First State National Historical Park

For decades of my National Park explorations, Delaware was the only state that did not have a location within the National Park Service…….until 2013, when President Barack Obama established First State National Historical Park as a new unit of the National Park Service. Delaware is known as “The First State” because it was the first of the original thirteen colonies to ratify the United States Constitution on December 7, 1787.

It has long been on my list of places to visit, and this year, in 2026, I made the drive to New Castle. The moment I arrived, I immediately thought of Williamsburg, Virginia, but without the commercial feel. New Castle is not a recreated historic village. It is a living, working town whose historic character has been remarkably preserved. Walking its streets feels like stepping quietly back into another century.  

The town itself dates back to the 1600s and became an important colonial port along the Delaware River. Brick sidewalks, historic homes, narrow streets and preserved public buildings give the town an atmosphere that feels authentic rather than staged. There is a calmness to New Castle that makes you want to slow down and take it all in.  

One of the highlights of our visit was touring the New Castle Court House. Built in 1732, it is one of the oldest surviving courthouses in the United States and played an important role in early American history. Delaware’s colonial assembly met here, and in 1776 the state formally separated itself from both Pennsylvania and Great Britain inside these walls.  

The courthouse is also famous for being the center of the “Twelve-Mile Circle”, one of the strangest state boundaries in the United States. Delaware’s northern border was literally drawn as a twelve-mile radius extending outward from the courthouse cupola. Rather than following rivers or straight survey lines, this arc-shaped boundary was established in the 1600s through colonial land grants given to William Penn and remains part of Delaware’s border today.

Traveling to New Castle reminded me that often some meaningful historic places are not always the largest or most famous. For me, finally visiting Delaware’s National Park felt like completing an important chapter in my journey of exploring America’s historic places.