Sussex County (Delaware)

administration
Sussex County Courthouse, listed on the NRHP since 1973
US state :	Delaware
Administrative headquarters :	Georgetown
Address of the administrative headquarters:	Sussex County Administrative Office Building 2 The Circle, (PO Box 589) Georgetown, DE 19947-1502
Foundation :	1683
Made up from:	New Castle County
Area code :	001 302
Demographics
Residents :	197,145 (2010 (estimate))
Population density :	81.2 inhabitants / km ²
geography
Total area :	3097 km²
Water surface :	668 km²
map

Website : sussexcountyde.gov

The Sussex County is the southernmost and geographically largest of the three counties of the US -amerikanischen State of Delaware . At the 2010 census , the county had 197,145 residents and a population density of 81.2 people per square kilometer. The county seat is Georgetown .

geography

Sussex County is - like all of Delaware - on the Delmarva Peninsula and is on its Atlantic coast at the exit of Delaware Bay ; to the west and south it is bordered by Maryland . Sussex County covers an area of 3,097 square kilometers; 668 square kilometers of this is water. The following counties in Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey border Sussex County :

Caroline County, Maryland	Kent County	Cape May County, New Jersey ¹

Wicomico County, Maryland	Worcester County, Maryland

^{1 - maritime border in Delaware Bay}

history

growth of population
Census	Residents	± in%
1790	20,488	-
1800	19,358	-5.5%
1810	27,750	43.4%
1820	24,057	-13.3%
1830	27,115	12.7%
1840	25.093	-7.5%
1850	25,936	3.4%
1860	29,615	14.2%
1870	31,696	7%
1880	36,018	13.6%
1890	38,647	7.3%
1900	42,276	9.4%
1910	46,413	9.8%
1920	43,741	-5.8%
1930	45.507	4%
1940	52.502	15.4%
1950	61,336	16.8%
1960	73.195	19.3%
1970	80,356	9.8%
1980	98.004	22%
1990	113.229	15.5%
2000	156,638	38.3%
2010	197.145	25.9%
before 1900 1900–1990 2000 2010

The first human settlement dates back 10,000 to 14,000 years. The various tribes that inhabited present-day Delaware, were among the Algonquian - language family to. The most famous peoples were the Lenni Lenape (also called Delaware ) and the Nanticoke . The population density was comparatively high, especially along the waters, as fishing played a special role. In addition, agriculture played a major role, especially in the summer months. In addition, deer and small animals were hunted in the dense forests.

Between 1593 and 1630 the coast was explored by European sailors from different countries. 1609 found Henry Hudson , on behalf of the Dutch East India - company was on the way, the Delaware River. A year later, the English navigator Samuel Argall landed and named the region after Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr , the governor of Virginia , from which today's name "Delaware" developed.

In what is now Sussex County, the first permanent settlement of Europeans in Delaware took place. In 1631 Zwaanendael (now Lewes ) was the first permanent European settlement in what is now Sussex County. The Dutch captain David Pietersz. de Vries landed to set up a whaling base on the central Atlantic coast of North America. De Vries left the colony in 1632 and upon his return had to experience that it had been burned down by the Indians and that the inhabitants had been killed. This ended the Dutch part of colonial history in what is now Sussex County.

Sussex County was founded in 1683 by William Penn as part of what was then the Pennsylvania colony . It was named after the English county of Sussex . With the Mason-Dixon Line, the border to the neighboring colony of Maryland was finally established, which was not only the border between Pennsylvania and Maryland but also the border between the slave-owning states and those in which slavery was prohibited. In 1769, the administrative seat of Sussex County was moved from Lewes to Cross Roads , now Milton .

The American Declaration of Independence followed in 1776 and Delaware was one of the thirteen founding states of the USA through its gradual secession from Pennsylvania (1704 - own parliament, 1710 - own administration, 1776 - founding of the state of Delaware). In contrast to Pennsylvania, Delaware became a state that allowed slavery.

In 1791, Georgetown, the current administrative seat of the county, was founded to establish a central location for the administration.

Demographic data

According to the 2000 census , Sussex County had 156,638 people in 62,577 households and 43,866 families. The population density was 64 people per square kilometer. The racial the population was composed of 80.3 percent white, 14.9 percent African American, 0.6 percent Native American, 0.7 percent Asian and 2.0 percent from other ethnic groups; 1.4 percent were descended from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any of the above mentioned groups were 4.4 percent of the population.

Of the 62,577 households, 27.1 percent had children under the age of 18 living with them. 54.9 percent were married couples living together, 11.3 percent were single mothers, and 29.9 percent were non-families. 24.3 percent of all households were single households and 11.1 percent had people aged 65 years or over. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.88 people.

22.5 percent of the population was under 18 years old, 7.0 percent between 18 and 24, 26.3 percent between 25 and 44, 25.6 percent between 45 and 64 years old, and 18.5 percent were 65 years or older . The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were statistically 95.5 males and for every 100 females aged 18 or over there were 92.8 males.

The median income for a household was $ 39,208 versus $ 45,203 for a family. USD. Males had a median income of $ 30,811 versus $ 23,625 for females. The per capita income was $ 20,328. About 7.7 percent of families and 10.5 percent of the population lived below the poverty line .