Slow and Traditional Wins a Wave of Converts

"One thing small towns do at the drop of a hat is have a parade," Myers said. Georgetown's oldest parade occurs on Return Day, when state and local candidates -- both winners and losers -- gather to bury the (ceremonial) hatchet.

Since the early 1800s, on the Thursday after general elections, the town crier has announced election returns from the balcony of the courthouse. Opponents ride together, many in horse-drawn carriages, around the town circle. Winners face forward, losers face backward, and for a moment, campaign rhetoric is forgotten.

"This is not a tradition we've started," said Rosalie Walls, a lifelong resident who runs the Nutter D. Marvel Museum, where the hatchet and box it is buried in are kept, along with other Georgetown memorabilia. "It's a tradition that never stopped."

The question, "Does the camaraderie last?" elicits a good giggle from those who have been there.

Unlike the District's more famous Georgetown neighborhood, named for England's King George II, the Delaware town gets its name from George Mitchell, one of the commissioners who established it in 1791. Georgetown was built in a half-mile radius out from the town center and remained that way until 1986, when the town expanded to a two-mile diameter.

Since then, annexations have given the town's perimeter more of an amoeba shape. "Developers are pushing us southeast, between Millsboro and Rehoboth," Mayor Michael Wyatt said.

Ten years ago, there were just nine new houses built in the town. In 2003, building permits were issued for 56 single-family homes. Now, more than 500 new houses are planned or under construction.

Annexations were happening so fast that in January the town council voted to institute a six-month building moratorium, allowing time to build some order into the process and reassess the town's direction.

"We want to factor in open space, green space, what fits," Wyatt said.

Two residential areas in town, both within walking distance of the circle, give a sense of where Georgetown is heading.

Kimmeytown, a dilapidated cluster of 1900s frame houses, east of the recently renovated 1880 train station, is targeted for a makeover. In the late 1800s, large industries followed the opening of the rail line. Today, Kimmeytown has become home to much of the town's rapidly growing Hispanic population, many of whom work in local chicken processing plants.

Carlton Moore, a member of the Historic Georgetown Association, said: "There are lots of hardworking people there, pulling themselves up by their bootstraps, some working three jobs."

Moore said, "We want to build on what is left of Georgetown's heritage there . . . without displacing the people." The goal is to preserve the "front porch nostalgia" by keeping new buildings in line with the old architecture.

The new developments of Cinderberry also provide a look at Georgetown's future. Cinderberry Estates will include 65 single-family homes, many which are under a canopy of loblolly pines planted more than 50 years ago by the local 4-H club. The Village of Cinderberry will have about 160 one-story duplexes for people older than 50.

Georgetown's rapid growth gives pause to some.

Harry Marker, now retired from the Navy, couldn't wait to get back to his native Georgetown after a five-year tour at the Pentagon.

He and his wife, Betty, who are heading into their fifth decade of marriage, operate Marker's III, a tiny carryout where locals go for good subs and bad jokes. The laughter stops briefly as Harry ponders the development and road widening that threaten to force him out of the location he's tended for 11 years.

"My little small town isn't a little small town anymore," he said.