Holy Trinity (Old Swedes ) Church was constructed in 1698 by Swedish residents in the town of Christinahamn which is now called Wilmington. It has been the site for many historical and Scandinavian celebrations
The Hendrickson House originally stood on the Boeing property in Delaware County. It was dismantled piece by piece and brought down to Wilmington where it stands today. The oldest section was built in 1690 and is the birthplace of John Morton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
	The colonial charter was granted in 1637 and Peter Minuit set sail on the Kalmar Nyckel. He established Fort Christina at what is now Wilmington DE. The town was called Christinahamn.
In the winter of 1638, the Kalmar Nyckel and the Fogel Grip brought the first 24 Swedish settlers to the shores of the Delaware River. Recently rebuilt, the new Kalmar Nyckel serves as a floating ambassador for Wilmington. The tallest mast rises 100 feet into the air. It also ahs cannons, massive timbers, and ornate wood carvings. There are 7,600 feet of sails and 9 miles of rigging.

Located in present day Wilmington, Delaware along the Christiana River, this was the anchor for the colony of New Sweden. When Peter Minuit set out for America, he did so in two second hand ships--the Kalmar Nyckel, a merchant ship, and the Fogel Grip, a naval vessel. On board were 23 Swedish soldiers and a crew that was half Dutch and half Swedish. On November, 20, 1637, the ship set sail from Gothenberg, Sweden, and arrived in the Delaware River in March, 1638. Today, the spot where Peter Minuit set foot on land is marked by a monument of black granite on the waterfront in Wilmington. The monument is inside Fort Christina. The ship's cargo consisted of cloth, axes, hatchets, adzes, knives, tobacco pipes, mirrors and looking glasses, chains and finger rings, combs, earrings, hoes, and spades. They also brought peach trees which they introduced to America. Work on a stockade began immediately. Later, log cabins were built at Fort Christina and the concept spread throughout the colonies.

The soldiers and farmers worked hard, clearing land and farming crops. Each Swede and Finn could eat up to four meals per day and enjoy bastus or saunas as a way of relaxing and bathing.

The fort served as a trading post in the beginning. As time went on and settlers understood that the Minquas meant no harm, settlers began to move out of the fot and into clearings along the river.

In 1655, Peter Stuyvesant sent a large fleet of armed vesels to occupy Fort Christina because of an argument over who owned the land. The Native Americans sold the same piece of land to both the Swedes and Dutch. The Swedes surrendered peacefully since they weren't prepared to fight. The Dutch took over the colony but the Swedes and Finns continued to live as they always had with their traditions and customs.

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