Situated strategically in the midst of such large urban centers as Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York City, the city of Wilmington, Delaware, boasts its own unique character as well as a fascinating and continuously evolving history that has spanned more than 350 years. Officially chartered in 1832, this determined community has steadily developed a prosperous business economy—fueled in earlier times by the demands of war and more recently by a liberal tax structure—as well as a dynamic residential life for the thousands who make Wilmington home.