Redden, Delaware
Unincorporated community
Redden is located in Delaware
Redden
Redden
Redden is located in the United States
Redden
Redden
Coordinates: 38°44′29″N 75°25′02″W / 38.74139°N 75.41722°W / 38.74139; -75.41722
CountryUnited States
StateDelaware
CountySussex
Elevation
46 ft (14 m)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
Area code302
GNIS feature ID216191[1]

Redden is an unincorporated community in Sussex County, Delaware, United States. The community became an important railroad center on the Junction and Breakwater Railroad in the 1800s. The site of a historic 19th-century church and a World War II mess hall, Redden lost its post office and school in the 1930s.

Geography

Redden is located along U.S. Route 113 in the Georgetown Hundred, north of Georgetown, amidst tracts which comprise the Redden State Forest.

History

Redden in central Sussex County, Delaware, in 1902

1800s

The original McColley's Chapel, a Methodist church in Redden, was built sometime after the land was donated, in 1857.[2] The original building was replaced with the current chapel in 1898.[2]

Redden was originally known as Carey. It was renamed in honor of Col. William O. Redden, who had prominent role in Sussex County in the mid-19th century.[3] The Redden post office began operation in 1868.[4]

In 1874, Redden was described as a post station on the Junction and Breakwater Railroad.[5]

Redden's population was 50 residents in 1890.[6]

1900s

The population of Redden had grown slightly to 57 in 1900.[7] In 1904, Redden was described as a post village on the Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad.[8] The right-of-way is used for freight transport operated by the auspices of Delmarva Central Railroad.

The Redden School, numbered 180, was still in operation in 1928,[9] but by 1930, a recommendation was made by the Delaware State Board of Education to close the Redden School.[10]

Redden Community Hall, used as a mess hall during World War II, is "a rare surviving example of an intact Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp facility in Delaware".[11] Around this time, the Redden post office closed; it ceased operations in 1933.[4]

2000s

McColley's Chapel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 30, 2011.[12] The church is still in operation and is under the Peninsula-Delaware Conference of the United Methodist Church.[13]

Redden Community Hall is still used as a polling location.[14][15]

See also

References

  1. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  2. ^ a b "US Route 113 North/South Study: Evaluation of NR Eligibility for Architectural Properties - Ellendale Study Area" (PDF). Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  3. ^ Miller, Richard F. (2015), States at War, vol. 4 A Reference Guide for Delaware, Maryland, and New Jersey in the Civil War, University Press of New England, ISBN 9781611686210
  4. ^ a b "Post Offices - Redden". www.postalhistory.com. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  5. ^ Boyd, William Henry (1874), The Delaware State Directory and Gazetteer for 1874-1875, Commercial printing Company
  6. ^ Cram, George Franklin (1887). Cram's Universal Atlas: Geographical, Astronomical and Historical, Containing a Complete Series of Maps of Modern Geography, Illustrated by Numerous Views and Charts ; the Whole Supplemented with Valuable Statistics, Diagrams, and a Complete Gazetteer of the United States. G.F. Cram. p. 356.
  7. ^ Cram's Modern Atlas: The New Unrivaled New Census Edition. J. R. Gray & Company. 1902. p. 84.
  8. ^ Gannett, Henry (1904), A Gazetteer of Delaware (Issue 230 of Geological Survey bulletin), U.S. Government Printing Office
  9. ^ "The Morning News from Wilmington, Delaware on May 26, 1928". p. 6. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  10. ^ Instruction, Delaware Department of Public; Education, Delaware State Board of (1930). Annual Report of the Department of Public Instruction for the Year Ending ... State Board of Education. p. 180.
  11. ^ "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form" (PDF). 1990.
  12. ^ "National Register of Historic Places Listings: December 9, 2011". National Park Service. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  13. ^ "McColley's Chapel United Methodist Church". Peninsula-Delaware Conference UMC. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  14. ^ "Sussex County Polling Locations". Cape Gazette. September 5, 2008. p. 9. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  15. ^ "State of Delaware List of Polling Places" (PDF). Department of Elections - Sussex County Office. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
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