware is something I will have to remember
That is actually scary
I moved to DE from DC 10yrs ago. Love it here 🤗
More love from Nairobi Kenya
I’d like to hear more about Delaware’s main industries which you only mentioned briefly - Corporate Law, Banking and Chemistry. Interesting industries for a small state. Especially corporate law. Hmmm.
Delaware's Court of Chancery has long been the one where corporate disputes have been and are adjudicated. Consequently there is a large body of corporate law there. It is also the state where most corporations, large and small, are incorporated.
E.I. du Pont Nemours founded his gunpowder company there, the rest is history.
For those of you curious, Deleware is ranked 6th among all states in population density. I'm not sure what this video is about.
Exactly. I am born, raised, and still live in Delaware. I've noticed a very huge increase in Delaware's population over the past 30 years, especially in my native stomping grounds of Sussex County.
@@WifeWantsAWizard that means nothing. It's small
I saw the title and was like this video probably will be shit (I'm still a fan of Geoff's videos overall), but the answer is just too obvious and the question really isn't the question to ask. Now if he wants to focus on Sussex County and how relatively "empty" it is compared to New Castle and Kent Counties, then I will be far more interested (even though the answer is still obvious for those who have been down there). It's really interesting but some commenter noted that the "empty East Coast" really starts from around Sussex County downwards, and I don't disagree. It's very rural until you hit Virginia Beach.......
@@leungsz Agreed. 100%.
Great Video Geoff! I used to live on Maryland's Eastern Shore, now Coastal Virginia. We would go to Delaware for Gambling, Tax-Free shopping, and the best Ice Cream and Dairy farms in the country!
One small note, when you talk about the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel you use footage of the Bay Bridge, which is a different bridge that connects Kent Island, Md with Annapolis, Md.
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel is in the Southern Tip and connects Virginia Beach, Va to Cape Charles, Va.
Keep up the great content!
@@dylancarter6375 good call out. Also the clip he kept showing of the coastal beauty is definitely not even Delaware or Maryland beaches. I live here so I would recognize that land
I'm Canadian, but I would love to live in Delaware. It would make me so happy to live in this Beautiful state.
Delaware is basically the PEI of the US, but less beautiful
Please don't.
You'll be living in America someday soon after we annex you
@@joshm3283that’s actually Rhode Island
I visit Rehoboth and Bethany frequently, its really beautiful and laid back out there. Much better than the overcrowded tourist beaches of Florida.
Delaware is unique in one aspect: the state still retains the division of counties by its colonial name, hundreds. Where other colonies changed their political boundaries to townships, Delaware still has 39 hundreds within its 3 counties. Currently, i live in Lewes and Rehoboth Hundred. I've lived in Lord Baltimore Hundred, Christiana Hundred, Wilmington Hundred, and Pencader Hundred. My family lives in Georgetown Hundred, Indian River Hundred, Gumboro Hundred, Appoquinimink Hundred, and Murderkill Hundred.
I grew up in South Jersey, which as you said is divided into Townships. Yet I never heard of Delaware's "Hundreds." Thank you.
... Murderkill?
@@DoctorCyan Yea, I'm not sure if it's in the same area but DE has a beach called Slaughter beach
I've lived in Delaware my whole life and have never actually heard anyone refer to them as hundreds though, just the name of the town
I’ve lived in DE all my life and the reason it has a low population compared to other states is it’s small size.
It’s actually quite congested here and it keeps getting worse because they just keep building on land that used to be farmland and woods. I wish people would stop moving here
AGREED. Live off of route 1 and the traffic is just terrible now a days .
Nah I’m on my way lol
I wish we had the balls as a nation to say "FVCK OFF WE ARE FULL" to every single immigrant, including Europeans.
You're clearly in Sussex. Who's been controlling the county for decades?
@@SuperMurph1991 New Castle. Claymont to be exact
Mistake! You referenced the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel-which is in Virginia-while showing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-which is in Maryland.
I moved to Annapolis in 1986 and they have been talking about a new bay crossing (because the two old spans are inadequate and, well, getting very old) ever since. Nearly forty years later and they have yet to come up with a plan.
And arguably the most terrifying stretch of bridge in America. Jeff, sorry Geoff, it’s an experience I highly recommend
@@jebwiseley1706 Thanks for the memories. I've been scared on more than one occasion driving across the Bay Bridge. There's even a car driving service you can hire who will drive you and your car over the bridge if you're too scared to do it yourself.
They haven't built a new stretch because of the amount of influence NIMBY's have. Nobody wants a second Bay Bridge near where they live so we're stuck figuring out how to add another bridge in the only place where a bridge currently stands.
@@JustMe-vn5pq I had to drive over the Bay Bridge through whatever blizzard hit us a couple years back. Was coming back from a wedding down in North Carolina. Definitely one of the biggest pucker factors I've felt in some time.
