Christiana Hundred is the name of an unincorporated subdivision of New Castle County

New Castle County, Delaware

New Castle County is the northernmost of the three counties of the U.S. state of Delaware. As of 2010 its population was 538,479, an increase of 7.6% over the previous decade. The county seat is Wilmington. The center of population of Delaware is located in New Castle County, in the town of...

, Delaware

Delaware

Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...

. Hundreds

Hundred (division)

A hundred is a geographic division formerly used in England, Wales, Denmark, South Australia, some parts of the United States, Germany , Sweden, Finland and Norway, which historically was used to divide a larger region into smaller administrative divisions...

 were once used as a basis for representation in the Delaware General Assembly

Delaware General Assembly

The Delaware General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Delaware Senate with 21 Senators and the Delaware House of Representatives with 41 Representatives...

, and while their names still appear on all real estate transactions, they presently have no meaningful use or purpose except as a geographical point of reference.

Boundaries and Formation

Christiana Hundred is that portion of New Castle County that lies north of the Christiana River and White Clay Creek

White Clay Creek

White Clay Creek is an tributary of the Christina River in southern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware in the United States. It is renowned for its scenic character and is largely federally protected....

, west of the Brandywine Creek and east of the Red Clay Creek

Red Clay Creek

Red Clay Creek is a tributary of White Clay Creek in southeastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware in the United States.The East and West branches both rise in West Marlborough Township, Pennsylvania, near the hamlet of Upland, and flow south through Kennett Square before uniting just north of...

, excepting that portion in the southeast included in Wilmington Hundred

Wilmington Hundred

Wilmington Hundred is the name of an unincorporated subdivision of New Castle County, Delaware. Hundreds were once used as a basis for representation in the Delaware General Assembly, and while their names still appear on all real estate transactions, they presently have no meaningful use or...

. Its northern boundary follows a portion of the 12 mile arc

The Twelve-Mile Circle

The Twelve-Mile Circle is an approximately circular arc which forms most of the boundary between the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the State of Delaware in the United States...

 drawn around the town of New Castle

New Castle, Delaware

New Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, six miles south of Wilmington, situated on the Delaware River. In 1900, 3,380 people lived here; in 1910, 3,351...

. It was one of the original hundreds in Delaware created in 1682 and was named for the Christiana River that flows along its southern boundary. When created it included the some of the area now in Mill Creek Hundred

Mill Creek Hundred

Mill Creek Hundred is the name of an unincorporated subdivision of New Castle County, Delaware. Hundreds were once used as a basis for representation in the Delaware General Assembly, and while their names still appear on all real estate transactions, they presently have no meaningful use or...

, White Clay Hundred

White Clay Hundred

White Clay Hundred is the name of an unincorporated subdivision of New Castle County, Delaware. Hundreds were once used as a basis for representation in the Delaware General Assembly, and while their names still appear on all real estate transactions, they presently have no meaningful use or...

, and Pencader Hundred

Pencader Hundred

Pencader Hundred is the name of an unincorporated subdivision of New Castle County, Delaware. Hundreds were once used as a basis for representation in the Delaware General Assembly, and while their names still appear on all real estate transactions, they presently have no meaningful use or purpose...

, all of which were split off in 1710. It also included much of the area now in Wilmington Hundred, which was split off 1833.

Development

While the northern half of the hundred remains the wooded and semi-rural “Chateaux country” of country estates and expensive developments, the southern half is completely urban and suburban with almost continuous industrial, commercial and residential development. The southeastern portion was built out early in the twentieth century with the remainder in the decades following World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. The towns of Elsmere

Elsmere, Delaware

Elsmere is a town in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the town is 6,131.-Geography:Elsmere is located at ....

 and Newport

Newport, Delaware

Newport is a town in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. It is located on the Christina River. It is best known for being the home of colonial inventor Oliver Evans. The population was 1,055 at the 2010 census...

