Fort Christina
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HistoryThe site of the first permanent Swedish settlement in 1638. The colony became known as New Sweden and the fort erected was known as Fort Christina. The Swedish expedition was headed by the Dutchman Peter Minuit who had been hired by the New Sweden Company to guide the expedition from Sweden in December 1637. The expedition consisted of 50 men, in two vessels (the Kalmar Nyckel and the Fogel Grip), that landed at a natural pier of rocks that jutted into the Christina River at its confluence with the South River. In 1651, the Dutch under Peter Stuyvesant established Fort Casimir at present-day New Castle, only 7 miles south of Fort Christina. In 1654, the Swedes captured Fort Casimir under the orders of Governor Johan Risingh. In 1655, the Dutch under Peter Stuyvesant laid siege to Fort Christina. The fort's surrender 10 days later ended the Swedish colonial presence and the fort was renamed Fort Altena by the dutch. (details of the action and surrender are given in Carson, "Dutch and Swedish Settlements on the Delaware", PaMHB:13‑15). The fort remained under New Netherlands until the English took over in 1665. Under English rule, the fort fell into disrepair and had disappeared by the end of the 1680s. Current StatusThe site is now a park marked by a black granite monument to the original settlement.
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