Went to Rehoboth this year and was blown away how perfect the village is. We will go back. From NY
stay in NY. We don't want you there. lol
@bricky63b true, very true. We had some bikes at our condo. To the Boardwalk it was 10 minutes by bike and 30 by car.
Please don't lol
Yes, please don't. We can't even enjoy our beaches. New Jersey has lots of beaches, you should visit there instead.
@@wileycovington4497 ok, sure we won't come back
This covered nothing in regards to why 1 million people live here. Growing up here, I can tell you… people are moving here in droves… and we natives hate it
Delaware is full. People from Philly, NY and NJ moving in great numbers. So for it's size, the population density is actually high.
The demography leaves a lot to be desired if I read the numbers correctly.
Delaware's population is growing rapidly. It'll always be a small state, but I see it gaining a lot of population over the next few decades.
I have actually visited Delaware a few times. The northern county of New Castle really feels like a suburb of Philadelphia, but to the south Kent and Sussex counties are quite charming with fishermen and farms.
As a resident of Delaware, I must disagree to some degree. There is an influx of residents from New Jersey, New York, and PA to Sussex County, the most southern of the three counties in Delaware. Most of the reason for this influx is due to the lower property taxes as well as zero taxes on any purchases. Yes, you read that correctly. No sales tax. Also, once 65 years or older, you receive a reduction of property tax, which is already lower than the other states mentioned, especially NJ which is quite high! Last year Sussex county built 2500 homes. Just south in Wicomico County in Maryland, 250 homes were built. What does this tell you?
In Boy Scouts, we would pronounce Lenape like Len-ah-Pay and Lewes is like Lewis (as in Lewis & Clark), but the latter could be a Delaware thing and most people in the Philly area just pronounce it that way
Lewis is the right pronunciation i live there!
It's always disorienting to hear people refer to Lewes as """Lou's""" 😐
You're correct! Also our Houston isn't pronounced like the Texas one.
Super relevant because according to DC Comics Metropolis is located in Delaware, across the bay from Gotham City (which is in New Jersey)
I was on internship last summer in Delaware and I feel like one of the reasons is the lack of public transportation/metro that links Dover to wilmington and DC/Baltimore. I feel like more people would live there if they could just take the train to work (like people living in NJ going to work in NYC).
SEPTA? MARC trains from Newark are planned..
@@mak529 Trouble is there are no trains going downstate, and the bus system is horribly unreliable. That really limits the areas of the state that benefit from SEPTA and MARC connections.
@@john_savage It'll be changing soon. Plans are in the works. The problem with such a development has always been about justifying the major cost with the demand. As the demand rapidly grows, the cost of such a statewide metro system becomes more feasible to justify. The state is nearing that justifiable point very quickly.
Delaware doesn’t have “a long history…” it has the LONGEST history. It’s that FIRST STATE thing.
I'm from MD. PA is actually the least populated by size. PA is a bunch of mountains and small towns. Outside of Philly and Pittsburgh it's referred to as Pensyltucky outside of those two cities for a reason.
Once you leave Allegheny County, your in country.
Exactly right. Just for grins, I tried to figure out what the population density would be if PA didn't have Philly or Pittsburgh. It was similar in density to those big states which are far from the "madding crowds" of the East Coast, like Kentucky, Washington, Wisconsin, or Missouri. The beginning of the 1978 movie "The Deer Hunter" is set in rural PA.
@@JustMe-vn5pq Actually, the beginning of Deer Hunter was set in Allegheny County. It was set in an old Mill Town. There were few Steel Mills outside of Allegheny County.
The old Steel Mills ran from just outside the Downtown on the South Side along the Monongahela River. All the way to Irwin Pa. If I remember the Deer Hunter, I was set in either Braddock, Clairton, Duquesne, or McKeesport. But I think it was either Clairton or Duquesne. They were all mill towns. Homestead was were the Homestead works of United States Steel.
In Braddock, the Edgar Thompson Works of USS still operates, and Irwin works of USS still operates. All the rest is gone.
I only know South Western Pennsylvania. Philadelphia is like a foreign country to us.
I have to go now I will finish this later.
Philadelphia is a strange place. You know Sylvester Stallone way of talking, it's not a speech impediment, that's how people from Philadelphia talk.
Pittsburgh had 2 revolts against Philadelphia. 1st was the Whiskey Rebellion, the capital was in Philadelphia at that time the second was in 1876 the Pennsylvania Railroad Strike. Philadelphia sent the Pennsylvania National Guard. Pittsburghers sat up on a hill above the Railroad Yard, and pinned down the National Guard.
Philadelphia sucked money out of Pittsburgh.
The county surrounding Pittsburgh. Washington County, Westmoreland County, Butler County, and Beaver County surround Allegheny County. Towns that are close to the Allegheny County are some of the Ritzy Towns, like Cranberry, Peters, and Imperial. The farther you get away from Allegheny County the more rural it gets.
