Pencader 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

Pencader Hundred is that portion of western New Castle County that lies south and west of the Christiana River, north of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal

Chesapeake and Delaware Canal

The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal is a 14-mile long, 450-foot wide and 40-foot deep ship canal that cuts across the states of Maryland and Delaware, in the United States. It connects the waters of the Delaware River with those of the Chesapeake Bay and the Port of Baltimore...

, and generally west of Salem Church Road and Red Lion Road (DE Route 71). It also includes a large area north and east of the Christiana River generally from the old 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....

 tracks to Cooch’s Bridge, as well as another small area south of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, west of Summit Bridge and north of Back Creek. Finally, it excludes the small area west of the Christiana River immediately west of Newark

Newark, Delaware

Newark is an American city in New Castle County, Delaware, west-southwest of Wilmington. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the city is 31,454. Newark is the home of the University of Delaware.- History :...

. It was formed from portions of New Castle Hundred

New Castle Hundred

New Castle 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...

, Christiana Hundred

Christiana Hundred

Christiana 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 Red Lion Hundred

Red Lion Hundred

Red Lion 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...

 in 1710.

Originally, the default boundary of Delaware and Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

 was the vague height of land between 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...

 and Chesapeake Bay

Chesapeake Bay

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...

 drainage basins and Pencader Hundred extended only to that point. With the running the Mason-Dixon Line

Mason-Dixon line

The Mason–Dixon Line was surveyed between 1763 and 1767 by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon in the resolution of a border dispute between British colonies in Colonial America. It forms a demarcation line among four U.S. states, forming part of the borders of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and...

 in 1767, the western boundary of Delaware was established in its present location and became Pencader Hundred’s western boundary. A portion of the city of Newark and the Glasgow

Glasgow, Delaware

Glasgow is a census-designated place in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The population was 12,840 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Glasgow is located at ....

 Census Designated Place (CDP) is in Pencader Hundred.

Development

Pencader Hundred is rural and agricultural in places, but there has been considerable residential and commercial development in the 1980s and 1990s which continues to this day. This area is among the fastest growing parts of Delaware.

Geography

Important geographical features, in addition to the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, Christiana River, and Back Creek, include Five Mile Run, Chestnut Hill and Iron Hill. It is mostly in 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...

 region on the Delmarva Peninsula

Delmarva Peninsula

The Delmarva Peninsula is a large peninsula on the East Coast of the United States, occupied by most of Delaware and portions of Maryland and Virginia...

, but an extension of 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...

 in the northwest corner provides a couple of prominent hills to the area.

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...

, the Pulaski Highway (U.S. Route 40

U.S. Route 40 in Delaware

U.S. Route 40 serves as a major east–west highway in northern New Castle County, Delaware, just south of Wilmington. It runs from the Maryland border east of Elkton, Maryland east through the rapidly growing towns of Glasgow and Bear before following U.S...

), Summit Bridge Road (Delaware Route 896), and the old main highway between Wilmington and Baltimore, now Old Baltimore Pike

Old Baltimore Pike

Old Baltimore Pike is an unsigned highway in the U.S. state of Delaware. The road, known as New Castle County Road 26, runs from the Maryland state line near Newark, Delaware east to Christiana, ending near Delaware Route 1 . The road is mainly paralleled by Interstate 95 to the north and U.S...

. A portion of the old Delaware Railroad, subsequently the Delmarva branch 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....

 runs north-south at the eastern edge. The old Newark-Delaware City railroad, now the Norfolk Southern Railway

Norfolk Southern Railway

The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. With headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, the company operates 21,500 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario, Canada...

, crosses the northeastern corner.