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As the first state to ratify the United States Constitution, Delaware rightfully earned its nickname of "First State."Though small in size, it is a treasure trove of history (Fort Delaware), inventions (the Victrola), and garden wonders (Winterthur).State symbols such as the Blue Hen Chicken and peach blossom speak to the character and traditions that formed the state. ... Read more

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The Delaware River flows out of New York's Catskill Mountains and winds its way through woodland and rural farmland, through the great Water Gap ravine, and finally past one of the world's most industrialized riverfronts. Yet it remains one of the country's last undammed rivers, with a natural life as rich and varied as its human history.

In Natural Lives, Modern Times, Bruce Stutz has written a thoroughly modern natural history, blending keen observations of the nature of the Delaware's enduring complex of river, glacial streams, marshlands, and forest with glimpses of history and folklore and with luminous portraits of those whose lives are sustained by the river. The Delaware was the waterway of the nation's first mercantile, philosophical, scientific, cultural, and industrial heartland, hosting immigrants from Europe, Africa, and the Mediterranean, all looking for new lives along the ancient river.

In this always entertaining and often haunting intertwining of human and natural history, Bruce Stutz discovers those who regret what has been lost and those passionate about preserving what remains. Most of all, however, he lets us see what's at stake in a wonderfully diverse world. Not since Mark Twain has anyone taken such a freewheeling river journey.

Customer Reviews (2)

Told In First Person Stories
I expected a history book but got a storybook of history. It is hard to put down but can easily be taken in small tasty chunks.

Fine journalism
In what appears to be, sadly, Bruce Stutz's only book, Stutz introduces the reader to those who scratch noble livings out of a river that yields not much more than a few shad each spring. He journeys south from Hancock,NY, to Philadelphia, PA, to present the lives of riparian denizens fightingto maintain their source of income against our (federal and state)government's struggles to protect our beautiful, valuable, and fragileDelaware River Valley. Neither side in Stutz's book comes across as"right" or "wrong" because, well, both sides caredeeply about this stunning river. The one lack in "Natural Lives,Modern Times" is the lack of photos or illustrations, beyond someattractive woodcuts heading each chapter. ... Read more

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"History, after all, has a corporeal aspect -- every event occupies a physical dimension, and all actions are ultimately grounded, one way or another, in the landscape. Places, which possess their own geography, natural history, and embedded perceptions, not only ground the physicality of historical events -- they also can constitute both actor and stage." -- from The Delaware Valley in the Early Republic. The Delaware Valley's role in shaping national identity during the formative years of the early American republic has long been overshadowed by New England and the South, both more readily identified as distinct and coherent regions than the broad geographic swath that includes Delaware, southwestern New Jersey, and southeastern Pennsylvania. For architectural historians, geographers, and folklorists, the Delaware River valley offers a fascinating example of a true cultural crossroads. Comprising several distinctive and intensely local subregions -- each with its own building traditions, populations, land use patterns, and material cultures -- this "region of regions" provides rich insights into late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century America.

Gabrielle Lanier challenges prevailing characterizations of the region as culturally monolithic and reassesses its role in the formation of a distinctly American identity through the history, geography, and architecture of three of the valley's diverse cultural landscapes: Pennsylvania's predominantly Germanic Warwick Township; New Jersey's Mannington Township, settled by English Quakers; and Delaware's North West Fork Hundred, an area strongly influenced by its proximity to the Chesapeake region and its position between the slave South and the free North.

Through narratives of individual lives, aggregate data from tax rolls and censuses, archival research, and close analysis of the built vernacular environment, she examines the unique ethnic, class, and religious constitution of each subregion, as well as its racial diversity, political orientation, economic organization, and cultural imprint on the landscape. The Delaware Valley emerges from this boldly interdisciplinary study as a mosaic of localities that reflects underlying tensions in the American experience.

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! South Bethany is an incorporated town in Sussex County, Delaware, United States. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the town is 514. It is part of the Seaford, Delaware Micropolitan Statistical Area.South Bethany, together with the towns of Lewes, Rehoboth Beach, Dewey Beach, Bethany Beach, and Fenwick Island, comprises Delaware's beach resort area and is Sussex County's most densely-populated and fastest-growing area.South Bethany, its neighbor to the north, Bethany Beach, and its neighbor to the south, Fenwick Island are popularly known as "The Quiet Resorts". This is in contradistinction to the wild atmosphere of Dewey Beach and the cosmopolitan bustle of Rehoboth Beach. ... Read more

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Delaware State Park is a 2,016-acre Ohio state park in Delaware County, Ohio in the United States. The park, town and county are named for the Delaware nation, a Native American tribe that originally lived along the Delaware River in Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York, Maryland, Connecticut and New Jersey. The Lenape were forced west by colonial settlers and were eventually forced further west by settlers of the Northwest Territory from which Ohio was established in 1803. Delaware State Park is on U.S. Route 23 near the city of Delaware, Ohio. It is open for year-round recreation including camping, hiking, boating, hunting, fishing, and picnicking. ... Read more

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Walnut Street is located in downtown Philadelphia and extends from the city's Delaware River waterfront through Center City and West Philadelphia. Walnut Street has been characterized as "the city's premier shopping district".The street was ranked 12th in 2005 by Women's Wear Daily among its list of the most expensive retail streets in North America, with rents of $90 per square foot and "over 200 upscale dining, retail and cultural" establishments.Running parallel to Walnut Street, one or two blocks to the north (depending on whether the side street Sansom Street is counted), is Chestnut Street. Pennsylvania Route 3 westbound follows Walnut Street from 38th Street (U.S. Route 13) to its western terminus at the Cobbs Creek Parkway. ... Read more