During the Covid19 lockdown, I'd get in my car and ride the old routes like
Rt 88, Rt 19, & Rt 22.
⛽ was cheap, and there was no one on the roads.
One time I ended up in West Virginia, another time in Ohio.
Riding those rural road was nice. I'd pass farms, small towns, and the homes were all nice.
Down in Green County is sparsely populated, there is Waynesburg University, and a Federal Prison. Other then that there isn't much. I remember in 1990 doing an Electrical job in a ⛽ station. One of the workers said that they were getting building codes in Waynesburg, but not outside the city limits.
I called that God's country.
Another place like that is Poke County, if you go in back country of Polk County then you will find home with cars up on cement blocks.
When I buy me cars, which are always old, I buy them from the country areas.
In Allegheny County, cars cost more, but out in the country prices are lower.
It is because people buy cars close to were they live. Out in the country , there's few people, so it takes a long time to sell a car.
You said you are from Maryland. My Great grandfather grew up in Mt Savage. There was an Iron factory in Mt. Savage.
As the family story goes, my Great Grandfather was 5 years old during the potatoe famine. His maternal Grandfather took him to Mt. Savage.
The rest of the family stayed in Ireland and starved.The owner of the Iron works was a man by the name of Arnold, who hired Irish to work in the Iron Works.
During that period, Mt Savage was the 3rd largest city in Maryland
When the iron ore mine was depleted, the Iron Works. closed
My Great grandfather migrated to Pittsburgh.
In 1870, he bought a lot of land in Pittsburgh, and built a successful Blacksmith business, and prospered.
Yeah I live in MD too and I often forget that only 1 county lies between me and PA but not the parts of PA that actually matter (Philly and Pittsburgh).
Good video, but for one thing. When you were talking about the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, which connects Maryland's lower Eastern shore with Virginia, the picture you showed was of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, which connects Maryland's western shore to Kent Island.
Wrong the Chesapeake bay bridge tunnel connects Virginia's Eastern and western shores
@@AprilCustins You are correct. But the comment you are replying to is just pointing out that he didn't use footage of the Bay Bridge-Tunnel, he used footage of the Bay Bridge in MD.
A couple of off the top of my head thoughts. I moved to Wilmington in 1996 for a job that ended in 2004. I stayed here. When I first got here I would ask my co-workers what’s good about Wilmington? They’d say it’s close to Philadelphia and Baltimore, and even NYC. I ask again what’s good about living in Wilmington? They said well, you’re close to Philadelphia etc etc. I had mostly lived in places where the majority of people were from somewhere else. Delawareans mainly stay here, or if they leave they come back home. When people asked me where’d you go to school, at first I said Florida State and then UNC. I got the stink eye. They meant high school.
One more thing- it really bugs me when people make a video about some place and they don’t even bother to learn how to pronounce the name of places. Lewes has two syllables.
The first time I heard Lewes pronounced the way he said it I had no idea what they were talking about.
@@lanicotton8507 Both the town in the UK and the one in Delaware are pronounced with 2 syllables.
Also the clip he kept showing of a apparent coastal town isn’t even a Delaware beach
As a native southern Delawarean for 43 years, it doesn’t feel like people forgot about us considering they are moving here in droves from PA, NJ, and NY to take advantage of our low property taxes, and no sales tax. (Also, it’s pronounced Lou-Iss) 😊
😊
If all of northern Delaware (north of the canal) consolidated into a single city then it would be one of America's larger cities. It's mostly suburban so it has a lot of potential to develop more.
Glasgow should be merged into Bear to form an official City of Bear, and the western Newark hundred/township along R.40 should be given to Bear as well since it's practically in Bear anyway. Bear is already the 5th largest city/town in the state, and yet isn't officially considered one. Which is very odd.
It is a shame that Delaware is growing so badly. The sprawl is insane for a state as small as ours.
I grew up in Saint Georges and remember a time before the Rt. 1 bridge was built. The growth in Middletown is nonsensical.
What is the absolute safest area in Delaware
@@cow212tst Centreville, probably.
I'm from Delaware and Delaware is actually the best location to be in for entertainment. In one night you could end up in all 3 states. You can dine in Philly, go to NY for a broadway show, stop in NJ for the casino and head back home to Delaware.....I'm not joking. I used to work in Philly, lived in DC and commuted to NY. I used to literally ride the train from Delaware to DC, then jump back on the train and head straight to NY and then catch the train back to Delaware. This is why I will never move to Philly, NY or NJ. There's no need too. Besides Delaware has extremely low property taxes and you can get more house for you money. Why live there when you can live here for less money and get to Philly in about 20 minutes from Downtown Wilmington?
Along with the low property taxes, there are no Sales taxes.
The only way you're making it from Market street to Market street in 20 minutes is at 3 am, cannonball run style up I-95 in something wicked. A sane man would claim 40 minutes well outside of rush hour and even that is speeding.
