Bridgeville, Delaware

Episode 110 / 14 March 2019 / 141 min / full

A Tangled Tree Of Disaster

"We're going on a trip all the way to Delaware, all the way to Bridgeville, Delaware; this is in Sussex County, Delaware." about 0:05:33

The case: Murders of John Charbonneau and William 'Billy' Sprouts (September and October 2001). Read the case file.

The figures, as told in 2019

Population

2,480

Median age

60.7

Median household income

$51,000

Median home value

$188,000

Two-bedroom rent

about $810

Cost of living

103

Religious

about 38%

Property crime

▲ about 20% high

Violent crime

▲ almost double

History, in brief

• The American Historical Association said in a 1906 report that there is probably no state in the union with less material for writing its history than Delaware. about 0:09:15
• Bridgeville is the oldest community in the western part of Sussex County. about 0:09:58
• Land records go back to the early 1700s, and the area was already a farming community by then. about 0:10:05
• A small group of houses was built along what is now Main Street by the beginning of the 1800s. about 0:11:26
• The settlement was first known as Bridge Branch, after a stream with a bridge over it as early as 1730. about 0:11:40
• A post office was established in 1804. about 0:12:10
• The village was formally recognised as Bridgeville in 1810. about 0:12:18
• In the 1800s the town had a water-powered mill, a charcoal furnace and a fruit-drying business. about 0:12:28
• The Delaware Railroad arrived in 1856 and the town's growth shot up. about 0:13:59
• The town was laid out by William Cannon and named Bridgeville for the bridge there, rather than Bridge Branch. about 0:14:16
• Nearby towns were named Murderkill and Horekill, mangled versions of Dutch names. about 0:14:30

Open the episode file