Kitts Hummock, Delaware

Kitts Hummock, Delaware
Unincorporated community
Kitts Hummock Show map of Delaware Kitts Hummock Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 39°6′9″N 75°24′8″W
Country	United States
State	Delaware
County	Kent
Elevation	3 ft (0.9 m)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
Area code	302
GNIS feature ID	214198[1]

Kitts Hummock is an unincorporated community in Kent County, Delaware, United States. Kitts Hummock is located on the Delaware Bay at the end of Kitts Hummock Road, southeast of Dover.[2] It was originally named "Kidds Hammock" after 17th century pirate Captain William Kidd and rumors he buried treasure there.[3] The "Hammock" referred to is the ecological version, meaning a stand of hardwood trees, and the name was inadvertently changed by employees of the Delaware Department of Transportation.[4] A hummock is a similar rise in elevation, leading some to believe the reasoning behind the name.[5]

Kitts Hummock Beach is an official sanctuary for horseshoe crabs, the state marine animal of Delaware and a "signature species" of the Delaware Bay Estuary.[6]

References

1. "Kitts Hummock". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
2. Delaware Department of Transportation (2008). Delaware Official Transportation Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware Department of Transportation.
3. "Place Names Reveal Loyalties, Eccentricities of State Pioneers". The Morning News. Wilmington, Delaware. April 29, 1958.
4. "Kidds Hammock Correct Name, Research Shows". The News Journal. Wilmington, Delaware. September 18, 1974.
5. "These 12 Towns in Delaware Have the Strangest Names You'll Ever See". March 23, 2020.
6. "EcoDelaware.com: Kitts Hummock Beach, an official horseshoe crab sanctuary"