Geoff, I really enjoyed this video! It has been many years, but I have visited Delaware before! Thank you for the reminder that it is rightfully named The First State because it was the first state to ratify The Constitution. I had forgotten how far north Wilmington is located in Delaware. And you just taught me something I did not know before: The Twelve Mile Circle. What a really neat part of history!
I have said int he past that geography plays a huge role in how history occurs. And this is certainly true with Delaware. Thank you so much for what you shared in this video.
I live in Delaware for 40yrs. This guy hasn't a clue. We are 0:00 0:00 0:00 becoming overpopulated.
Part of the problem for Delaware population density is that while the northern part of the state has access to Route 95, the main route through this part of the country, that road only runs through the northernmost part of the state. Everything to the south connects to secondary roads that run through the most rural parts of Maryland. The southern end of Delaware, other than beach communities is very rural and anything further south into Maryland is virtually the same. In this respect, while Delaware appears to be in the "middle of the action" on a map, the reality is that it, along with Maryland's eastern shore is quite isolated. My folks moved to Dover in 1964. Back then it had about 5000 people and was extremely isolated. Having been raised in Chicago, I hated it. Once I got to college, I only came back to Dover to see my folks. Today, Dover is a total schiithole. Major homelessness, dangerous downtown, high crime. Very sad.
Thanks for the video, Geoff! 😊
Sorry but Delaware is the 6th most densely populated state in the US, ahead of Pennsylvania and New York
There are actually suburbs in the USA that are larger in population than Delaware’s largest city of Wilmington.
That's because Wilmington is essentially a high-density suburb of Philadelphia.
On some maps, Superman's Metropolis is in Delaware on Delaware Bay across from Batman's Gotham in New Jersey. In the real world, there are no major population centers in either location but plenty of wetlands instead.
Another great video! Nobody presents geography like you! I have recommended your videos to elementary schools in my village in NJ, where I am a substitute teacher.
Delawarean here. A few fact checks.
* It's pronounced "LOO-is" not "Lewws".
* That's the Chesapeake Bay Bridge (which connects one half of Maryland to the other), not the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (which connects one half of Virginia to the other).
* For as small as Delaware is, it's essentially two states. North of the Canal is very suburban, more prosperous, and votes Democrat. (Joe Biden Country) North of the Canal is what makes Delaware the sixth most densely populated state in the Union.
* South of the Canal is more rural, not quite as prosperous, and votes Republican. If you drive the back roads of Kent and Sussex Counties, you will see, from time to time, a Confederate battle flags and "Let's Go Brandon" posters.
* Due to the low cost of living, a lot of folks from surrounding states are retiring to Delaware, especially to Sussex County. It's also commutable to Philly, D.C. and Baltimore.
The “Leews” sent me 😂
🙏
Too many people retiring to Sussex County! Getting very crowded here.
Delaware does not have problems with flooding. And learn how to pronounce Lewes ("Lewis").
we unfortunately have some Trump cultists up in New Castle County as well
Huge (inconsiderate) black population. The Wilmington folks don't always like staying in Wilmington. Most shootings outside of Wilmington (and New Castle rt9 area) are often caused by Wilmington residents
Currently moved here from New Jersey . 5 months in. It’s nothing here. Will be moving back to New Jersey lol ! Don’t get me wrong I love how cheap it is with no sales tax! It’s way too much traffic & takes 20 min plus to get every where and not too many back roads. Always have to get on the highway. It’s just nothing like NJ❤.
75% chance you won't move. Lol Folks say that all the time and never act on it, or they do and end up coming back because they miss the affordability and comfortable weather conditions of the state. I'm from NY and have been here for over 20 years. DE is one of those states that just grows on you hard. There's little sensible reason to leave it for most people.
I’m seriously considering moving to Delaware. I’m SO done with NY.
@@LongIslandNY-op8su I moved here from Texas 6 years ago. My wife and I love it here. A for the traffic we just learn to work around it hitting the back streets and staying out of Rehoboth in the summertime.
Having lived in Delaware most of my life, I've watched unbelievable development in the past 10 years. Not long ago, our population was under 1 million, now I wouldn't be surprised if it was 1.2 or 1.3 million shortly.
Pretty sure it's still around 800K.
@theoneandonly7782 about a year ago, it was over 900,000. I was only speculating. The amount of development around here is nuts. Housing developments are seemingly going up weekly everywhere. I've read articles locally. How services are being stretched thin, especially health care. We will see. Thanks for checking in.
@@ScottDabson I'm not the Pop Stat Police, I had occasion to check the stat awhile ago and was shocked to learn it was below 1M. So yeah, about 1M or so now, whatever.
Middletown area is growing like crazy and has over the last 10 years, I've observed that too. The riverfront area in Wilmington is looking good, better and better in recent years.
It's nice seeing a video about my home state, and where I currently live. Most people forget we even exist.
It's interesting that we live in the Delaware valley yet we get forgotten.
