Loveville, Delaware | |
|---|---|
  Loveville  Loveville | |
| Coordinates: 39°46′15″N 75°39′52″W / 39.77083°N 75.66444°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Delaware |
| County | New Castle |
| Elevation | 328 ft (100 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| Area code | 302 |
| GNIS feature ID | 216804[1] |
Loveville was an unincorporated community in New Castle County, Delaware, United States.[1]
Loveville, a village in the northern part of the Mill Creek Hundred, was the site of a post office, two hotels, shops, a sawmill, and a historically significant mill likely used on the Underground Railroad. Two Delaware historical figures, the Reverend Thomas Love and Thomas Worrell, lived in Loveville. The loss of the Loveville post office followed a decline in the community, and the site is no longer marked on many maps.
Geography[edit]
Loveville was located at the intersection of Delaware Route 48 and Loveville Road, southeast of Hockessin and west of Wilmington.[2]
Etymology[edit]
Loveville took its name for the Reverend Thomas Love, who lived in the community.[3]
History[edit]
Early years[edit]
In 1829, William Graves opened a store in Loveville. This store operated for sixteen years, according to state histories.[4]
A post office opened in Loveville in 1831.[5] Reverend Thomas Love served as an early postmaster of the Loveville post office;[6] Love was also the minister of the Red Clay Creek Presbyterian Church[7] one mile south of Loveville. He was later called "one of the most respected clergymen in the state."[3]
Thomas Worrell, a Quaker, established a mill near Loveville in the 1840s. His home became a refuge for African-Americans fleeing slavery,[8] and the Worrell Family Mill has been identified as a station on the Underground Railroad.[9][10] Worrell stayed in the wool manufacturing business in Loveville for 30 years before selling the mill. Worrell openly promoted education for freed slaves at a time when his woolen mill was patronized primarily by pro-slavery advocates.[9]
Heyday[edit]
By the 1840s, Loveville was noted as a village in New Castle County.[11] A stagecoach line ran the six miles between Wilmington and Loveville, and from there to the Pennsylvania towns of New Garden, Avondale, Chatham, and Cochranville.[12] The Loveville postmaster was Aaron Robinson in the 1850s.[13]
In the 1870s, Loveville was described as a "small post village" with two hotels, a mill and sawmill, two shoemakers, two blacksmiths, a butcher, and two carpenters. The village also had a harness maker, a general merchant, a plasterer, and a wool factory, along with 57 farming families in the surrounding area.[3] Further out from Loveville was the Mendenhall Mill.[14]
Decline[edit]
The Loveville post office closed in 1872.[5]
In 1880, Loveville's population was estimated at 50.[15] By 1888, Loveville was described as a small hamlet with a few dwellings,[16] and by 1908, Loveville was considered a "minor settlement".[17]
Although still marked on some county maps, local media refer to Loveville as a "now-extinct village".[18] Modern housing developments have grown up around the site.
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Loveville". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ^ Delaware Department of Transportation (2008). Delaware Official Transportation Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
- ^ a b c The Delaware State Directory and Gazetteer ... Commercial printing Company. 1874. pp. 552–553.
- ^ Biographical and Genealogical History of the State of Delaware. 1899. p. 474.
- ^ a b "Post Offices". www.postalhistory.com. Archived from the original on August 25, 2021. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
- ^ Department, United States Post Office (1831). Table of the Post Offices in the United States: Arranged by States and Counties; as They Were October 1, 1830; with a Supplement, Stating the Offices Established Between the 1st of October, 1830, and the First of April, 1831. Also, an Index to the Whole. Duff Green.
- ^ Assembly, Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A. General (1836). Minutes of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, with an Appendix ... Stated Clerk of the Assembly. p. 559.
- ^ "Thomas Worrell's Death". Wilmington Evening Journal. March 11, 1891. p. 3. Archived from the original on August 25, 2021. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
- ^ a b The Genealogy of the Lamborn Family: With Extracts from History, Biographies, Anecdotes, Etc. Press of M.L. Marion. 1894. p. 138.
- ^ "History of Secret Under Ground Railroad in Hockessin". Hockessin Heritage Foundation. May 10, 2014. Archived from the original on August 25, 2021. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
- ^ A Complete Reference Gazetteer of the United States of North America: Containing a General View of the United States, and of Each State and Territory, and a Notice of the Various Canals, Railroads, and Internal Improvements ... T. & E.H. Ensign. 1844. p. 164.
- ^ Dare, Charles P. (1856). Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad Guide: Containing a Description of the Scenery, Rivers, Towns, Villages, and Objects of Interest Along the Line of Road: Including Historical Sketches, Legends, &c. 1856: Fitzgibbon & Van Ness. p. 89.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) - ^ List of Post Offices in the United States. John C. Rives. 1857.
- ^ Preservation, United States Office of Archeology and Historic (1967). Advisory List to the National Register of Historic Places.
- ^ Edwards, Richard (1880). Industries of Delaware: Historical and Descriptive Review : Cities, Towns and Business Interests, Institutions, Manufacturing and Commercial Advantages. R. Edwards.
- ^ Scharf, J. Thomas (1888). History of Delaware, 1609-1888, Volume I. Philadelphia: L. J. Richards & Company.
- ^ Conrad, Henry Clay (1908). History of the State of Delaware. p. 487.
- ^ Baker, Karl (August 15, 2017). "Trash bin discovery reveals piece of Hockessin history". Delaware Online. Archived from the original on August 25, 2021. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
