The personal injury lawyers in Belltown, DE, at My Delaware Lawyers, have put together the following article for your educational pleasure.
Belltown
Belltown is an unincorporated community that is located 3.5 miles from the heart of Lewes, within Sussex County, Delaware. The main roadways in the neighborhood are Route 9, the Coastal Highway, Beaverdam Road, and Church Street.
History
Initially, the area was inhabited by the Nanticoke American Indians. A free black man named Jacob “Jigger” Bell founded the area in 1840 and began to create a minority community. The town is one of the oldest in the county and had 27 houses, a church, and a school by 1930. Most of the townspeople worked the farms nearby or walked into Lewes, 3.5 miles away. They lived off of small wages and grew or raised their own food to supplement. Moonshine was produced during the prohibition era and sold to the neighboring towns.
The Norwood House, home to Hilda Norwood, was built in 1850 and has since been added to the National Register of Historic Places. Locate along Route 9, as were many of the original homes, Norwood wishes that more was done to preserve the African American history of the town. However, it seems her house is one of the last houses remaining that has not been bought and converted to commercial development.
Church History
The first church to be built was the Israel United Methodist Church in 1840. The church was built by Hurley Waples. The current building sits on Plantation Road and was built in 1916. The vestibule was added to the structure in 1941 and a new Hammond organ was installed in 1959. The church school was officially recognized in 1989. Four churches would merge into one charge over the years as the area grew and the congregations changed. These churches included:
- 1884 – Burton’s Chapel Methodist-Episcopal Church (now the Faith United Methodist Church)
- 1873 – John Wesley United Methodist Church
- 1883 – St. Paul’s United Methodist Church
Neighborhood
The neighborhood is made up of larger single-family homes and mobile homes. The average real estate price is $350,402 and rent averages $1,760 per month. Although the majority of the population in the town is upper-middle-income, there is 27.9% of the children living below the poverty line. The occupational breakdown of the area is the following:
- 48.8% executive, management, or professional roles
- 29.9% sales or service jobs
- 10.8% clerical, assistant, or technical support positions
- 10.5% manufacturing or laborer occupations
Demographics
The area has a rich African American history as well as Native American. As many as 2.1% speak Spanish, but English is commonly spoken by the residents. the ancestral breakdown is the following:
- 26.2% Irish
- 22.3% German
- 14.7% English
- 10.2% Italian
- 4.0% Polish
To keep learning about the surrounding areas: A Closer Look at the History of Arabian Acres, DE
Our Local Office
Let the experienced Belltown, DE personal injury lawyers at My Delaware Lawyers help you know your legal rights. Call today for a free case evaluation.
Schuster Jachetti LLP
1308 Savannah Rd
Lewes, DE 19958
(302) 527-9513