Delaware is almost twice as dense as Pennsylvania so the reason for the total population disparity is strictly the comparative size of each state
As someone who moved to Delaware 4 years ago, chased from NJ by out of control property taxes, I can say for sure that this tiny state is rapidly filling in with residents. Our neighborhood was once farmland, and this is a common story throughout the lower two thirds of the state. Farms and orchards are getting bought up by developers and houses are sprouting from the ground seemingly overnight.
My commute to work only took about 15 minutes two years ago, but now regularly takes close to 25 minutes due to increased traffic.The contractor who built our home would jokingly call Delaware "South Jersey," and there's plenty of truth to that. On a regular basis, while out in public we meet more people who have moved here than were raised here.
In South Jersey, can confirm I know lots of people who used to live here but have since moved to Delaware for cost of living purposes. I was nearly one of them as a kid when my dad got his job transferred to Wilmington for two years. The exodus is real!
There are a few reasons but for me (I lived in DE for 40 years before moving to PA), primarily it's the quality of public education, traffic density, and public services. While having a low tax rate is attractive on the surface, the low state tax impacts the quality of public education and public services and there's a huge gap compared to neighboring states like PA and NJ. And the traffic...any of the key roads making up the DE roadnet (I95, RTS 1, 7, 13) is a nightmare to travel on.
There's a map from an old DC comic that has Metropolis in DE and Gotham across the Delaware Bay in New Jersey.
I remember looking at it and thinking "Why aren't there two major cities there?"
Lmao I just looked that map up. Judging by the star, it looks like Metropolis would around Seaford, which has about 8,000 people in it. I was just there about a month ago and it's the quaintest little town you've ever seen haha.
High quality presentation as usual. Graphics are the best I’ve seen.
What's truly baffling is why anyone would try to make a colony out of a sliver of the Delmarva Peninsula, instead of the entire peninsula.
One colony wanted the Delaware Bay and the other colony wanted the Chesapeake Bay. So they split the peninsula down the middle.
The peninsula was divided by colonial Virginia in the south and the Calvert family in the north. The Calvert family owned the province of Maryland and used it as a haven for like minded English Roman Catholics. William Penn was deeded Pennsylvania later. In the meantime, the brother of the king, the Duke of York, benefitted from the Dutch colonies being ceded to the English crown. Present day New Castle was one of the Duke's settlements. The more famous being New Amsterdam in present day Manhattan. Penn arrived at New Castle, was presented with the key to the town, and sailed north to present day Pennsylvania. Penn, realizing his colony was 88 miles from the ocean, petitioned the King for a fresh water port along the bank of the Delaware Bay. King granted petitioned, Penn sent Pennsylvania settlers to present day Slaughter Beach. The port's purpose was to provide fresh water and food to arriving ships before they headed up the Delaware. The Calvert family, being the rightful owners of the peninsula, didn't like the encroachment. The sent their militia and slaughtered Penns people. Hence the name. Penn wasn't too happy and sued the Calvert family in court. Back and forth the court battles went, Penn died and his children settled the dispute with Lord Baltimore, who is the head of the Calvert family. The next part is where the OP gets wrong. The king asked the people on the peninsula who they wanted to be their governor. Since the Methodist Church in America was founded along the Murderkill River nearby present day Frederica, the peninsula was full of Methodist churches and settlements. They didn't wish to be a part of the Roman Catholic Maryland colony and voted to take their chances with the less strict Quakers. The king divided the peninsula but rivers. Rivers and the land around them that flowed into the Chesapeake remained with Maryland. Rivers that flowed to the Delaware were given to Pennsylvania. Both the Penn family and the Calvert family had to pay for two English surveyors to mark the boundary between Pennsylvania and Maryland, Mason and Dixon. But Pennsylvania never owned the 12 mile circle of land around New Castle, that always remained with the Duke of York. Pennsylvania had to pay rent to the Duke so the lower three counties of Pennsylvania could be joined with the upper 5 counties of Pennsylvania. Delaware seceded from Pennsylvania in June 1776 with a letter written to the King telling him to get ducked along with the province of Pennsylvania. Delaware celebrates this day every year in New Castle with Separation Day. The Declaration of Independence was written a month later.
Lewes, Sussex County, Delaware, is pronounced like it's namesake, Lewes, Sussex County, England, as LOO-is. Lou's is the name of a top less bar in Tinicum, Pennsylvania. Don't confuse the pronunciation.
@@christophercox9311we don't have provinces
I’m from Delaware! We are good the way we are right now! We don’t need anymore people!!
Interesting video. Very well done.
Just found your TH-cam channel. Love it! (and love geography as well). Have you ever considered posting a video about the unusual "panhandle" area of Western Maryland? It feels more like PA or WV. And at the eastern border of this region -- where the town of Hancock is located -- the state of Maryland is only 1.8 miles wide.
