09/06/2022
Today is our first school visit, but while we are busy doing that, here is the lovely Isabelās first state essay. Please read with delight all about the great state of Delaware.
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Hi Folks! Isabel here.
Robbi and Matthew are on their way, and Delaware is the first stop on the Tour. But what do we really know about this little Northeastern state populated by Delawareans? (Well first, a fun fact: did you know the word we use to refer to people from a given state ā ex: Delawareans ā is "demonym"? I didnāt. Now, however, I do.)
There are a lot of Delawareans ā at least, compared to the size of Delaware. Which is to say, Delaware has one of the highest population densities per square mile in the US, despite being the second smallest state. (Extra points if you can name the smallest off the top of your head ā I'll admit, I had to double check my answer.)
Only 39 miles wide, Delaware packs a lot of punch. Itās situated along the East coast and borders the zig-zaggy Delaware River. In fact, itās the state thatās named after the river, and not the other way around. And the river, in turn, is named after Virginiaās first governor: Lord De La Warr. Which is kind of a funny name.
More than 17 million people get their drinking water from the Delaware; thatās about 5% of the US population.
Delaware was founded as a state in 1787 (although of course there had been people living there long before). It was the first in the Union as it was the first to ratify the Constitution. And this wasnāt even Delaware's first major contribution to American history! One fateful night in 1776, Brigadier-General Caesar Rodney, the person on Delawareās state quarter, rode the 80 miles in one to Philadelphia to cast the deciding vote for Independence.
Because of this, Delawareās official nickname is āThe First State.ā And do you know the craziest thing about it? This nickname was adopted because it was requested in 2002 by Ms. OāMalleyās first grade class at Mt. Pleasant Elementary ā the very same school Matthew and Robbi are going to be visiting this September!
But a nickname wasnāt the only state āthingā I found for Delaware. The more I dug in, the more I discovered. For example: the state flower (Peach Blossom), the state dessert (Peach Pie), and of course the state fruit (Gotcha! Not peaches. Itās strawberries). But thereās also the state bird (the Blue Hen), the state tree (American Holly), the state beverage... (I didnāt even know that was a thing??) Apparently itās milk. The list goes on.
State dog? They have one of those (the Rescue!). State seashell? Yep (the Channeled Whelk). State song (āOur Delawareā), state insect (Ladybug), state marine animal (Horseshoe Crab). Actually, Delaware has one of the largest horseshoe crab populations in the world.
And more! State fossil (Belemnite), state soil (Greenwich Loam), state macroinvertebrate (the Stonefly)... Iām tired just from writing all these.
Delaware is to this day the only state with an official macroinvertebrateā¦ somehow, I am not surprised. As it turns out, there are a lot of state things ā way more than expected. But the coolest part is that, as with the nickname, a lot of the things I just listed were brought to the state legislature by elementary school students! I didnāt know this was even a possibility! Just another kid superpower š
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P.S. As a college history major, Iām too used to writing with footnotes, and I can't resist the temptation to include one here: Horseshoe crabs (which are not actually crabs) are sometimes called āliving fossilsā because they have been around for millions of years. By some estimates, there were horseshoe crabs before there were dinosaurs.
