Wilmington, Delaware began life in 1638 as a Swedish settlement called Fort Christina, the seat of the colony of New Sweden. Commander Peter Stuyvesant led a Dutch takeover of the colony in 1655, re-naming it New Netherland. Battles between the Dutch and the English ensued, with the British emerging victorious this time. By 1664, New Netherland had become a British colony, and later became known as Willington.

Its namesake, Thomas Willing, established a grid plan for the area in an early attempt at urban planning. It was renamed Wilmington in honor of British prime minister and Earl of Wilmington, Spencer Compton, in 1739. British troops occupied Wilmington for several months during the Revolutionary War.

Due to the knowledge of Eleuthère Irénée du Pont, a French immigrant with skilled in the manufacture of gunpowder and explosives, Wilmington played a strong role in the Civil War. The town was a leading supplier of ships, gunpowder, and other materials needed for the war.

A few years later, the town's boundaries began expanding, and its prosperity became evident in the size of new homes being built. By the end of the century, the city's new parks system had produced Brandywine Park and Rockford Park.

Wilmington's affluence was further bolstered by the World Wars, when new technologies allowed production of new kinds of wartime accoutrements. Other industries grew in the city too, including automobile production and garment manufacturing. As the city's infrastructure improved, new additions like Interstate 95 allowed more and more of the city's citizens to commute from newly formed suburbs to work in Wilmington every day.

The city received yet another shot in the arm when the Financial Center Development Act of 1981 drew well-known banks into the city by loosening restrictions on the amount of interest they could charge their customers.

Wilmington is a diverse town which celebrates the varied ethnic heritages of its citizens with multiple annual festivals. The city also hosts several music festivals, including one which honors former resident and reggae legend Bob Marley. In the last couple of decades, the town began efforts to revitalize the area along the Christina River, with new housing developments, retail outlets, restaurants, and various forms of recreation becoming available.