Delaware General Assembly


CHAPTER 256

AN ACT RELATING TO FORT CHRISTINA STATE PARK, RENAMING IT THE FORT CHRISTINA MONUMENT, TRANSFERRING CUSTODY OF IT TO THE PUBLIC ARCHIVES COMMISSION AND MAKING A TRANSFER OF FUNDS FOR ITS OPERATION.

WHEREAS, the first permanent settlement in Delaware was made by the Kingdom of Sweden in 1638, and

WHEREAS, this settlement was at "the Rocks" on the Christina River now within the City of Wilmington, Delaware, where a tercentenary celebration was held in 1938, and

WHEREAS, part of the said celebration was the creation of Fort Christina State Park at this historic site and the acceptance of a notable monument by Carl Milles as a gift from the People of Sweden, and

WHEREAS, the Public Archives Commission is charged by law with the administration of historic sites and inasmuch as the State Highway Department and the State Park Commission have agreed through resolutions formally adopted by them to transfer custody of this historic site to the Public Archives Commission, NOW THEREFORE,

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Delaware:

Section 1. Title 29, Chapter 33, Delaware Code, is amended by adding thereto a new Section as follows:

§ 3357. Fort Christina Monument

The land acquired at "The Rocks" on the Christina River in the City of Wilmington, for the purpose of creating there a State Park to mark perpetually the place where the first Swedish settlers landed and the site of Fort Christina, the first permanent settlement in this State as well as the first permanent settlement in the Delaware River Valley, shall be known and designated as Fort Christina Monument. The Public Archives Commission shall have jurisdiction, control and maintenance of Fort Christina Monument.

Section 2. § 4722, Title 7, Delaware Code, is, hereby repealed.

Section 3. The sum of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) is hereby transferred from the appropriations to the State Highway Department—Maintenance Division, Repairs and Replacements, as appearing in Chapter 117, Volume 53, Laws of Delaware, to the Public Archives Commission for the operation of Fort Christina Monument.

Approved December 21, 1961.