Middletown, Delaware

My favorite place to eat in Middletown

2007-03-13T14:05:00.000-04:00

E's on Main is a great little cafe in the heart of Middletown. I'm in there around once per week. They have great soups, sandwiches, and best of all you can get sweet tea, which for a southern boy like me, is a must. In addition, E's has daily specials. If I know the NC pulled pork is a special, I'm there.

The owner is Eileen Keegan, and she's a great lady.

They are open Monday-Friday 10:30-5 & Saturday 9-3.

Underground Railroad maybe resurrected by Delaware students

2007-03-13T13:40:00.000-04:00

RACHEL KIPP, in the Feb 24, 2007 edition of the Newsjournal, writes the story of UD grad students hoping to make the route taken by runaway slaves a historic highway. Researchers have uncovered information that tells the story of the railroad in Middletown.

The researchers scanned letters, diaries, newspaper stories and other documents looking for stories about those who participated in the Underground Railroad network in Delaware. Many of the accounts make only vague references to towns or buildings; other spots appear to be referenced using a code.

"They had to be so secretive, so you can see why people never had a written record," Beetham said. "There is a lot of debate about what happened at which sites and where and which part. So many things included in our route are there because someone told a story."

Delaware was a slave state, but was the farthest north and had a large number of free blacks, which provided freedom seekers with help and natural camouflage, Ames said. The group calls the first part of the proposed state highway route, from the Maryland state line to Camden, "the gauntlet," because they say it was the portion where runaway slaves were most likely to get caught.

Some of the names and stories link several sites. The Hawkins family, a husband, wife, and six children, escaped slaveholders on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in the 1840s to find freedom in the north. During their travels through Delaware, they were aided by John Hunn and Thomas Garrett, two of the state's most prominent Underground Railroad supporters.

One of Hunn's neighbors in Middletown turned the family and Hunn into the magistrate. The Hawkinses were arrested and taken to the New Castle Jail, but eventually freed by a judge. Hunn and Garrett were prosecuted, convicted and fined.

Along the proposed highway route, travelers will pass by Camden Friends Meeting House, where Hunn worshipped and is buried; Great Geneva and Wildcat Manor, two Hunn family homes that were possible stops on the Underground Railroad; and the site of the former Hunn farm, now a vacant lot along Del. 299.

Middletown's coming sewer system

2007-03-13T13:36:00.000-04:00

A recent Newsjournal article announced the groundbreaking of a new sewer system in Middletow Delaware. This is great news for southern New Castle County. The article states:

The groundbreaking, off Cedar Lane Road just north of Middletown, marked the start of one of seven contracts to build a $16 million central network of sewer mains, a critical step for coping with the development planned for the area.

The network will feed into Middletown's sewage plant, where the county has purchased capacity, and eventually into a county treatment facility that hasn't been built yet along Marl Pit Road.

The project has been in the works for several years because the county faces mounting pressure to build a sewer system for the growing southern region.

The central core, which will be completed by spring 2008, will provide service to four schools and several thousand residential and business customers whose developments have been approved or are under review.

Middletown Track Team uses unique coaching

2007-03-13T13:26:00.000-04:00

High school track coaching in Middletown is unique, and it is producing results. According to this article in Midstate Living:

As Middletown heads into the outdoor season -- practice started March 1, and the first meet is March 28 -- they'll again employ a coaching technique Dubois has used for 27 years. Middletown has six coaches -- Dubois and girls head coach Dave Riblett have two assistants each -- but rather than have the three coaches for each team work only with those athletes, the teams share all six coaches.

"We break it down into disciplines because we feel we can get to more athletes on a daily basis," Dubois said. "We have a coach for distance [running], middle distance, sprints, hurdles, relays and field events. Whatever discipline you compete in, you could have three different coaches but get a lot more personal attention over the course of the week. It's the best use of manpower."

Also, according to the article, several MHS runners had great indoor seasons and hope to repeat the accomplishment during the outdoor season:

The Cavaliers enjoyed some success in the Feb. 17 state indoor meet at the University of Delaware, where Brittni Jones finished second in the girls 55 meters, Whitney Savoy took third in the girls triple jump and Ben Hopkins was third in the boys 55 meter hurdles. The Middletown girls team finished eighth, and the boys tied for 15th.

Good luck MHS track!

Changes in Middletown

2006-05-31T13:56:00.000-04:00

Middletown is a growing community. It used to be a sleepy little town that didn't have much. Now it is exploding with growth. It used to be filled with farms.

This is a picture from the side of the road of a farm that is still functional. You can see the farm house in the middle if you look hard.

This was found all across the Middletown area even just 5 years ago. But they are becoming extinct as developers looking to cash in on people moving out of Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York and other urban areas have bought up these farms. As of last notice, Delaware was the 8th fastest growing state in the country and Middletown, once number 1 in Delaware and now second behind Smyrna, received a flury of new construction and commercial investments.

Today, you would be hard pressed to buy a single family home in Middletown under $300k, though condos and townhomes are around $200k. In fact, just across the street where the above picture was taken, you'll find homes like these for a mere $400k.

Middletown's Everett Theatre

2006-05-31T13:26:00.000-04:00

The Everett Theatre opened for business December 7, 1922, which was also Delaware Day. The theatre was designed by noted theater architects Hoffman & Henon. When it opened in 1922, people came to enjoy those new motion pictures as well as the more traditional vaudeville stage performances. Today, it still houses plays, concerts, first run movies and other stage performances.

If you have ever seen the movie Dead Poet's Society, the theatre scenes were filmed at the Everett. In fact, the majority of the movie itself was filmed here in Middletown. The school scenes are from St. Andrews School, a boys prep school here in Middletown.

Middletown Delaware! Welcome...

2006-05-28T20:54:00.000-04:00

This will be the home for my thoughts on the great city of Middletown Delaware.

Middletown is a town located in New Castle County, Delaware. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 6,161. However, it is one of the fastest growing towns in the mid-atlantic. We have experienced a housing and population boom over the last five years that will see Middletown with over 25,000 residents within five years or so. The sleepy little town has gone big time.

Middletown is home to the Peach Festival, an annual summer tradition that attracts thousands of visitors each August. It also hosts an annual Hummers parade each January. The parade's name is a spoof of the nearby Philadelphia Mummers parade. As opposed to the Mummers, which has gotten much too serious and full of itself, the Hummers parade encourages folks to dress up and act silly, occasionally getting out of hand as seen in the 2005 parade where members of the community acted outrageously. The parade has sobered a bit in recent years, to sport a more "family oriented" atmosphere.

The town was the filming location for the movie Dead Poets Society, featuring Robin Williams.