Wilmington, Delaware

Wilmington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. It lies at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. The population was 70,898 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley metropolitan area. Wilmington was founded by Swedish settlers in 1638 as Kristinehamn, which was planned to be the capital of New Sweden. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, which was the first Swedish settlement in North America. Control of the area shifted before it was formally incorporated within the Delaware Colony as Wilmington in 1739, named after Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, Wilmington developed as an industrial hub with industries in shipbuilding, milling, and later chemical manufacturing, largely influenced by DuPont. Its modern economy is focused on national banking and finance institutions.

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