WASHINGTON, D.C, July 22, 2022 – His Excellency Wendall K. Jones, Bahamas Ambassador to the United States, was among a group of Ambassadors who visited several Delaware establishments during an “Experience America: Delaware” tour organized by the US State Department on Thursday, July 21.
The Ambassadors visited the University of Delaware, DuPont Experimental Station, The Hayley Museum and attended a reception with Governor John Carney and community leaders of Delaware.
The tour was aimed at familiarizing the ambassadors with the opportunities available in the State of Delaware.
Listed in an article written By Shelbi Austin and published in U.S. News & World Report on September 13, 2019, here are “10 Things to Know About Delaware”:
- Delaware, known as the First State, was the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution and join the Union on Dec. 7, 1787.
- In 1638, Swedes were the first Europeans to settle in the Delaware Valley – areas along the Delaware River and into modern Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland. Their descendants built Old Swedes Church, one of the oldest houses of worship still in operation, located in Wilmington.
- Knowledge of construction of wooden structures such as log cabins was first brought to and built in North America by Finnish and Swedes when they settled in the Delaware Valley. The Delaware Agricultural Museum in Dover has one of the original log cabins on display.
- Delaware is one of five states that do not have a sales tax. The other states are Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon and Alaska.
- The state’s name originates from the Delaware River and Bay, which were named in 1610 after Englishman Thomas West, the 12th baron De La Warr, who served as the first governor of the English colony at Jamestown, Virginia.
- The largest population of horseshoe crabs in the world resides in the Delaware Bay, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The creatures predate dinosaurs by more than 200 million years.
- Stretching 96 miles long and 39 miles wide, Delaware is the second-smallest state by land area. It also has the fewest number of counties in any state: three (Castle, Kent and Sussex).
- Delaware was the last state to gain a national monument or park. In 2013, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden dedicated Delaware’s First State National Monument. It includes several sites, such as Dover Green, where Delaware ratified the Constitution. The monument’s largest element is 1,100 acres of preserved land located between Wilmington, Delaware, and Philadelphia.
- Delaware is sometimes referred to as the Chemical Capital of the World. A majority of the state’s economy relies heavily on chemical manufacturing, including pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals and plastics.
- The main colors on Delaware’s state flag and license plates are “colonial blue” and “buff,” which represent those of General George Washington’s uniform, as shown in an official U.S. Army publication.
