It tells the unique story of the early settlement of the Delaware Valley by the Dutch, Swedes, Finns, and English and their relationship with Native Americans.

As I tell people, while Virginia was jailing Baptists and New England was burning Quakers, there was freedom of religion on the Delaware River even before William Penn arrived.

"[4] The sites contained within the park are: The New Castle Court House, which dates back to 1730, is one of the oldest courthouses in the country and played a role in a number of historic events that shaped the nation.

In 1848, U.S. Chief Justice Roger Taney presided over a series of trials in the Court House when prominent Quaker abolitionists and Underground Railroad conductors Thomas Garrett and John Hunn were accused of violating the Fugitive Slave Act.

It is located a block away from the spot where William Penn first arrived in America in 1682, and is bounded by several historic structures, including the Court House, the 1809 federal Arsenal, and the 1703 Immanuel Episcopal Church on the Green where founder George Read is buried.

Brandywine Valley (formerly Beaver Valley) consists of land originally purchased in the early 1900s by Quaker industrialist and conservationist William Poole Bancroft, whose goal it was to preserve as much land as possible along the Brandywine River to ensure its scenic rural beauty remained for future generations as the cities of Wilmington and Philadelphia continued to expand.

Much of the land has remained unchanged since it was set aside for preservation, and it includes forests and rolling farmsteads that were once primarily settled by the Quakers who followed Penn to America.

Brandywine Valley is the largest component of First State National Historical Park, comprising 1,100 acres (220 of which extend into southeastern Pennsylvania).

Located in Wilmington, Fort Christina is an enclosed park that preserves the original landing site, known as "The Rocks," of the colonists who established New Sweden in 1638, the first European settlement in the Delaware Valley.

After negotiating with the local Leni Lenape to purchase the land, the settlers disembarked from their ships, the Fogel Grip and Kalmar Nyckel, and built a fort and town at this site.

The park is a National Historic Landmark and includes a monument by Swedish sculptor Carl Milles that was donated by Sweden for the colony's tricentennial anniversary.

His Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania and "The Liberty Song" (which included the first use of the phrase "united we stand, divided we fall"), were early articulations of the rights of the British citizens in America.

Beginning in 2002, Carper began holding hearings around the state and soliciting suggestions from residents for sites that would be worthy of inclusion in a new National Park unit.

These efforts culminated in 2006, when Congress directed the National Park Service to conduct a special resource study of historic and scenic sites in Delaware's coastal areas.

After concluding its study in 2009, the National Park Service recommended the creation of a National Historical Park including the New Castle Court House Museum, the Dover Green, Fort Christina, Old Swedes' Church, the John Dickinson Plantation, Stonum (home of founder George Read), Lombardy Hall (home of founder Gunning Bedford Jr.) and the Ryve's Holt House.

[7] The act garnered high-profile support from former Delaware resident Ken Burns, who had recently earned critical acclaim for his documentary The National Parks: America's Best Idea.