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Georgetown, Delaware is a city rich in history and tradition. This is never more evident than on Return Day, a biennial event that makes this town unique.
It all started in 1792, when the first Return Day was held because state law required all votes for elective office to be cast at the county seat. And with Georgetown being the county seat of Sussex County, voters in the county came here on Election Day to cast their ballots. Then the voters would return two days later to hear the count.
Now, election winners are known before the polls close, but the people of Sussex County still return to Georgetown every two years, two days after the election to hear the results and celebrate with parades, speeches, music, arts and an ox roast.
This all takes place in Georgetown Circle, a three-quarter-acre downtown park. In 1791 the purchase of 76 acres was negotiated and county commissioner Rhodes Shankland began the survey by laying out "a spacious square of 100 yards each way." The town was laid out in a circle one mile across, centered on the original square that is now Georgetown Circle. Created in 1860 as the town?EUR??,,????'???s square, the circle has long served as the site of Return Day festivities and for annual Christmas caroling. It is a quiet resting spot for local citizens and a focal point in this southern Delaware town. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
Renovations, completed in July 2002, included replacing the 25-year-old fountain that was cracked and leaking. A three-tiered, cast stone fountain, placed in a 30-foot diameter pool is the dramatic centerpiece of the site. Additionally, a new walkway system offers passive seating areas, two raised planters and large freestanding planters spilling seasonal color. Period lighting and benches, along with extensive landscaping, also serve to make the circle a favorite spot for residents and visitors alike.
Landscape Architectural Services, L.L.C., located in Dover worked with a citizen?EUR??,,????'???s committee and town manager David Baird, to ensure this public space would be functional, beautiful and compatible with the town?EUR??,,????'???s historic character. Rededicated in July 2002, the new circle restores prominence to the town?EUR??,,????'???s center. The project costs were provided by state and federal grants and local contributions.
?EUR??,,????'??We had worked on other historic properties in the past, but this is the most prominent one,?EUR??,,????'?? said Matthew Spong, principal at Landscape Architectural Services, L.L.C. ?EUR??,,????'??This is a modern interpretation of this historic square. The design is somewhat formal so it is complementary to the area.?EUR??,,????'??
As with any historic property there was a lot of community involvement. Spong said his team worked with a citizen?EUR??,,????'???s committee for about a year before the final design was approved. The major design element was the reconstruction of the fountain that was placed in the circle nearly 30 years ago during a restoration project.
?EUR??,,????'??The fountain is the focal point of the circle,?EUR??,,????'?? Spong said. ?EUR??,,????'??The original fountain was about 12 feet wide and the scale of the site called for something larger.?EUR??,,????'??
The fountain is now 30 feet in diameter and the tiers of the fountain are 12 feet high?EUR??,,????'??+seven feet taller than their previous height. The area around Georgetown Circle is now a traffic circle where four roads come together creating a traffic calming device for the town.
?EUR??,,????'??This is a focal point for the town and one of the focal points of the county,?EUR??,,????'?? Baird said. ?EUR??,,????'??The circle is a hub for the bi-annual Return Day, so it?EUR??,,????'???s always seemed to be a centerpiece.?EUR??,,????'??
Around the street are all the government buildings for the state, the county of Sussex and the town, including the courthouse which was built in 1791 and was replaced by the present structure in 1837.
It was restored in 1976 and now serves as the home of the Georgetown Historical Society. Spong said the scale of the fountain had to be visible from vehicles entering the traffic circle and it had to provide a focal point for the pedestrian space around it. The fountain was manufactured by Fountain Craft Manufacturing Company of Baltimore and installed by Shore Pool Care, Inc. in Easton, Maryland.
?EUR??,,????'??There is nothing historical within the circle, so we really had no special conditions to work within,?EUR??,,????'?? Baird said. ?EUR??,,????'??The goal of the design was to have the circle fit in with the character of the structures around the circle and within the town.?EUR??,,????'??
Before the 2002 work was done, Spong said the hardscape was mostly concrete with some walkways. There was some brick paving around the old fountain, but concrete still ruled. One thing Spong and his design team decided to do was widen the walkways because the original were so small it was hard for two people to walk side-by-side. They installed approximately 4,500-square-feet of brick pavers. Brick work on the project was done by Syrstone, Inc. of Rising Sun, Maryland.
?EUR??,,????'??Over the years the sidewalks had cracked and the fountain was leaking,?EUR??,,????'?? Baird said. ?EUR??,,????'??The landscaping needed to be managed and controlled. There was a hodgepodge of plantings in the circle.
?EUR??,,????'??When we took a look at what it would take for a facelift, we looked at a total redesign. The town council put together a group, and we went to work.?EUR??,,????'??
Around the fountain is a brick paved circle broken up by plant material. Cutting diagonally across that circle is a brick paved path leading to a larger circle that is also brick paved. This circle intersects two circular areas with trees planted in the middle and two half-circle areas that meet up with the diagonal pathway. There are four brick paved offshoots of this circle each with half-circle areas leading to the traffic circle.
Another key element to the project was the period lighting that gave the circle an 1800?EUR??,,????'???s Colonial feel, according to Spong. The fixtures are consistent with lights in other parts of the town.
Benches and trash receptacles that matched up with the design of the circle were manufactured by Keystone Ridge Designs, Inc.
?EUR??,,????'??We were able to improve the internal circulation with improved hardscaping, lighting and signage,?EUR??,,????'?? Spong said.
Plant material in the project includes eight willows used as canopy trees, along with star magnolia, crape myrtle, and sweet bay magnolias for understory. Southern magnolias were used for specimen trees. Shrubs include hollies, dwarf azaleas were used and ground cover was accomplished with lily turf and day lilies. Baird said large trees that were in the circle before the redesign were moved to other open spaces around the town, saving them from destruction.
Of course the project needed funding, so the firm worked with the citizens committee and the town manager to prepare preliminary plans and a project budget for TEA21 funding. The TEA21 funding provided $350,000 of the $500,000 needed to complete the project. Local legislators came up with a 20 percent match of the total project cost and $100,000 came from various state and local sources. Spong said it wasn?EUR??,,????'???t difficult to come up with the funding once the design was developed.
?EUR??,,????'??The landscaping in the circle is just now filling in and really starting to shine,?EUR??,,????'?? Baird said. ?EUR??,,????'??When the demolition started everybody was in an uproar, but now everybody is more than pleased.?EUR??,,????'??
Francisco Uviña, University of New Mexico
Hardscape Oasis in Litchfield Park
Ash Nochian, Ph.D. Landscape Architect
November 12th, 2025
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