Hockessin came into existence as a little village in 1688 when several families settled in the area. The village was named after the Lenape word hokes, meaning good bark or good bark hill.[3] There is a second and more likely origin for the name. While the word Hockessin does look like a Native American word, the name Hockessin did not show up on any early maps until many years after the Hockessin Meeting House was built and what is now the Village of Hockessin was never settled by the Native Americans, while they did have a hunting camp nearby.[4] There was no town name Hockessin and the area was referred to as Mill Creek Hundred. The actual name is believed to be derived from one of the first settled properties which was named Occasion and settled by William Cox in 1726 and also the location of the first Quaker meetings in the area before Hockessin Meeting House was built a few years later. The earliest known use of the word Occasion was in 1734 in a property deed for this property. And the road to the Hockessin Meeting House, currently Old Wilmington Road, was written as Ockession Road on a map in 1808.[5] The first Roman Catholic church in Delaware was located in Hockessin. Missionary priests from Maryland established the Coffee Run Mission in 1790.[6]
The community is near the northwestern border of Delaware, within 1.2 mi (1.9 km) of the Pennsylvania border on the east bank of Mill Creek.[9]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 10.0 square miles (26 km2), of which 10.0 square miles (26 km2) is land and 0.10% is water.
As of the census[11] of 2000, there were 12,902 people, 4,464 households, and 3,731 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 1,286.7 inhabitants per square mile (496.8/km2). There were 4,575 housing units at an average density of 456.3 per square mile (176.2/km2). The racial makeup of the CDP was 88.8% White, 2.7% African American, 0.2% Native American, 7.2% Asian, <0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.5% from other races, and 0.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.0% of the population. From 1990 to 2016, the population of Hockessin has grown by about 35%.[12]
There were 4,464 households, out of which 40.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 77.3% were married couples living together, 4.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.4% were non-families. 13.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size was 3.13.
In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 26.9% under the age of 18, 4.7% from 18 to 24, 24.5% from 25 to 44, 28.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.9 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $100,844, and the median income for a family was $108,784. Males had a median income of $76,617 versus $46,988 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $40,516. About 1.0% of families and 1.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.0% of those under age 18 and 1.3% of those age 65 or over.
Hockessin hosts several Fourth of July activities for the area residents. Local groups parade down Old Lancaster Pike, neighborhoods compete in different athletic events, and there is a fireworks display in the evening in Swift Park.
Elementary schools serving Hockessin for grades K through 5 include Cooke Elementary School and North Star Elementary School.[16] Public school students in grades 6 through 8 attend Henry B. duPont Middle School,[17]Cab Calloway School of the Arts, or Conrad Schools of Science. CCSA and Conrad also enroll students from grades 9–12. Students in grades 9 through 12 in Hockessin attend Thomas McKean High School to the south of Hockessin or Alexis I. duPont High School in Greenville, with students in the western part of Hockessin attending John Dickinson High School in Pike Creek.[18][19][20] Private schools in Hockessin include CACC (Chinese American Community Center) Montessori School, Hockessin Montessori School, Sanford School, and Wilmington Christian School.
Infrastructure
Lancaster Pike (Route 41) in Hockessin, facing north towards the business/retail area
