Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) Church
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Delaware History Trail

On December 7, 1787, thirty delegates, ten from each of Delaware's counties, gathered at the Golden Fleece Tavern in Dover and unanimously cast their votes favoring ratification of the new Federal Constitution making Delaware ‘the first state.’

On December 7, 2011, two hundred twenty-four years later, Delaware’s Tourism Department launched the Delaware History Trail. Former Delaware State Archivist Russ McCabe selected thirty-six historic sites for the trail, twelve in each county. Wilmington’s Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) Church is one of New Castle County's featured sites.

Trail visitors can go to www.visitdelaware.com/history and apply for a Trail Passport, tour any six of the twelve sites in each county and document the passport with the site’s code located in the lower left corner of the distinctive trail signs. Trail visitors are eligible to receive a copy of the limited-edition book, Landmarks and Legacies after documenting eighteen sites. The book is a historical narrative written by Delaware resident Pam George and includes photographs by renowned photographer Kevin Fleming and a forward by Vice-President Joe Biden.

According to Alan Levin, director of the Delaware Economic Development Office, Delaware has nearly 7 million visitors a year, which the tourism industry estimated brought $2.1 billion to the state. Old Swedes Historic Site is seeking to attract its share of those visitors.

You can get a head start by finding the site code in the photo of Old Swedes’ Delaware History Trail sign. If the print’s too small, come down for a visit!