Delaware Travel Guide
DELAWARE has its beautiful spots - including some of the mid-Atlantic's best beaches - its tourist boards have their work cut out. Most of the images potential visitors have of the state are negative: Delaware is known for the massive chemical plants of the DuPont Corporation and Dover Air Force Base , as well as for tolerating shady business practices - half of America's largest companies have their official bases in this tiny state, thanks to its permissive tax, banking and incorporation laws. The upside of this is that there's no sales tax, which certainly makes shoppers happy.
The three counties which make up the state of Delaware were added to William Penn's lands in America. In 1682, Penn came ashore at New Castle and took possession, but these counties, which were well established, became dissatisfied with Penn's rule. In 1704, when he granted them a separate legislature, New Castle became the colonial capitol of Delaware. In June 1776, the three lower county declared their independence from both Great Britian and Pennsylvania. During the Revolutionary War, the minor battle of Cooches Bridge was fought in Delaware, a few miles south of Newark along the Christina River. On December 7, 1787, Delaware signed the United States Constitution becoming the first state.
Today, Delaware is the corporate home to over half of the Fortune 500 companies in the United States. Chemical and banking industries are the largest ecomonic force in northern Delaware, while agriculture make up the largest industry in the southern part of the state. Tourist flock to Delaware beaches in eastern Sussex County in the summer months.