Smyrna’s post office opened in 1807, and 11 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 80% of U.S. towns · #9 of 37 in Delaware. What drives it
Most of Smyrna was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2001. 11 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 480 buildings between them. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1860.
The Smyrna post office opened in 1807, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Duck Creek (1790), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 1,873 in 18602020 census: 12,883219 years
How historic is Smyrna?
A−
More historic than 80% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Smyrna post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Smyrna’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Smyrna is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #9 of 37 in Delaware. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Smyrna’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 Smyrna’s 588 sits above most of its state (83% of Delaware towns have fewer) while its 774 historic buildings outnumber those of 98% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.2 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Smyrna’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Smyrna was originally called Duck Creek Cross Roads and was renamed Smyrna in 1806, taking its name from the ancient city of Smyrna (modern-day İzmir, Türkiye), a historic port city on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. The town was located along the north–south King's Highway. Smyrna was originally a shipping center along the Duck Creek and was the most important port between Wilmington and Lewes, shipping grain, lumber, tanbark, and produce to points north. After the shipping industry collapsed in the 1850s, the town continued to be an agricultural center.
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 Smyrna. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1931Smyrna 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 Smyrna.
Every building
Smyrna, building by building, 1885–1923
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.
The Smyrna post office opened in 1807, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Smyrna rank for history?
Smyrna is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #9 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 Smyrna?
11 listings: 8 buildings, among them the Belmont Hall (listed 1971, the first), and 3 historic districts, the Duck Creek Village, the Bannister Hall and Baynard House and the Smyrna Historic District, with 480 contributing buildings. 774 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Smyrna?
8% of Smyrna’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.2 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Delaware town; the median home was built in 2001.
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 (18), the National Register of Historic Places (11), 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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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