From its early founding to becoming a university town, from the
interurban railroad era to the famous Little Brown Jug harness race,
Delaware and Delaware County, Ohio, have many stories to tell. Pres.
Rutherford B. Hayes was born here. Vincente Minnelli, set designer,
director, and father of actress Liza Minnelli, spent his youth in
Delaware. Delaware and Delaware County were both established in 1808.
Ohio Wesleyan University opened in the heart of Delaware in 1842 and is
still a major presence in the community. Starting in the 1850s,
railroads made Delaware an important regional center of commerce and
industry, with products ranging from grapes to chairs to city transit
buses. Today, Delaware County is one of the fastest growing counties in
the nation. Even so, it has retained much of its rural landscape. The
city of Delaware is home to some 34,000 residents but still has the
character of a classic Midwestern courthouse town. In these pages, the
reader will discover the story of Delaware and of Delaware County
communities such as Ashley, Galena, Ostrander, Powell, Radnor, Shawnee
Hills, and Sunbury.