Sussex County Press Release

Sussex County sponsors publication of book about local historic sites

Georgetown, Del., July 27, 2010: Sussex County’s history is going to be the central character in a new book set for publication sometime next year.

County Council, at its Tuesday, July 27, 2010, meeting, agreed to sponsor the project, which will highlight 50 historic and cultural sites within Sussex. The book, now in the early stages of development, would be published through the Delaware Heritage Commission, Preservation Delaware Inc., the University of Delaware, and the County’s historic preservation office.

As sponsor, Sussex County will collect donations and manage funds necessary to complete the project and pay for the book’s publication, though no tax dollars will come from the County, said C. Daniel Parsons, historic preservation planner. Organizers need to raise $23,000 in donations and grants to collect the content and print approximately 1,500 copies of the book.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for engaging the citizens of Sussex County, old and young, native and new alike,” said Mr. Parsons, who is helping to lead the effort. “This publication will be an insightful tool that teaches everyone about the history and culture of this county.”

Mr. Parsons said project organizers also plan to create an interactive program to complement the book, which will contain photographs, maps and 400-word summaries for each of the historic and cultural sites. The interactive, electronic program would allow users to click a site to learn about its past. It would be made available to local schools and on the Internet