Middletown Town Hall is located at 19 West Green Street, Middletown, DE 19709.
Phone: 302‑378‑2711.
Neighborhoods
Middletown [†] is located in the southwestern portion of New Castle County, and the closest municipalities are Odessa to the east and Townsend to its south. It is located conveniently between Wilmington and Dover (approximately 27 miles from both), roughly 60 miles south of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and 70 miles northeast of Baltimore, Maryland. The surrounding area is still largely rural, but is increasingly becoming suburbanized. The aerial map also shows the town's convenient proximity to both the City of Wilmington and Dover, the railroad corridor extending through the center of town, and the Route 1 corridor, which is the primary state highway extending from Christiana Mall in the north down to Fenwick Island in the south of the state.
The area where Middletown is located was first settled in 1875, approximately 25 miles north of Dover and 25 miles south of Wilmington in the "middle" of the state's two most significant municipalities. It was around the 1750s that the name Middletown first came into use for the area, but not due to its position between these two cities. The town's name refers to its location midway on a trade route known as the "Cart Road" between the head of the Bohemia River on Maryland's eastern shore and the waters of the Appoquinimink Creek.
Schools, including the Middletown Academy built in 1826, were erected as Middletown's population grew. The regionally acclaimed school, which once offered students a classical education, is the site of the former Town Hall, but now serves as a small office building located just north of the intersection of Main Street and Broad Street. In 1855, the Pennsylvania, Baltimore, and Wilmington Railroad (PB&W) built a depot in Middletown, and the town entered into a new era of growth with the arrival of the railroad. The construction of the Delaware Railroad on Middletown's western border had the impact of drawing new development toward the northwestern side of town where most of its historic buildings are located today.
In 1861, the town was granted a charter and elected five commissioners to 1-year terms. By March 1866, town leaders began to consider providing street lighting. In 1873, police protection was provided for residents. The organization of the Volunteer Hose Company came 14 years later in 1897. In 1893, the first Light and Water Commission was organized, making Middletown one of the first towns in the state to have electricity.
The town continued to grow in the early 1900s. In December 1922, the Everett Theater opened and still stands in the historic core of the town. Middletown was reincorporated in 1923 under the Mayor and Council system, and in 1924 the town took over the daily operations of the water system. St. Andrew's School — the setting for the 1989 Robin Williams movie Dead Poet's Society — was founded by Alexis Felix du Pont in 1929. The town remained relatively small with little growth until its recent expansion over the past 30 years.
Since 1990, there has been significant growth in and around Middletown. In 2004, a proposal was developed for a 1,100-acre mixed-use development to be called Westown. Additionally, a Walmart Supercenter was approved by the town in December 2004. Many more improvements were added in the second half of the decade. These include the new Industrial Drive water tower and Appoquinimink Library in 2006, the reestablishment of the Middletown Police Department in 2007, and a new dog park in 2008. Additionally, Middletown Levels Road Park opened in May 2009, and DART bus route 43 began servicing the town in June 2009. All Main Street streetscape improvements were finalized in 2010, and Middletown Levels Road Park was renamed in honor of Charles E. Price in May 2011.
Middletown offers a wide variety of housing types and sizes. The historic center provides primarily single-family housing on consistently sized quarter-acre lots. East of Broad Street and north of Main Street are a series of multi-family units and duplexes, gradually shifting into single- family residences in the north. An apartment complex on Lake Street as well as new multifamily developments in the Westown area have added to the diversity of housing types offered.
Two- and three-story, attached commercial buildings front Main Street's western corridor, with first-story storefronts lining the sidewalks. These first-story uses include retail stores, service businesses, offices, restaurants, and the Everett Theatre. The historic center of Middletown is a highly walkable area, both between neighborhoods and the center and among neighborhoods. Important spaces, both commercial and civic, are within easy walking distance (approximately a quarter-mile radius) of most neighborhoods. The density of the center, in addition to the well laid-out grid that generally has sidewalks on both sides and rear alleys, ensures that the town is adequately connected. Streetlights ensure that these paths are inviting to pedestrians by adding an element of safety.
On Broad Street, immediately north of Main Street, are a collection of retail businesses. The Neighborhood House — a resource center designed to enable people of the Middletown-Odessa-Townsend area to improve their lives and to strengthen their community, is located farther north on Broad Street near Cedar Lane Road. Services provided by the Neighborhood House include a food closet and prescription assistance. The Town Hall is located one block south of West Main Street on West Green Street. Completed in December 2005 on the former site of a grocery store, the Town Hall is located within the core of the historic town center and can be easily accessed by foot and car.accessed by foot and car.
As one leaves the core of town, these attributes begin to fade. Crosswalks are minimal, streets become wider, and safety becomes more of an issue. This reflects Middletown's growth over the past 30 years from a small historic town to a fast-growing suburban commuter hub. Commercial development has expanded a great deal beyond the town core, particularly in the Westown area. Large big box stores now anchor the large commercial centers located in the Westown area along with many new restaurants and employers such as Amazon, Datwyler, Clarios, and Breakthru Beverage. Overall, Middletown now has more of a suburban character and auto-oriented design while the center of town along Main Street maintains its walkability and historic charm.
† Adapted from: Institute for Public Administration for the Town of Middletown, Delaware, 2022 Comprehensive Plan, 2022, www.middletown.delaware.gov, accessed June 2025.
Nearby Towns: Saint Georges •