I am glad you focused on the Twelve Mile border, and finally showed that a piece of Delaware is on the "New Jersey side". Fishermen in New Jersey sometimes get hassled when they fish in the Delaware and don't have a license from Dover.
That's some BS!
@@btothek4989 It's true. If you are standing on the shore in New Jersey, then you are OK. But if you go out in a boat on the Delaware, technically you are in Delaware!
:A Delaware fishing license is now required for anglers aged 16 and
over fishing the Delaware Bay and Delaware River between the
upstream tip of Artificial Island and the Delaware-Pennsylvania state
line. In that section of the river, the Delaware state boundry extends to
the New Jersey shoreline. However, when fishing from shore in New
Jersey along that section of the river, a Delaware fishing license is not
required. Delaware fishing license information can be found at
www.fw.delaware.gov/Fisheries/Pages/NewFishingLicense.aspx."
Honestly as a native Delawarean I’ve never wanted my state to be like the others. We enjoy no sales tax, our taxes are dirt cheap compared to New Jersey, Pennsylvania, & Maryland. Before modern day transportation the lower 2/3rds of Delaware (along with MD & VA eastern shores) were isolated. Like others have mentioned Philadelphia (and possibly Baltimore to a smaller degree) stole Wilmingtons thunder. We have a small population but Middletown to Wilmington and Lewes/Rehoboth to Bethany Beach/Longneck is an absolute nightmare to travel to nowadays and stays crowded. DelDOT has not kept up with road construction for the amount of traffic we have in those mentioned corridors and the fact that you have to use an overcrowded bridge or road to get into or out of the Delmarva Peninsula doesn’t help any.
Shhh quit blabbing! We have too many coming as it is.
This is true. When traveling by car near Delaware, I try my best to stay on Maryland roads, because DE roads are the worse. The difference is really like night and day.
@@hightide1500 It's not that the roads are bad condition wise, it's just that there just isn't enough major cross roads in the state now that the population has grown so much and continues to rapidly grow. The state gov. is against taking out major loans for infrastructure because it will mean they'll have to make major adjustments to the state's taxing standards to pay them off which will effect its position as a tax haven. So it's alternative solution is to attract more large businesses, tourist and high income earners to the state in which to obtain more revenue from. That process takes a while to obtain the needed revenue results.
How could you mention the 12 mile arch and NOT mention the two exclaves it stole away from New Jersey? You even have them in your animation. Two artificially created land masses on the New Jersey side were granted to Delaware by the 12 mile arch. One is an army administered nature reserve and the other is on the grounds of a nuclear plant. Both are uninhabited.
Ah the old Salem Plant vista by Port Penn. The Middletown stoner's favorite hideaway.
Excellent commentary, I always learn something new.
Thank you.
Also the state that has kept the same license plate design for the longest, the current plate design is over 50yrs old.
No part of Delaware touches the Appalachian Mountains. . .
You were showing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge - which crosses the Bay between Annapolis & the Eastern Shore.
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel is located in Virginia - connecting the Eastern Shore of Virginia with the Virginia Beach/Norfolk area.
Actually, lots of people move to Delaware, good tax breaks for retired folks & no sales tax. But the ‘beach traffic’, NASCAR traffic ( Dover ) & ( north of the C&D canal, the I-95 traffic is horrendous!
Delaware was just short from 1 million people in 2020, being unable to get a second representative in Congress. I believe its going to be so overpopulated for one in this decade.
I can't imagine that we don't get a second representative in 2030. As for where the districts would be, if Democrats wanted to have a chane at 2 Democratic representatives, they could have the districts split east west, in which the more eastern district would be guaranteed to be held by a Democrat and the Western district would be more competitive as it would be including the very rural and conservative portions of Western Sussex County. I imagine however the districts would split above the canal and below the canal.
@@ThePhl4ever Delaware’s second district in 2030 I imagine will be a lost seat from Pennsylvania, which the state actually did lose a seat in 2020 from 2010. Then the representative who held that seat will run for Delawares second district in 2032.
As a Delawarian, if someone asked why Delaware has such a small population, I'd ask: WHERE? The northern half of the state is so overcrowded I can hardly go 10 miles in 30 minutes any time between 2 and 6 PM on a 5 lane, perfectly straight highway, with no on or off ramp for 2 or 3 miles.
The whole Delmarva is actually pretty isolated. It's actually a man made island because of the C&D canal and there are only 5 bridges in and out. Northern Delaware is pretty much just rhe Philly suburbs. The rest of the state is more like the rest of the Delmarva - farmland and beaches that serve the bigger cities that surround it.
Hey Geoff, thanks for an insightful and interesting video highlighting my home. One note, Lewes is pronounced Louis.
Delaware is a chill state I guess, though it broke off from Pennsylvania it definitely feels like a Mini Maryland.
As a resident of the area having grown up in Philadelphia, we always saw the fact that Delaware had no State Sales Tax as a nice reason to visit. Though never really got the bug to move there. We do frequent the DE beaches as they are a nice alternative to NJ.
