Timber Farms

Delaware State Icons

The Symbolic History of Delaware.

By: Vanessa Spence 

Where did that come from?  Is often a question of background or the history behind an odd sense of belonging.  Symbolism is one way of identifying one self or aligning it in a sense of purpose.  So where does Delaware fit? 

In the case of our state we are known as the first state.  Our children learn in school that we were the first to sign the Constitution. Fortunately, that all turned out well, but think how it could have turned out.  We could have been first in line for irradication by the British.  

Our state shield, pictured on our state flag, shows much symbolism.   We claim our motto to be “Liberty and Independence.  The “first state” was coined by a first grade class asking our state assembly to make it official in 2002.  Now, it appears on the state quarter that details Caesar Rodney’s ride to Philadelphia.  He rode through the night, during a terrible thunderstorm, to break a deadlock vote on July 1st, 1776.  We now know how that turned out; he was the deciding vote for independence from England.  Rodney was Delaware’s president at the time, as was George Read before him and John Dickinson after him.

The name itself “Delaware” is sort of a hand-me-down.  The Delaware Bay and the Delaware River was named after Sir Thomas West known as Lord De La Warr, Governor of Jamestown, in around 1610.  We took our name from the bay and river. 

Other early signs of Delaware legacy is depicted in the state seal, adopted in 1777.  On it we have three years of initiation.  1704 when our state assembly started meeting and talking independence, 1776, when all declared independence from Britain and 1787 when we ratified the Constitution and became the “first state.”  My question remains how old are we really?  Arizona and New Mexico celebrated being 100 years old this year.  When is our birthday? Well, they seem to have settled on 1787 being our beginning.

Early economic history is also on the state seal.  What made up Delaware, how were we different from neighboring states?  At the time we were proud of our ship building yards.  Today it is hinted at along the Wilmington waterfront, and the shipyard shops.  

On the seal the Farmer, the wheat shaft and corn all symbolize Agriculture.  It was the basis of our states economy in the 1700’s.  From that many symbols have been adopted along the years.  Our official state soil is greenwich loam, a deep well draining soil.  A silt over top of a sandy marine soil.  It is found along the coastal plains of Delaware and is productive for agriculture. 

From this industry we adopted the ladybug as our state bug.  Thank goodness something pretty but it is a beneficial bug that seems to invade our area in late summer and fall.  In time to eat the larvae and aphids, from crops and plants.  

On the state seal is an ear of corn to symbolize rich agriculture.   However they missed the peach industry already flourishing in 1777.  Did you know the Delaware was once the peach capital of the world?  Spanish introduced the tree in the 1600’s and by the 1700 we had so an overabundance and they also became pig food.  The railroad grew the industry and in 1875,  six million baskets shipped throughout the US.  In the early 1900’s the “yellows’ appeared, a blight that bankrupted peach farmers.  Delaware still celebrates the peach festival in Middletown every fall and our state flower is the peach blossom adopted in 1895.

Also represented on the state seal is our militia.  We were organized to draw 100 men quickly to battle in the organization of “hundreds” rather than townships or boros.  Later came the state bird the blue hen, a strong willed fighting cock.  Caldwell from Kent County carried a mascot pair during the Revolutionary War.  Here-say leads us to believe George Washington coined the phase “fighting blue hens”  for those militia coming from Delaware.   We also honored George Washington’s uniform colors of colonial blue and buff, now our state colors.

Water was important in the 1700’s and 1800’s and Delaware had its full share of port cities and the navigable Delaware River.  Even the Christiana River created Wilmington’s nickname in the 1800’s as the flour capital with a consistent water power source for mills along it.

Having water also lent us other off beat symbols of Delaware like the horseshoe crab and the stonefly.  The horseshoe crab is our official state animal.  It was designated so in 2002.  It could no longer be harvested for bait due to its new found importance supporting migratory birds and its unique copper-containing blood.  The horseshoe crab’s eye structure is also similar to humans.  However, In the 1700’s and 1800’s harvesting these pre dinosaur creatures was common place for bait and the Delaware Bay was their spawning ground.  Imagine the Bay’s floor literally paved by horseshoe crabs.  Over harvesting prevents us to see this now, even though spawning continues just off our shores during full and new moons of May and June.

The stonefly is our state invertabre and was chosen only because their delicate balance of life depends on a very restricted window of good water quality and perfect ecosystem balance.  Delaware has a substantial population of stoneflies that indicate good water quality.  The idea of how important their presence is can be compared to miners bringing canaries into the mine with them. Once the bird dies, from exposure to gases, it was time to leave the mine yourself.

The last symbol on the Delaware State seal is an ox.  Yes, an important early industry but also watch after this year’s election.  Return Day, when all those who run for political office, return to Georgetown and share in a day of returning to normal.  They bury the hatchet and share in roasting an Ox.  It takes place two days after the election.  Typically because back in 1792 you came two days later to get the election results, announced from the new state house balcony in Georgetown.