Holy Trinity Church, Wilmington, DE - Philatelic Photographs on Waymarking.com

In the early part of the 17th century, Sweden was a leading European power. As such it wanted to get in on the European expansion that was beginning to take place in North America. In 1638, a small group of Swedish and Finnish settlers arrived in what is now Wilmington Delaware. This was less than 30 years after the English had established Jamestown in Virginia and less than 20 years after the Pilgrims landed in Massachusetts. They built a fort named Fort Christina after Queen Christina of Sweden and declared the whole area “New Sweden.” Although the Dutch had already claimed that area as part of "New Netherland," they had yet to establish any settlements there.

Over the next several years more colonists arrived and established settlements on both sides of the Delaware River (or South River as it was known then) as far north as present day Trenton, NJ. But New Sweden was to be a short-lived entity. In less than 20 years, the Dutch had reclaimed the area but allowed New Sweden to continue as an autonomous territory called the "Swedish Nation." Eventually, England wrested control of the entire region from the Dutch and with the arrival of William Penn and the Quakers in 1682, the "Swedish Nation" was no more.

The Swedes, who were predominately Lutheran, were allowed to worship as they saw fit but suffered from a lack of qualified clergy, religious supplies and permanent church buildings. They sent word back to Sweden requesting missionaries to attend to their religious needs. Three missionaries arrived in 1697 and established congregations at Tranhook (now Wilmington, DE), Wicaco (now Philadelphia, PA) and in Rattcong (now Swedesboro, New Jersey).

Soon after the arrival of the missionaries, plans for new buildings were conceived. The first of these to be completed was named Holy Trinity Church and was located on an old burying ground near the site of the old Fort Christina. It was dedicated in June of 1699 and is the building depicted on the stamp. About a year later Gloria Dei Church was completed in Wicaco (now Philadelphia) and is now the oldest church building in Philadelphia. Both are colloquially called Old Swedes’ Church, in fact, there are about eight church buildings in the area now called Old Swedes’ Church.

The stamp was one of a set of five stamps issued in 1938 commemorating the 300th anniversary of the founding of New Sweden. It shows Holy Trinity Church as it appeared in the early twentieth century. Also clearly seen on the stamp is the graveyard surrounding the church. It pre-dates the church building by almost 60 years.

Stamp Issuing Country: Sweden Date of Issue: 8-Apr-1938 Denomination: 30 öre Color: ultramarine Stamp Type: Single Stamp Relevant Web Site: [Web Link]

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