SMYRNA

town, Kent county, central Delaware, U.S., near the Smyrna River. Established about 1755, it was known as Duck Creek Cross Roads (for its location on the creek, which flows into the Smyrna River) until 1806, when it was renamed for the biblical seaport of Asia Minor. In 1792 a piqued state assembly, barred from the State House at Dover by a sheriff, met in the village tavern and named Duck Creek Cross Roads the state capital; the resolution was repealed later in the session by a calmer assembly. By the mid-19th century Smyrna had become a busy shipping point for central Delaware produce. The town is now an agricultural, shipping, and light industrial centre. A number of historic buildings, including Allee House (1753) and The Lindens (pre-1765), have been preserved. Lake Como, a reservoir nearly a mile long, is nearby and provides recreational facilities. Inc. 1859. Pop. (1990) 5,231; (1996 est.) 5,502.