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Being a native son of Sussex county , I'm much inclined to root for the Delaware section of the Delmarva region , however even I know that doing so would be a poor choice .
Which is precisely why I'm curious as to what other people think of this matter , what with this forum being a genial hive for this type of discourse .
I'd say Maryland. It shared the Chesapeake Bay and Assateague Island with Virginia, the poultry/agricultural farms with inland Delaware, and the beach resort towns (Ocean City with Dewey-Lewes). Virginia's portion of the Delmarva is by far the smallest and mainly consists of one highway with some towns along it leading to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, though Cape Charles resembles some of the bayfront Maryland towns like Crisfield or St. Michaels. VA's section does feel the most "frozen in time" though due to its relative isolation as most visitors don't go past Chincoteague coming from MD/DE. Meanwhile, Southern New Castle County, DE is Wilmington exurbia nowadays as Middletown and Odessa continue to grow, with US 301 now all highway.
I'd say Maryland. It shared the Chesapeake Bay and Assateague Island with Virginia, the poultry/agricultural farms with inland Delaware, and the beach resort towns (Ocean City with Dewey-Lewes). Virginia's portion of the Delmarva is by far the smallest and mainly consists of one highway with some towns along it leading to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, though Cape Charles resembles some of the bayfront Maryland towns like Crisfield or St. Michaels. VA's section does feel the most "frozen in time" though due to its relative isolation as most visitors don't go past Chincoteague coming from MD/DE. Meanwhile, Southern New Castle County, DE is Wilmington exurbia nowadays as Middletown and Odessa continue to grow, with US 301 now all highway.
Interesting answer !
I think I voted Other/Don't Know myself , but come to think of it I could very well mark Maryland if I had the option of casting another vote .
That said ( IMHO ) the Virginia section is a much better representation of the truly " old school " Delmarva culture , what with it containing Tangier Island and all .
I'd love to see discussion on the defining characteristics of Delmarva culture. I've recently become intrigued by this small region!
That would quite honestly be a topic unto itself , one which I'm not qualified to write at great length , but IMHO Delmarva culture is a subset of the broader based Tidewater culture of the Southern US .
Important differences being :
1 . A legacy of there having been many more free Black Americans in the region , which in some way or another must have surely left a lasting mark on the mentality of Black Delmarvans which differentiates them from their counterparts in other regions .
2 . A strong sense of being descended from pirates and outlaws among White Americans in the region , which has left a lasting mark ( IMHO ) on the mentality of White Delmarvans with respect to such things as being more eccentric than ( say ) their " hillbilly " counterparts in the Upper South .
3 . A strong " waterman " tradition and all the cultural traits that spring from it , which is shared by members of both racial groups throughout the region , albeit arguably in different ways .
4 . A strong sense of relative religious and ( if you will ) cultural irreverence that is ( IMHO ) once again shared by all old school Delmarvans regardless of race , which very much sets them apart from the commonly accepted notion of Southern folk being oh so religion and tradition bound .
I could go on , but methinks I've went over enough broad stroke to at least ( hopefully ) rejuvenate this discussion .
I'd love to see discussion on the defining characteristics of Delmarva culture. I've recently become intrigued by this small region!
My family moved to Dover, Delaware from Virginia many years ago, and at the time I was struck by how isolated and peaceful Delmarva (AKA The Eastern Shore) was. Up until the early 1950s, highway access from the west and south required an auto ferry trip across the Chesapeake Bay. In the 1950s/'60s central Delaware (Kent County) and southern Delaware (Sussex County) were primarily rural/agricultural. Today only Sussex County is as so much growth has taken place around Dover. The land throughout is very flat and in some places swampy. Most of the peninsula in Maryland and Virginia still has that peaceful vibe.
I have many good memories of my time it Dover--such a beautiful little city, and at the time about as perfect as small town America could be. South of Dover, the sense of isolation still exists despite the fact that millions of people live not too far away in Philly and Washington/Baltimore!
2 . A strong sense of being descended from pirates and outlaws among White Americans in the region , which has left a lasting mark ( IMHO ) on the mentality of White Delmarvans with respect to such things as being more eccentric than ( say ) their " hillbilly " counterparts in the Upper South .
3 . A strong " waterman " tradition and all the cultural traits that spring from it , which is shared by members of both racial groups throughout the region , albeit arguably in different ways .
4 . A strong sense of relative religious and ( if you will ) cultural irreverence that is ( IMHO ) once again shared by all old school Delmarvans regardless of race , which very much sets them apart from the commonly accepted notion of Southern folk being oh so religion and tradition bound .
I don't really see how these things are any different from the regular south tbh. If you live near the coast there is a big "water" culture, regardless of if you're in this region or in Alabama.
Perhaps the last one I agree with. But is it even true?
I don't really see how these things are any different from the regular south tbh. If you live near the coast there is a big "water" culture, regardless of if you're in this region or in Alabama.
Perhaps the last one I agree with. But is it even true?
I mean I highly doubt that old stock redneck types claim descent from pirate in parts of the South that are landlocked and I highly doubt that there's a waterman tradition in those areas as well .
It depends on your perspective/personal experiences of course , but IMHO Delmarva is not at all Bible Belt in terms of its approach to religion and there's also a noticeable lack of great respect towards formal authority among natives as well .
Which can probably be traced back to the fact that a high percentage of the black population here was free and a ( at least ) just as high percentage of the white population here led a very " live in the swamps like fugitives " type lifestyle .
For what it's worth, lack of respect for formal authority is seen as very typical of the "Upland South" (i.e. Appalachia in the broadest terms) due to the fact that most of the settlers there came from the traditionally quite lawless areas of the Scottish and English Borders region. I wouldn't think that's unique to Delmarva as a result.
For what it's worth, lack of respect for formal authority is seen as very typical of the "Upland South" (i.e. Appalachia in the broadest terms) due to the fact that most of the settlers there came from the traditionally quite lawless areas of the Scottish and English Borders region. I wouldn't think that's unique to Delmarva as a result.
Yup that's true , though parts of Appalachia are ( to my knowledge anyways ) included in the Bible Belt and while that characterization may or may not fit them , I can say with confidence that it doesn't fit the Delmarva region .
Also most longstanding white residents of the Delmarva region tend to be of/more likely to claim West Country English/Cornish ancestry as opposed to Scots Irish and it's also a fact that that part of the UK was also rather lawless , what with it being a major hub of smugglers for quite some time .
In short it's not just Scots Irish people who can lay claim to a lawless heritage in this country .
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