Do a video on why most of Michigan's population lives in the lower peninsula.
I went to University of Delaware and was a geography major...Had renowned climatologist Dr. John Mather as a professor...He taught us not to believe the hype about climate change....Thankful for that.
Didn’t even mention sales tax. An additionally anomaly that leads it to be a retail destination.
Delaware has on highway, Rt-1, a very cheap toll road, that only runs down to Dover, no interstate highway whatsoever. Always found that to be kinda odd & extremely frustrating.
Fun fact: the highest point in DE is marked with a bench and plaque. Its on the north end and about 30 seconds to the PA border.
I wondered for years why people were stopping at this random bench and taking pictures.
Delaware is not underpopulated in the least. It’s top 5 in most densely populated states.
Good job on this. I honestly rarely think about Delaware. You should do a video like this on West Virginia. Every state that borders it has a much larger population, with major cities. 🙌
unrelated but West Virginia in my opinion has to be the most underrated state in the country in terms of natural beauty..
@papagramps1257 oh for sure. It is a beautiful state. There's just no opportunities for people, no real cities, no jobs and a horrible problem with drugs. It's sad honestly.
My hometown of Penns Grove, NJ had begun planning a riverwalk / entertainment area out onto the Delaware River, but apparently DE wouldn’t allow NJ to build past its shore! I don’t know all of the details, but it’s certainly interesting.
Northern rural Delaware is beautiful. We considered moving there when we relocated, but the school districts were better in SE PA...as they should be, given the difference in taxes.
Rural northern DE? Above the canal is where close to 2/3 of the state lives. The rural parts of delaware are below the canal in Kent and Sussex County
My parents chose PA over De for the same reason. We ended up living on the PA/DE border
@@ThePhl4ever Hockessin
Good overview - thanks! My feedback is that there are no Appalachian foothills in the state (not sure where that footage was from, but I’ve been all over it and have never seen anything like that).Also, when you described the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (which I will drive over today), you showed footage of the Bay Bridge, which also spans the Chesapeake Bay, but it connects the western and eastern Maryland shores of the Bay, and is just east of Annapolis (I’ll also be driving over that bridge today). Hope that helps!
Take Rt 7 north and it starts to get hilly. Whether that qualifies as foothills is one's opinion!
For several years, I attended a week long summer program a=of the US Chamber of Commerce program at the University of Delaware. I learned then that it’s a great place: not too crowded, great beaches, fairly rural save Wilmington, and fairly close (within two hours) of NYC, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and DC.
Im from Delaware and hanging out in all those cities is the norm. Parts of Delaware is an easy commute to all 4 cities. We go to professional sports events of which all 4 cities have, concerts as well off broadway and broadway shows. Delaware also has the advantage of a much lower cost of living as well. And I can’t forget the outdoors…..mountains, hiking trails, beaches, state parks……. so much to do in a 2 hr radius . Never a reason to be bored here.
@@notyet2345how is public transportation
@@roselynholloway7863 not sure. I haven’t been on public transportation in yrs.
@@notyet2345 ok
The court house that impacts the 12 mi curve is located in old New Castle.
I think it is odd that Delaware doesn't just take up that entire Peninsula.
I think it’s more odd that given that it doesn’t - since MD wraps around it to the west and south, that MD just suddenly stops and the bottom tip is VA.
I saw a map - on paper- this was a few decades ago when I was a young driver - and said why is the tip of MD the same color as VA? Yeah…
When I eventually drove down US-13 and crossed the CBBT I saw it all differently than as a child going to WDW.
I also found it interesting that DE controls the Delaware River across from NJ as opposed to how PA and NJ share it and I think split it down the middle. So crossing the Del Mem Br you are only in NJ when over NJ soil. As an aside, my profile picture is from years ago. My child has now obtained a license to operate a motor vehicle. Some of my “now pay attention to this and that” got in there but recently , after an independent cruise , I heard my kid say “I was wondering what “DEL MEM BR” was and was Dell selling memberships to something to do with their computers but then as I got close I finally figured out that it meant Delaware Memorial Bridge!” 😂 I had a good laugh.
@@nickpalance3622 Fun story and great memories!
