Delaware Route 8
State highway in Kent County, Delaware, United States
Delaware Route 8 (DE 8) is a state highway located in Kent County in the U.S. state of Delaware. It runs from Maryland Route 454 (MD 454) at the Maryland border in Marydel east to an intersection with DE 9 in Little Creek. The route passes through rural areas of western Kent County before heading through Delaware's capital city, Dover, on Forrest Avenue and Division Street. East of Dover, the road passes through more rural areas. DE 8 intersects DE 44 in Pearsons Corner; DE 15, U.S. Route 13 Alternate, and US 13 in Dover; and the DE 1 toll road at a partial interchange east of Dover. The road was built as a state highway west of Dover by 1924 and east of Dover by 1931. The DE 8 designation was given to the road by 1936.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Delaware Route 8” as state highway in Kent County, Delaware, United States. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as state highway in Kent County, Delaware, United States. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 11, 2026. The first chronological checks are 1924, 1931 and 1936.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Delaware Route 8”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Delaware Route 8 primary sources, Delaware Route 8 archive and Delaware research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Delaware Route 8”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Delaware Route 8” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.