Finns Point
Encyclopedia
Finns Point is a small strategic promontory
at the southwest corner of the New Jersey
peninsula, on the east bank of the Delaware River
near its mouth on Delaware Bay
. Due to a geographic curiosity, part of the promontory is actually enclosed within the state of Delaware's borders, due to tidal flow and the manner in which the borders between New Jersey and Delaware were first laid out. The area is about 10 miles south of the city of Wilmington, and directly across the Delaware River from the New Castle area, and the Delaware River entrance to the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal. Pea Patch Island
, part of the state of Delaware
, sits in the channel of the river facing the promontory.
The promontory was probably named after early Finnish
settlers in the New Sweden
colony in the early 17th century. According to historical records, settlers began crossing the Delaware from Fort Christina
to the east bank of the Delaware as early as 1638. In the 1670s the area became settled by English
colonists from the New Haven Colony
as part of Fenwicks Colony.
The promontory is the location of Finns Point National Cemetery, a military cemetery used in the American Civil War
for Union
and Confederate
soldiers who died while at Fort Delaware
on Pea Patch Island. It was also the location of Fort Mott
, constructed after the Civil War and used up through World War I
to protect the E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company
facilities upriver at Carneys Point Township, New Jersey
, as well as the port of Philadelphia
. The fort is now part of Fort Mott State Park.
Promontory
Promontory may refer to:*Promontory, a prominent mass of land which overlooks lower lying land or a body of water*Promontory, Utah, the location where the United States first Transcontinental Railroad was completed...
at the southwest corner of the New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
peninsula, on the east bank of the Delaware River
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...
near its mouth on Delaware Bay
Delaware Bay
Delaware Bay is a major estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the Northeast seaboard of the United States whose fresh water mixes for many miles with the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. It is in area. The bay is bordered by the State of New Jersey and the State of Delaware...
. Due to a geographic curiosity, part of the promontory is actually enclosed within the state of Delaware's borders, due to tidal flow and the manner in which the borders between New Jersey and Delaware were first laid out. The area is about 10 miles south of the city of Wilmington, and directly across the Delaware River from the New Castle area, and the Delaware River entrance to the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal. Pea Patch Island
Pea Patch Island
Pea Patch Island is a small island, approximately 1 mi long, in the U.S. state of Delaware, located in the mid channel of the Delaware River near its entrance into Delaware Bay. It is a low, marshy island, located in New Castle County, facing Delaware City on the Delaware shore, and Finns Point on...
, part of the state 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...
, sits in the channel of the river facing the promontory.
The promontory was probably named after early Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
settlers in the New Sweden
New Sweden
New Sweden was a Swedish colony along the Delaware River on the Mid-Atlantic coast of North America from 1638 to 1655. Fort Christina, now in Wilmington, Delaware, was the first settlement. New Sweden included parts of the present-day American states of Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania....
colony in the early 17th century. According to historical records, settlers began crossing the Delaware from Fort Christina
Fort Christina
Fort Christina was the first Swedish settlement in North America and the principal settlement of the New Sweden colony...
to the east bank of the Delaware as early as 1638. In the 1670s the area became settled by English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
colonists from the New Haven Colony
New Haven Colony
The New Haven Colony was an English colonial venture in present-day Connecticut in North America from 1637 to 1662.- Quinnipiac Colony :A Puritan minister named John Davenport led his flock from exile in the Netherlands back to England and finally to America in the spring of 1637...
as part of Fenwicks Colony.
The promontory is the location of Finns Point National Cemetery, a military cemetery used in the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
for Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
and Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
soldiers who died while at Fort Delaware
Fort Delaware
Fort Delaware is a harbor defense facility, designed by Chief Engineer Joseph Gilbert Totten, and located on Pea Patch Island in the Delaware River. During the American Civil War, the Union used Fort Delaware as a prison for Confederate prisoners of war, political prisoners, federal convicts, and...
on Pea Patch Island. It was also the location of Fort Mott
Fort Mott (New Jersey)
Fort Mott was part of a three-fort defense system designed for the Delaware River during the postbellum modernization period following the American Civil War. The other two forts in the system were Fort Delaware on Pea Patch Island and Fort DuPont in Delaware City, Delaware...
, constructed after the Civil War and used up through World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
to protect the E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company
DuPont
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , commonly referred to as DuPont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont was the world's third largest chemical company based on market capitalization and ninth based on revenue in 2009...
facilities upriver at Carneys Point Township, New Jersey
Carneys Point Township, New Jersey
Carneys Point Township is a Township in Salem County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 8,049....
, as well as the port of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. The fort is now part of Fort Mott State Park.