All of us have become so used to our surroundings that we take them for granted. Who were these local places named for, and why do we have so many unusual names on our streets, towns and other sites? From time to time I intend to do my level best to acquaint you with some of the names that surround us. Let’s start with the most important place name in the western side of Sullivan County—the Delaware River. Why is it so-called, and what does the name mean?

During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, England became a great power in world affairs. It was a swaggering, rambunctious time, with English armies and naval forces carving out the beginnings of the British Empire that existed for over 300 years. Queen Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen as she was called, rewarded her fighting men generously. One of these English heroes was Thomas West (1577-1618), a bull of a man, with a red beard down to his chest. (I have seen his portrait at the museum in Jamestown, VA.) The queen awarded him a title of peerage for his deeds, naming him Baron of Ware in Hertfordshire. Ware was, and is, a city in England, somewhat larger than our Village of Monticello. Readers of William Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” will recall the reference to the “Great Bed of Ware.”

The French language being the formal tongue of the royal court, West spelled his title in the fashion of the time, as Baron de la Warr. Spelling not being a strong point in those days, the words “Warr” and “Ware” were used interchangeably. Among his other perks, his lordship was sent by his queen to be the royal governor of the colony of Virginia, the queen’s nickname. Ignorant of the boundaries of his new command, Lord de la Warr sent Sir Samuel Argoll out in his ship to explore the unknown coast. It is possible, but not certain, that the legendary captain, John Smith, accompanied Sir Samuel. Chesapeake Bay was the last known point of reference. Continuing past this point, Sir Samuel came upon a second large bay with a sizeable river emptying into it, explored a bit of the river, and then returned homeward. Being a good apple-polisher, he knew what to name this major discovery of the year 1610. Not being a good speller himself, Argoll named both the new bay and river after his boss, running all the words together—the Delaware. Lord de la Warr was called back to England to report on his stewardship. He returned to his beloved Virginia colony in 1618, but the arduous voyage in the primitive sailing vessel was too much for him and he died at sea, red beard and all, in his 41st year.

Was he buried at sea? We don’t really know. The great river that he never saw, but which bears his title, continues to flow on its lordly way. The river extends up from Wilmington, the largest city in the state that also bears his name; past the docks of Philadelphia, where the river is a mile wide; past the falls at the head of navigation at Trenton; past the site where, one Christmas Eve, General George Washington and his ill-clad, ill-fed troops braved the floating ice and fell on the unsuspecting roistering Hessian troops at Trenton; past Stroudsburg, where the raftsmen from Cochecton, Long Eddy and Narrowsburg would pause to carouse on their way down to market their logs; past where the river splits the Kittatinny Mountains, forcing its way between Mt. Minsi and Mt. Tammany to create the breathtaking beauty of the Delaware Water Gap; past Port Jervis, where three states meet; past the recreational river that lies between New York and Pennsylvania and the counties of Sullivan and Wayne and Pike; up to a county that bears its name, on to the headwaters at Hancock—nearly 400 miles from Liston Point and the Atlantic Ocean.

The Lenni-Lenape Indians called their mighty river after themselves, but today even the Lenape Indians are better known as the Delawares. There is magic in the name.