Indigenous, European, and American Place Names of Streams and Waterways in Delaware
Date
2021-12-07
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Abstract
Recognizing the rich Indigenous history and lasting presence of the Native people, the University of Delaware Water Resources Center has dedicated a project aimed at highlighting original place names and their meanings. Indigenous names have always existed for many water-relevant locations, far outdating their anglicized replacements common today. In many places, Swedish and Dutch names established by some of the earliest settlers in Delaware are also relevant to the state’s history, and have been lost in similar fashion. Utilizing 1966 U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1245, the UDWRC mapped original place names of streams and waterways in Delaware (Lenepehocking). Many of the original place names are derived from Lenape, Nanticoke, and Algonkian origin[RH1] reflecting the indigenous people who lived here for millennia. When the Swedes and Dutch sailed here in the early 17th Century, these western Europeans left multiple variants due to differences in spelling and translation among all the influential languages in the area. When King Charles II regained the monarchy after the interregnum of Oliver Cromwell in 1660, the Duke of York granted land charters to William Penn after 1682 and many place names were anglicized and Swapecksiska and Hvitlers Creek became White Clay Creek and the Swedish potato and barley mill snaps Brannvin became the Brandywine River.