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! There are no National Historic Parks, National Battlefields, or other National Park Service-administered areas in Delaware. Delaware is the only state without at least one. Aspendale, near Kenton, Delaware is a house and small plantation that has survived intact since the late 1700s. At least at the time of its landmarking in 1970, it was one of few houses built before 1800 that was continuously owned by the same family. It consists of a small 2 story brick house and various outbuildings. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1970. It is located on Delaware Route 300, 1 mile west of Kenton. Corbit-Sharp House is a historic home located at Main and 2nd Streets in Odessa, Delaware. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1967. The Corbit-Sharp House is a historic house museum that is owned and operated by Historic Houses of Odessa. Furnished for the late 18th century period, the house is one of five historic properties that can be toured. Other properties managed by the organization include the 1769 Wilson-Warner House, 1700 Collins-Sharp House, 1822 Brick Hotel, and 1853 Odessa Bank. ... Read more

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Cherry Hill is a township in Camden County, New Jersey, in the United States. In the United States 2000 Census, the township had a total population of 69,965 and was the 13th-largest municipality in New Jersey by population. As of 2006, the township had an estimated population of 71,586. Cherry Hill is in the Delaware Valley coastal plain about five miles east of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Cherry Hill is considered an edge city of Philadelphia. ... Read more

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! South Jersey is a colloquial term, with no consensus definition, covering the southern portions of the U.S. state of New Jersey between the lower Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean. New Jersey is sandwiched between two large cities: New York City in the northeast and Philadelphia in the southwest; Benjamin Franklin called her "a barrel tapped at both ends". One definition defines South Jersey as the area below Interstate 195, in particular the "lower eight counties of New Jersey", whereas North Jersey is the area above "Central Jersey". ... Read more

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south, and the Schuylkill River to the west. Portions of South Philadelphia are within Philadelphia City Council Districts 1 and 2. As of 2008 Council President Anna C. Verna and Councilman Frank DiCicco represent the two districts. Philadelphia Fire Department operates nine fire stations serving South Philadelphia. Most of South Philadelphia resides in Fire Battalion 1, headquartered at 711 South Broad Street. Portions of South Philadelphia reside in Battalion 4, headquartered at North 4th Street and Arch Street, and Battalion 11, headquartered at 43rd Street and Market Street. ... Read more

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! TheMunsee-Delaware Nation No. 1 is an Indianreserve on the Thames River 24 km west of St.Thomas, Ontario, Canada. Its area is 10.7 km². TheMunsee-Delaware First Nation had a registeredpopulation of 524 in April, 2004, of whom 163 livedon the reserve. Members of the Munsee branch of theLenape (Delaware) nation arrived in the area in theeighteenth century. The Lieutenant-Governor, JohnGraves Simcoe, encouraged the Munsee to settle therealthough Chippewa were already established there. In1819 the Chippewa of the Thames reserve wasestablished, and in 1840 the Munsee and the Chippewafinally reached an agreement to share the land. In1967 the Munsee portion became part of the currentreserve, which was established by Order-in-Council. ... Read more

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Geographic regions of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States of America. The Delaware Valley, also known as the Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metropolitan Combined Statistical Area, is named for the Delaware River which flows through the region. The Main Line is an area within this region that consists of a line or band of communities in Montgomery, Delaware and Chester counties near U.S. Route 30. ... Read more

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Trap Pond State Park is a 2,109 acre (8.5 km²) Delaware state park located near Laurel, Delaware. It is one of the largest surviving fragments of what was once an extensive wetland in what is now southwestern Sussex County. The state park features an extensive patch of second-growth baldcypress trees. The baldcypress is a wetland tree adapted to areas of calm, shallow standing water. It survives frosts but does not like extensive periods below freezing, and Trap Pond is the northernmost extensive natural stand of baldcypress on the Eastern seaboard of the United States.Many birds flock to stands of baldcypress, including Great Blue Herons, owls, warblers, and Pileated Woodpeckers. Birdwatchers can also see hummingbirds and Bald Eagles at Trap Pond in season. ... Read more

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! New Castle County is the northernmost of the three counties of the U.S. state of Delaware. As of 2000 its population was 500,265. The county seat is Wilmington. The center of population of Delaware is located in New Castle County, in the town of Townsend. It is the most affluent of the three counties in the state of Delaware. This county is part of the Delaware Valley area. The first permanent settlement on Delaware soil was Fort Christina, resulting from Peter Minuit's 1638 expedition in the Swedish vessel, Kalmar Nyckel. The town was laid out where Wilmington presently exists, and the land contracted with the Indians consisted of Old Cape Henlopen north to Sankikans (Trenton Falls), and inland as far as they desired. However, a dispute ensued between the Swedes and the Dutch, who stated they had prior claim to that land. ... Read more

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Scioto Township is one of the eighteen townships of Delaware County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 2,527 people in the township, 2,122 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township. It is one of five Scioto Townships statewide. The township is governed by a three-member board of trustees, who are elected in November of odd-numbered years to a four-year term beginning on the following January 1. ... Read more