Kitts Hummock, Delaware | |
|---|---|
  Kitts Hummock  Kitts Hummock | |
| Coordinates: 39°6′9″N 75°24′8″W / 39.10250°N 75.40222°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Delaware |
| County | Kent |
| Elevation | 3 ft (0.9 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| Area code | 302 |
| GNIS feature ID | 214198[1] |
Kitts Hummock is an unincorporated community in Kent County, Delaware, United States. Kitts Hummock is located on the Delaware Bay at the end of Kitts Hummock Road, southeast of Dover.[2] It was originally named "Kidds Hammock" after 17th century pirate Captain William Kidd and rumors he buried treasure there.[3] The "Hammock" referred to is the ecological version, meaning a stand of hardwood trees, and the name was inadvertently changed by employees of the Delaware Department of Transportation.[4] A hummock is a similar rise in elevation, leading some to believe the reasoning behind the name.[5]
Kitts Hummock Beach is an official sanctuary for horseshoe crabs, the state marine animal of Delaware and a "signature species" of the Delaware Bay Estuary.[6]
- ^ "Kitts Hummock". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ^ Delaware Department of Transportation (2008). Delaware Official Transportation Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware Department of Transportation.
- ^ "Place Names Reveal Loyalties, Eccentricities of State Pioneers". The Morning News. Wilmington, Delaware. April 29, 1958.
- ^ "Kidds Hammock Correct Name, Research Shows". The News Journal. Wilmington, Delaware. September 18, 1974.
- ^ "These 12 Towns in Delaware Have the Strangest Names You'll Ever See". March 23, 2020.
- ^ "EcoDelaware.com: Kitts Hummock Beach, an official horseshoe crab sanctuary"