The New Student's Reference Work/Wilmington, Del.

Wil′mington, Del., the county-seat of Newcastle County and the largest city in the state, is on Delaware River, 28 miles southwest of Philadelphia. The city stands on hilly ground between Brandywine and Christiana Creeks, and slopes toward the Delaware, which is not yet reached by the built-up part of the city. At this point, 65 miles from the ocean, the Delaware is three miles wide, with 30 feet of water at mid-tide in its shallowest parts. There are electric lights and electric street-cars. A fine park has been laid out along the Brandywine. The principal buildings are the government's building, county courthouse, city-hall, St. Peters' Orphanage (R. C.) for girls, St. Joseph's Home (R. C.) for colored people, two homes for the aged, two hospitals and several other charitable institutions. The city annually expends $258,005 on its public schools, which have 253 teachers and 11,005 pupils. The high school has a handsome building and furnishes manual training. Other educational institutions are Hebb's School, Wilmington Friends' School, Wilmington Military Academy, Ursuline Academy, Goldey College and Wilmington Business College. The city has three libraries and 60 churches. The Swedes' church, founded in 1698, received funds from William Penn, a Bible from Queen Anne and a communion service from the miners of Sweden. Among the larger manufactures are railroad passenger-cars, for which it is the second city in America, powder, flour, morocco, carriages and iron shipbuilding. Wilmington was founded in 1732 on the site of the first Swedish settlement in 1638. Population 87,411.