Delaware Byways

Delaware Byways
Delaware Byways signage
Highway names
Interstates:	Interstate X (I-X)
US Routes:	U.S. Route X (US X)
State:	Delaware Route X (DE X)
System links
Routes in Delaware

The Delaware Byways (formerly Delaware Scenic and Historic Highways) system consists of roads in the U.S. state of Delaware that travel through areas of scenic and historic interest. The intent of this system is to promote tourism and raise awareness of the communities along these routes.

History

The Delaware Scenic and Historic Highways program was created in 2000 by Senate Bill 320, which authorized the Delaware Department of Transportation to create a system of statewide scenic byways.^[1] In 2007, the United States Department of Transportation awarded a $174,600 grant to preserve the Route 9 and Brandywine Valley byways.^[2] The Delaware Scenic and Historic Highways program was renamed to the Delaware Byways program in 2010.^[3]

Byways

Brandywine Valley Byway

"Chateau Country" along Delaware Route 52

The Brandywine Valley Byway is located in New Castle County, Delaware in the Brandywine valley.^[4] The route of the byway is along DE 52 from Wilmington north to the Pennsylvania border, and DE 100 from its intersection with DE 52, north to the Pennsylvania border.^[5] The byway is also a part of the National Scenic Byways program as the Brandywine Valley Scenic Byway.^[4]

The byway passes by several tourist destinations, including Rodney Square, Hotel du Pont, the Goodstay House, the Gibraltar Mansion, the Delaware Museum of Natural History, Winterthur Museum and Country Estate, and Centreville Village on DE 52 and Montchanin Village and Brandywine Creek State Park on DE 100. Also near the byway in the Wilmington area is the Delaware Art Museum, Delaware History Museum, Hagley Museum and Library, and Nemours Mansion and Gardens with the Brandywine River Museum and Longwood Gardens farther north in Pennsylvania.^[5][6]

The Brandywine Valley Byway was designated a Delaware Scenic and Historic Highway in 2002 and a National Scenic Byway in 2005.^[7]

Red Clay Valley Byway

The Red Clay Valley Byway consists of 28 roads in the Red Clay Creek valley between DE 48 and DE 52. The byway provides access to many sites including the Garrett Snuff Mill in Yorklyn, the Wilmington and Western Railroad between Greenbank and Hockessin, the Ashland Nature Center, the Mt. Cuba Center, the Auburn Heights Preserve, and the Ashland and Wooddale covered bridges.^[8]

Route 9 Coastal Heritage Byway

The Route 9 Coastal Heritage Byway follows DE 9 between Delaware Route 1 near the John Dickinson Plantation and New Castle, with spurs to Dover and Odessa. The byway provides access to several natural and historical sites along the Delaware Bay, including the John Dickinson Plantation and First State Heritage Park in Dover, the Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, Port Penn Interpretive Center, Fort Delaware State Park, and the New Castle Historic District.^[9]

Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway

The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway runs from the Maryland border in Sandtown, where it connects to the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Scenic Byway of the Maryland Scenic Byways system, north to the Pennsylvania border in Centreville, following DE 10 between the Maryland border and Camden, US 13 between Camden through Dover to Smyrna, DE 15 from the Smyrna area to Middletown, DE 9 from Odessa to Wilmington, and DE 52 from Wilmington to the Pennsylvania border. The byway provides access to sites related to the Underground Railroad, including the Camden Friends Meetinghouse in Camden; Wildcat Manor near Dover; Blackbird State Forest; the Odessa Historic District which includes the Appoquinimink Friends Meetinghouse and Corbit-Sharp House; the New Castle Court House Museum in New Castle; the Tubman-Garrett Riverfront Park, the Thomas Garrett House, Old Town Hall, Friends Meetinghouse, and Quaker Hill Historic District in Wilmington; and Centreville Village.^[10]

Lewes Byway

The Lewes Byway runs through Lewes on Pilottown Road/First Street, Gills Neck Road, New Road, Kings Highway, Cape Henlopen Drive, and Savannah Road. The byway provides access to many natural and historical sites in Lewes, including Cape Henlopen State Park, the Cape May-Lewes Ferry, the Zwaanendael Museum, the Lewes Historic District, Lightship Overfalls, the de Vries Monument, Canary Creek, and the Kings Highway Historic District.^[11]

Western Sussex Byway

The Western Sussex Byway runs along several roads in western Sussex County, beginning at US 13 north of Seaford and passing through Seaford, Bethel, and Laurel before ending at Trap Pond State Park. The byway passes many nautral and historical sites including the Cannon-Maston House; the Hearns-Rawlins Mill; the Ross Mansion and Plantation, Downtown Seaford, Seaford Museum, Seaford Railroad Station, DuPont Nylon Plant, Nanticoke River, and Chapel Branch Nature Trail in Seaford; the Woodland Ferry across the Nanticoke River southwest of Seaford; the Broad Creek in Bethel; the Cook House in Laurel; and Old Christ Church east of Laurel.^[12]

See also

• U.S. Roads portal
• Delaware portal

References

External links

• Delaware Byways
• National Scenic Byways Program – Delaware