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Claymont is a census-designated place (CDP) in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The population was 8,253 at the 2010 census.

History

Claymont has been a continuous settlement near the mouth of Naamans Creek on the Delaware River since at least A.D. 1200, with evidence of its original inhabitants along both banks pointing to the Middle Woodland period (1100-1600 B.C.). The first western inhabitants named the creek and settlement after the Lenape chief who occupied the region.

In 1681, John Grubb purchased a one-third interest in a 600-acre tract of the Brandywine Hundred which came to be known as Grubb's Landing.

During the colonial period, the town served as a stop along the King's Highway, and with its location at the confluence of Interstate 95, Interstate 495, US 13 (Governor Printz Boulevard) and US 13 Bus. (Philadelphia Pike), has long been a thoroughfare for travel between Philadelphia (20 miles to the north) and Washington, D.C. (100 miles to the south).

Claymont was so-named in 1856 upon the efforts of the wife of Reverend Clemson, pastor of the Episcopal church, after they had relocated from their family plantation, Claymont Court, in Charles Town, West Virginia.

The area developed from a primarily agricultural community in the mid-19th century into a suburban resort area for wealthy Philadelphia families, and in the early 20th century into an industrial working community.

Renaissance

Since 1993, several major revitalization efforts have been completed, including renovations of historical sites such as the Claymont Stone School, the Darley House and the Robinson House. The Claymont Renaissance Development Corporation, a nonprofit organization working to stimulate economic growth and residential improvement in Claymont, received a Sustainable Communities Award from the National Association of Counties. In what has been called "the single largest redevelopment project in Brandywine Hundred in the last 40 years", the 633-unit, 66-acre (270,000 m²) community of Brookview was razed beginning in 2007 to make way for Renaissance Village. In addition to the Claymont Stone School, the Darley House and the Robinson House, the Archmere Academy, Hickman Row, and Ivyside Farm are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Geography

Claymont is located at 39°48′02″N 75°27′35″W (39.8006685, -75.4596404), in northeastern Brandywine Hundred, on the ridge line between the coastal floodplain of the Delaware River and the upland piedmont area of northwestern New Castle County.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 2.1 square miles (5.4 km²), all land.