Harrington Through Time: A Hometown Story

A crossroads, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is an intersection of two or more roads, a point at which a crucial decision must be made which will have far-reaching consequences. Harrington, Delaware, is small-town America’s example of this definition.

Founded as a crossroad stagecoach stop in the 1700s, known then as Clarks Corner, the city was center stage when the crucial decision was made on where the Delaware Railroad would place its final stop in the 1850s. As the end of the line, anyone wishing to ship goods by rail, or ride the train, would come to Harrington.

As a result of this, the town doubled in size in less than twenty years, and until the 1940s, continued its upward growth. After World War II, the city saw the demise of its glory days as a railroad city, but other industries, specifically the garment industry, called Harrington home until the 1970s.

Today, Harrington is growing again, but still retains its small-town charms.