NEW CASTLE

county, northern Delaware, U.S., bounded by Pennsylvania to the north, New Jersey to the east (the Delaware River constituting the border), the Smyrna River to the south, and Maryland to the west. The county is bisected east-west by the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal (completed 1829), around which are state parks and wildlife areas. Other waterways are the Christina River and the Brandywine, Red Clay, and White Clay creeks. The county was created in 1673 and probably named for William Cavendish, 1st duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Wilmington, the county seat, is the state's largest city and oldest permanent settlement (1638), as well as its main port and commercial centre. As the headquarters of DuPont (founded 1802), Wilmington is considered to be the chemical capital of the world. Other cities are New Castle (the first state capital, 1776), Elsmere, and Newark, the seat of the University of Delaware (founded 1743). The county's economy is based on business and health services, chemicals, plastics, automobiles, and agriculture. Area 426 square miles (1,104 square km). Pop. (1990) 441,946; (1996 est.) 471,417. city, New Castle county, northern Delaware, U.S. It is just south of Wilmington on the Delaware River, there linked to New Jersey by the twin spans of the Delaware Memorial Bridge. The original settlement, called Santhoeck, was established in 1651, when Peter Stuyvesant, the Dutch administrator, built Fort Casimir there. The settlement was seized by the Swedes in 1654 but was regained by the Dutch in 1655. It was named New Amstel and was made the Dutch capital of the southern Delaware region, but it was renamed in 1664 (probably for William Cavendish, earl and, from 1665, 1st duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne), after its capture by the British that year. William Penn, the English Quaker, took possession of it in 1682. An early cultural centre, New Castle was the seat of the Lower Counties-on-Delaware (170476). On Sept. 21, 1776, a convention of counties meeting there proclaimed a constitution and formed the state of Delaware; New Castle served briefly as state capital until it was moved to Dover in 1777. Three signers of the Declaration of Independence (George Read, George Ross, and Thomas McKean) at one time lived in New Castle. The Immanuel Church (Episcopal; 1703, rebuilt after it burned in 1980) is a historic landmark. Other colonial landmarks include Amstel House Museum (c. 1730); Old Dutch House, perhaps the state's oldest dwelling, built in the late 1600s and now maintained as a museum; the New Castle Court House (1732, restored to its 1804 appearance); and the Green (town square), laid out by Stuyvesant in 1655. Wilmington College was opened in 1968 in New Castle. The city has light industries. Inc. 1875. Pop. (1990) 4,837; (1996 est.) 4,912. city, seat (1849) of Lawrence county, western Pennsylvania, U.S. It lies at the juncture of the Shenango and Mahoning rivers and Neshannock Creek and in the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains, 20 miles (32 km) southeast of Youngstown, Ohio. Originally the site of a Delaware Indian capital, it was settled in about 1798 by John Stewart, who built an iron furnace and named the place for the English industrial city of Newcastle upon Tyne. Laid out in 1802, it became the terminus for the Erie Extension Canal in 1833. Local deposits of coal, iron ore, limestone, and fire clay provided a natural base for industry. The city's manufactures include steel and allied products, plastics, pottery, and fireworks. Moraine State Park and McConnell's Mill State Park are nearby. Inc. borough, 1825; city, 1869. Pop. (1990) 28,334; (1998 est.) 26,178. city, seat (1822) of Henry county, eastern Indiana, U.S. It lies along the Blue River, 50 miles (80 km) east of Indianapolis. Founded in 1819 and named by Ezekiel Leavell for his hometown in Kentucky, it was incorporated in 1839. In 1900 a decade of expansion began when automobile and piano manufacturing, as well as other industries, were started there. During this same period, the large-scale commercial growing of roses was developed. New Castle's diversified manufactures now include automobile parts and steel products. A nearby farm, now a state memorial, was the birthplace (1867) of aviation pioneer Wilbur Wright. Pop. (1990) 17,753.