, and Greenville

Greenville, Delaware

Greenville is a census-designated place in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The population was 2,326 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Greenville is located at ....

 Census Designated Places (CDP), and the community of Centreville are in Christiana Hundred.

Geography

Important geographical features, in addition to the Christiana River, White Clay Creek, Red Clay Creek, and Brandywine Creek, include the Hoopes Reservoir. It is mostly in the piedmont

Piedmont (United States)

The Piedmont is a plateau region located in the eastern United States between the Atlantic Coastal Plain and the main Appalachian Mountains, stretching from New Jersey in the north to central Alabama in the south. The Piedmont province is a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division...

 region, but the southern portion is below the eastern fall line

Fall line

A fall line is a geomorphologic unconformity between an upland region of relatively hard crystalline basement rock and a coastal plain of softer sedimentary rock. A fall line is typically prominent when crossed by a river, for there will often be rapids or waterfalls...

 and on the coastal plain

Atlantic Coastal Plain

The Atlantic coastal plain has both low elevation and low relief, but it is also a relatively flat landform extending from the New York Bight southward to a Georgia/Florida section of the Eastern Continental Divide, which demarcates the plain from the ACF River Basin in the Gulf Coastal Plain to...

.

Transportation

Important roads include portions of Interstate 95

Interstate 95 in Delaware

In Delaware, Interstate 95 runs diagonally from the border with Maryland northeast to the border with Pennsylvania. Between the Maryland state line and exit 5, I-95 is also designated as the Delaware Turnpike and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway. Along with its auxiliaries, I-95 is the only...

, Centre Road (Delaware Route 141

Delaware Route 141

Delaware Route 141 is a bypass around the western suburbs of Wilmington, Delaware. Its northern terminus is an interchange with U.S. Route 202 and Delaware Route 261 in Fairfax, and its southern terminus is at Delaware Route 9 and Delaware Route 273 in New Castle...

), Kennett Pike (Delaware Route 52

Delaware Route 52

Delaware Route 52 is a state highway in New Castle County, Delaware. The route runs from U.S. Route 13 Business in Wilmington, Delaware north to Pennsylvania Route 52 at the Pennsylvania border near Centerville, Delaware. Even though the southern terminus is at US 13 Business, DelDOT has DE 52...

), Montchanin Road (Delaware Route 100

Delaware Route 100

Delaware Route 100 is a state highway in New Castle County, Delaware. The route runs from Delaware Route 4 near Elsmere to the Pennsylvania border near Montchanin, where it continues into Pennsylvania as Creek Road...

), Lancaster Pike (Delaware Route 48

Delaware Route 48

Delaware Route 48 connects the City of Wilmington, Delaware to an intersection with Delaware Route 41 about from the Pennsylvania state line in Hockessin, Delaware....

), the Kirkwood Highway (Delaware Route 2), and the old main highway between Wilmington and Baltimore, now Maryland Avenue and its extension, Newport-Stanton Pike (Delaware Route 4

Delaware Route 4

Delaware Route 4 is a state highway in New Castle County, Delaware. The route runs from Delaware Route 2 and Delaware Route 896 in Newark east to Delaware Route 48 in downtown Wilmington. What is now DE 4 was originally a county road that was paved in the 1930s...

). A portion of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad

Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad

The Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad was the Pennsylvania Railroad's main line from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania southwest to Baltimore, Maryland in the 19th and early 20th centuries...

, subsequently the main north-south line of the Pennsylvania Railroad

Pennsylvania Railroad

The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....

, now Amtrak

Amtrak

The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...

, crosses through Newport, and a portion of the old Baltimore and Ohio Railroad

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...

, now CSX Transportation

CSX Transportation

CSX Transportation operates a Class I railroad in the United States known as the CSX Railroad. It is the main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns approximately 21,000 route miles...

 crosses through Elsmere. The Penn Eastern Railroad runs from Elsmere generally along Montchanin Road and the Wilmington and Western Railroad runs along Red Clay Creek.