Ward, Delaware

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Unincorporated community in Delaware, United States

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Unincorporated community in Delaware, United States

CountryUnited States

Elevation

49 ft (15 m)

Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))

Area code302

Ward, Delaware
Unincorporated community
Ward Show map of Delaware Ward Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 38°29′07″N 75°28′40″W / 38.48528°N 75.47778°W / 38.48528; -75.47778
Country	United States
State	Delaware
County	Sussex
Elevation	49 ft (15 m)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
Area code	302
GNIS feature ID	216240^[1]

Ward is an unincorporated community in Sussex County, Delaware, United States.^[2] in the Little Creek Hundred. The Ward post office was established in 1886, and was discontinued in 1902. Ward was also the site of the Ward's Store, the Ward's School, and is the site of the Ward Family Cemetery.

Ward is located on Delaware Route 30 northeast of Delmar. It lies adjacent to Wards Branch, a stream which is 3.3 mi (5.3 km) long.^[3] Ward is 2 mi (3.2 km) north of the Maryland-Delaware boundary, which is known as the Transpeninsular Line.

History

1800s

A post office operated in Ward beginning in 1886.^[4] The community of Ward's population was just 25 residents in 1890;^[5] the number of residents had slightly increased to 35 residents in 1900.^[6]

1900s

In the early 20th century, Ward was the location of Ward's School and Ward's Store.^[7] This store was the site of a number of Democratic Party public events.^[8]^[9]

The Ward post office closed in 1902.^[4]

In 1930, the state of Delaware announced a series of road upgrades to state highways. The road from Ward's School to Delmar was selected by the state that year for upgrade to a state highway.^[10]

In 1937, the Ward and Whitesville areas were the site of severe wildfires, with the Delaware State Forestry Commission stating, "The largest forest fires of the period occurred in the Whitesville — Ward's Store — Pepper Box section of Little Creek and Gumboro Hundreds in Sussex County". State officials stated that high winds during the fires caused widespread damage to that part of the state of Delaware.^[11]

Ward was still considered a village of Sussex County by the US Geological Survey in 1949.^[12]

The Ward Family Cemetery is located just north of Wards Corners on Gathering Garden Lane. The gravestones range in date from 1847 to 1923.^[13]

References

↑ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Ward, Delaware
↑ Gannett, Henry (1904). A Gazetteer of Delaware (Issue 230 of Geological Survey bulletin) (Report). U.S. Government Printing Office.
↑ Delaware Place Names. Washington, DC: US Department of the Interior. 1966. p. 114.
1 2 "Post Offices: Ward, Delaware". www.postalhistory.com. Archived from the original on August 8, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
↑ Cram, George Franklin (1891). 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. Chicago, IL: G.F. Cram. p. 356.
↑ Cram's Modern Atlas: The New Unrivaled New Census Edition. Chicago, IL: J. R. Gray & Company. 1902. p. 84.
↑ Report. Delaware State Highway Department. 1927. pp. 39, 43.
↑ "Democrats Talking down in Sussex". Wilmington Evening Journal. Wilmington, DE. October 29, 1908. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
↑ "Democratic Mass Meetings". Wilmington Evening Journal. October 3, 1908. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
↑ "Legal Advertisement". The Newark Post. Newark, Delaware. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 31, 2025. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
↑ Commission, Delaware State Forestry (1938). Annual Report of the State Forester. State Forestry Commission. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
↑ "Gazetteer of Delaware". USGS. 1949. p. 15. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
↑ "Miscellaneous Cemeteries" (PDF). Downstate Delaware Historical Society. 2018. p. 29. Retrieved May 30, 2025.^{[permanent dead link]}

v t e Municipalities and communities of Sussex County, Delaware, United States
County seat: Georgetown
Cities	Lewes Milford‡ Rehoboth Beach Seaford	Map of Delaware highlighting Sussex County
Towns	Bethany Beach Bethel Blades Bridgeville Dagsboro Delmar Dewey Beach Ellendale Fenwick Island Frankford Georgetown Greenwood Henlopen Acres Laurel Millsboro Millville Milton Ocean View Selbyville Slaughter Beach South Bethany
CDPs	Lincoln Long Neck
Former towns	Nanticoke City North Laurel Roxana
Unincorporated communities	Adams Crossroads Adamsville‡ Angola Argos Corner Atlanta Bacons Bayard Belltown Blanchard Broad Creek Broadkill Beach Bunting Cannon Carpenters Corner Cedar Beach Cedar Creek Clarksville Concord Cool Spring Cross Keys Fairmount Federalsburg Flea Hill Gravel Hill Gumboro Harbeson Hollymount Hollyville Indian Beach Jimtown Johnson Lowe Middleford Midway Mission Nassau North Shores Oakley Oak Orchard Old Furnace Omar Overbrook Pepperbox Phillips Hill Pinetown Portsville Primehook Beach Quakertown Redden Reliance‡ Scotts Corner Shortly Staytonville Stockley Sussex Shores Sycamore Ward Warwick Wescoats Corner Westwoods Whaleys Corners Whitesville Williamsville Wood Branch Woodland Zoar
Hundreds	Baltimore Broad Creek Broadkill Cedar Creek Dagsboro Georgetown Gumboro Indian River Lewes and Rehoboth Little Creek Nanticoke Northwest Fork Seaford
Ghost towns	Banning New Market Owens Station Saint Johnstown
Footnotes	‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties
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