New Castle dates to 1640, and 39% of its homes were built before 1940
Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns · #1 of 37 in Delaware. What drives it
14 places in town are on the National Register, among them 4 National Historic Landmarks and two historic districts with 461 buildings between them. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1850.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1794.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives New Castle’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, New Castle is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #1 of 37 in Delaware. All 3 inputs put New Castle near the top nationally; its age ranks highest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of New Castle’s overall grade.
Delaware towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Delaware town has 29.4 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so New Castle’s 855 sits above most of its state (89% of Delaware towns have fewer) while its 477 historic buildings outnumber those of 97% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.5 points). Two sources give 1640.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about New Castle’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
New Castle was originally settled by the Dutch West India Company in 1651 under the leadership of Peter Stuyvesant on the site of a former indigenous village, "Tomakonck" ("Place of the Beaver"), to assert their claim to the area based on a prior agreement with the original inhabitants of the area. The Dutch originally named the settlement Fort Casimir, but this was changed to Fort Trinity following its seizure by the colony of New Sweden on Trinity Sunday in 1654. The Dutch conquered the entire colony of New Sweden the following year and rechristened the fort as Nieuw-Amstel, named after the Amstel. This marked the end of the Swedish colony in Delaware as an official entity, but it remained a semi-autonomous unit within the New Netherland colony and the cultural, social, and religious influence of the Swedish settlers remained strong. As the settlement grew, Dutch authorities laid out …
It is entitled “An Act for Vesting the State House and Other Buildings with the lot of ground whereon the same are erected, together with other ground, situated in the town of New Castle, in trustees for the uses therein particularly mentioned.” Each section has a preamble. The first preamble recites, “Whereas the lot of land, situate in the square, called the Market Square, in the center of the town of New Castle, and contained within the bounds follow-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The present city of New Castle thus begun, soon spread in size and increased in population. It was first incorporated on May 17, 1672, by the name of a Balywick, governed by a Baily and six assistants.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
New Castle, decade by decade
4 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of New Castle. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1904Wilmington sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of New Castle.
Every building
New Castle, building by building, 1885–1912
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
In 1640, according to Wikidata. New Castle’s post office opened in 1794, and the census of 1850 counted 1,202 people here.
How does New Castle rank for history?
New Castle is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #1 of 37 in Delaware. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in New Castle?
14 listings, 4 of them National Historic Landmarks: 10 buildings, 2 historic districts, the New Castle Historic District and the New Castle Historic District, with 461 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 477 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in New Castle?
39% of New Castle’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.5 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Delaware town; the median home was built in 1959.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (5), the National Register of Historic Places (14), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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c. 1907
