DELAWARE BEFORE The RAILROADS by Dave Tabler – U.S. History, State & Local History, U.S. Revolution & Founding

Delaware Before the Railroads by Dave Tabler presents a captivating visual tale of this tiny state, from 1638 to 1832, ranging between early colonial settlements and the aftermath of America’s Independence.

Delaware’s place in this seminal time of United States history is carefully illustrated through pictures with wonderful captions. Delaware Before the Railroads highlights the significant role played by Delaware in America’s creation, uncovering surprising historical details such as the origin of log houses, a heroic figure who thwarted the British invasion of Canada, and the intriguing connection with Captain Kidd.

The pictures and captions are highlighted by sidebar paragraphs that deliver more knowledge about what life was like for the Swedes and Dutch who settled near Delaware Bay. They found, for instance, a “new world” of seafood they didn’t recognize, such as the crabs they called “sea spiders.”

The book explores day-to-day details of this growing society. One fascinating – and unsettling – aspect is the nature of their medicine. They used tools for bloodletting, torturous-looking dental implements, and pharmaceutical ingredients such as benzine, peppermint oil, saffron, peppercorns, and even mercury! The specifics of how these tools were used will chill readers.

Delaware Before the Railroads balances these darker elements with more light-hearted moments in time as well, with one fun fact being that Delaware delegates ratified the US Constitution at The Golden Fleece Tavern in Dover, thus christening Delaware as “The First State.”

The best treasure of the book is in the “Notes on Photographs” section, to which the sidebar paragraphs direct the reader.

This section adds significant anecdotes and details that shed more light on the culture of the time. One discovers that the Swedish colonists named the first non-native settlement, Fort Christina, after the then 12-year-old Queen of Sweden. Or, that the early days of Delaware also gave rise to the iconic log cabin in America, as Swedish and Finnish colonists introduced the style to their new home.

These notes deliver excitement as well as excellent historical information. The famed privateer Captain Kidd once marauded in an area now called Kitts Hammock, one of the places he supposedly buried his treasure. Kidd also colluded with some Delawareans to sell stolen goods from an Indian Ocean takeover of a merchant ship, despite a colonial law forbidding the importation of any goods from the East Indies (due to pirates and privateers).

Pick up Delaware Before the Railroads to join the hunt for Captain Kidd’s buried treasure and learn other intriguing slices of Delaware’s past.