Officials celebrate federal approval of national park for Delaware, last state to get 1

NEW CASTLE, Del. — After being the odd man out for many years, Delaware is celebrating the creation of its first and only national park.

Ending Delaware's status as the only state without a national park has been a mission for U.S. Sen. Tom Carper, Delaware's senior senator, for more than a decade.

"That's a distinction I'm proud and happy to say, 'goodbye" to, said Carper, whose persistence paid off last week with the insertion of a provision in a defense bill that authorized the creation of The First State National Historical Park.

The legislation, which was sent to President Barack Obama, authorizes the First State National Monument in Delaware, which Obama authorized by executive action last year, to become the First State National Historical Park.

Carper joined Gov. Jack Markell and other officials at the historic New Castle Courthouse in Old New Castle on Thursday to celebrate the milestone.

The historical park will link sites in all three Delaware counties to recognize the contributions of early American Dutch, Swedish and English settlers.

"Together, they tell the story of the early Colonial settlement in Delaware that led up to the ratification of the Constitution and led up to the First State," Carper said.

AUTHORIZED SITES IN NORTHERN DELAWARE

—The old sheriff's house and courthouse and green in historic New Castle

—The Old Swedes Church and Fort Christina national historic landmarks

—The Woodlawn Trustees property, which includes more than 1,100 acres of woods and rolling pastures in the Brandywine River valley north of Wilmington

AUTHORIZED SITES IN CENTRAL DELAWARE

— The John Dickinson Plantation national historic landmark

AUTHORIZED SITES IN SOUTHERN DELAWARE

— The Ryves Holt House, which has been designated for inclusion in the national park.

Officials said the road to getting a national park has been a bumpy one at times. "It looked deader than dead," at one point, Markell said. Prior to the more recent effort led by Carper, former Sen. Joe Biden, now Obama's vice president, tried to get the national park designation for the Great Cypress Swamp in southern Delaware, which apparently didn't go over too well with some local outdoorsmen.

"They had a hunt club down there, and they had weapons," Markell quipped. "They didn't think this was such a good idea."