Fort Christina
|
Fort Christina
|
|
Model of Fort Christina at the American Swedish Historical Museum in Philadelphia
|
|
 
|
|
| Location | East 7th St. at the Christina River, Wilmington, Delaware |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 39°44′13.64″N 075°32′18.46″W / 39.7371222°N 75.5384611°WCoordinates: 39°44′13.64″N 075°32′18.46″W / 39.7371222°N 75.5384611°W |
| Built | 1638 |
| NRHP Reference # | 66000260 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
| Designated NHL | November 5, 1961 |
Fort Christina (later renamed Fort Altena; Swedish: Fort Kristina) was the first Swedish settlement in North America and the principal settlement of the New Sweden colony. Built in 1638 and named after Queen Christina of Sweden, it was located approximately 1 mi (1.6 km) east of the present downtown Wilmington, Delaware, at the confluence of the Brandywine River and the Christina River, approximately 2 mi (3 km) upstream from the mouth of the Christina on the Delaware River.
Following plans by King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden to establish a Swedish colony in North America, the Swedes arrived in Delaware Bay on March 29, 1638 aboard the ships Kalmar Nyckel and Fogel Grip under the command of Peter Minuit, the former director of the New Netherland colony. They landed at a spot along the Christina River at a stone outcropping which formed a natural wharf, known as "The Rocks." Minuit selected the site on the Christina River near the Delaware as being optimal for trade in beaver pelts with the local Lenape. He also considered the site easily defensible, and he ordered the construction of an earthwork fort around the Rocks.
At the time, the Dutch had claimed the area south to the Delaware (then called "South River"). The Swedes claimed an area for the Realm of Sweden on the south side of the Delaware that encompassed much of the present-day U.S. state of Delaware, eventually including parts of present-day southeastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey on the north side of the river.
...
Wikipedia