Wilmington

Wilmington (pop. 70,195), largest city in Delaware, seat of New Castle County, in the northern part of the state on the Delaware River. Wilmington, a center of the chemical industry, is the home of E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., one of the largest producers of chemicals, plastics, and synthetic fibers and dyes in the United States. Other industries produce leather, textiles, machinery, and paper. The city was first settled in 1638 by Swedish immigrants. The settlement later passed to the Dutch, then to the English, receiving its name in 1739, when it was incorporated as a borough. The Du Pont powder mill was established in 1802.

See also: Delaware.