I best eastern shore MD wishes they did too, Delaware has cheaper taxes
Because the jobs are lacking and low paying. Rent/home owning are absurd (northern region) considering how low the pay is in the state. Have to suffer from the grueling traffic of Philadelphia or NJ (tolls) or hour long trek to Baltimore just to earn a respectable income and if you live anywhere past an hour from the 95 corridor (lower half of the state) forget about it. That’s why about 50% of the population lives in the northern part (New Castle Co.) and there is really limited space for occupancy. Crime in the biggest city Wilmington in horrendous which causes families to flock to the suburbs which are dry and boring. Really the most exciting part about living in Delaware is it’s a pretty easy commute to Philadelphia (non rush hours) and good proximity from NYC and DC by either drive or train. In summary no one lives here because of the space, lack of pay, crime in certain parts and the fact that 2/3rds of the state is completely isolated from any real economic advancement/entertainment (besides the beaches in summer, also insanely expensive to live) is in a nutshell why Delaware remains so small in population.
you're correct about why DE has a small pop. to add to the list though...you mentioned DE has a lot of coastal areas that are preservations...true...but that are a lot of established communities into those coastal areas which are quite anti-development...Bethany Beach is one of those areas...generally, the full-time residents don't want to see their sleepy beach town turn into a rowdy party city like Ocean City, MD....so to add to your list, there's a good deal of anti-development
Another interesting result of the 22 mile circle is the emergence of Delaware land on the east bank of the Delaware river. Land reclamation and dumping of dredged materials have resulted in a significant piece of land owned by Delaware on the east bank.
The Delaware River/Bay has a shallow, brackish, marshy shore line on both the Delaware and New Jersey sides. From the canal to Cape May (NJ)/Lewes (DE), there are no natural ports for vessels of any size, unlike the Chesapeake Bay to the south, which is the sailing capital of the East Coast (sorry, Newport (RI). Development on this marshy terrain is not feasible and yes, the Jersey side is almost as poorly suited to development for the same reasons. Being on a waterway is not enough to attract population growth; it has to have suitable economic potential.
Good video. You missed an important feature; the state's lack of available water power. The Fall Line only runs through a tiny portion of Delaware's NW corner. The state's flatness doesn't impede growth and there is plenty of available fresh water but its lack of waterfalls, falling water for energy to power early mills and plants, meant that early industrialists needed to locate their factories elsewhere. This meant no jobs for the waves of immigrants in the 19th century other than around Wilmington. There was no reason to have a city further south in Delaware since no trade routes other than along the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal.
I don't know what the Dutch would think about being "forced out of the Americas once and for all" in 1664. They still have a sizable presence in the Caribbean (considered North America) and had Dutch Guiana in South America until it became Suriname on independence.
Yeah you're right, in fact the [now] US virgin islands was purchased from the Dutch governtment in 1919 immediately following the first world war. I believe at least at that particular time in history, to be primarily used as/to create, or definitely extend, more of a defensive perimeter/buffer zone for the southeast United States, the gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, and allowing for permanent & reliable military installations to be built there, with a particular emphasis towards US naval forces; especially the launching & retrieval, maintenance/repairs, rearming/refueling & staging of submarines, anti-submarine warfare & even anti-aircraft operations, and generally for smaller, lighter, faster patrol boats, although just about any vessel/aircraft could utilize the facilities that were eventually built. They also constructed & began operating communications, intelligence & eventually radar stations as well, although by 1918 (right before the territory was purchased) the armistice had already been signed & WWI over, and it wouldn't be until the late 1930's/early 1940's that the onset of WWII for the government to reinvigorate their needs, efforts & appreciation once more towards the benefits of having made the several million dollar purchase of the 3 main islands' purchase roughly 20 years prior. And although it was acquired in 1919, the native Virgin Islanders wouldn't in fact become actual US citizens for another decade, in 1929. Hell, even today, despite them technically being US citizens (of sorts), receiving federal funding & oversight, and definitely falling under US Federal Law & Government jurisdiction, Virgin Islanders don't get to vote in the national level general election, even though they for some odd reason CAN vote in the primary... but from what I've always understood, most still don't, and could honestly care less about mainland (aka "stateside") politics, government, leadership, affairs, etc. Typically when it comes to the USVI citizenry voting for anyone/anything, it's just pertaining to the local/island-wide/district and/or territorial-wide election(s), and like the states, they elect a territorial governor, and I do believe they have at least 2 representatives in Washington in the House, but not in the Senate. Before America came along though, at one time (or sometimes multiple times even) or another, going all the way back to the 1700s, perhaps even 1600s, for centuries the Virgin islands (like much of the rest of the Caribbean) were originally settled predominantly by plantation owners to support the cultivation of sugarcane, and subsequent production & exportation of sugar, molasses, & rum, as well as a variety of tropical fruits (namely mangoes, coconuts, passion fruit, limes & plantains) although other crops were also grown. Over their 400+ year history, they were subject to British, French, Spanish, Danish and eventually Dutch colonial rule, until finally we came along lol
actually the virgin islands were bought from Denmark@@hippiesaboteur2556
You forgot to mention the squabbles between Maryland and Pennsylvania over the boundaries of Delaware's lower county, Sussex. The border between Maryland and Delaware was disputed for a long time.
Delaware is the 6th most densely populated states, so it's lack of total population is purely a matter of size. Which some how you completely never mentioned.
Didn’t make it very far in this video…1:47 to be exact. As a proud Delawarean…it’s Len-A-pe(e) and Lewes is pronounced the same as Lewis.