With some level of success, Delaware has tried to maintain a traditional downtown shopping area that includes the Delaware Commons pedestrian mall and downtown Delaware, a small mixed-use complex built at the end of the urban renewal era. Therefore, some in the community regret that downtown has lost vitality to an expanding commercial zone to the northwest suburban area of Columbus, Ohio. This area contains an increasing number of large retail stores and restaurants run by national chains. Others say the chain stores boost local shopping options for residents considerably, many of whom would have previously shopped elsewhere, while increasing sales tax revenue for the city and county. The tradeoff between sprawl and economic development continues to be debated throughout the city and the surrounding area.

Delaware residents support a popular farmer's market, professional theaters, the Ballet Met, the Central Ohio Symphony Orchestra, Columbus Symphony, Opera Columbus, Contemporary American Theater Company, the Columbus Museum of Art and many theater opportunities.

Politically the city's population is moderate to conservative, with most of the Ohio Wesleyan University voting for liberal candidates, and a majority of the permanent population being Republican. However, Franklin County, the metropolitan area's anchor county, is overwhelmingly Democratic. Delaware has many of the businesses characteristic of small American university towns: used bookstores, art house cinemas, craft stores, and vegetarian restaurants. The Arts Castle, home to the Delaware County Cultural Arts Center, offers classes ranging from ballet to fiber arts. Downtown stores meet almost any need. There are hardware stores, bookstores, a cycling shop, a music store, a candy shop, and gift shops. An antique store or two can be found also.

The dominant local newspaper in Delaware is a morning daily, the Delaware Gazette, founded in 1885. The paper is owned by Brown Publishing Company, Inc. Other local print publications include the Delaware News, owned by Columbus-based Suburban News Publications, ThisWeek in Delaware, owned by the Columbus Dispatch, Columbus Dispatch and the Transcript, the student paper at Ohio Wesleyan University. Local residents often subscribe to out-of-town papers as well; the New York Times is popular among many.

Tourists come largely for the unique antique shops, and enjoy an array of cultural offerings that is unusual for a community of this size.

The part of the Olentangy River now occupied by Delaware hosted a Delaware Native American village prior to the founding of the town in 1808. The Delawares called themselves Lenape or Leni-lenape, equivalent to "real men," or "native, genuine men" and were called "Grandfathers" by the Algonquian tribes because of their belief that the Delawares were the oldest and original Algonquian nation. During the American Revolution, the Delawares became a divided people. Many attempted to remain neutral in the conflict. Some adopted Christianity, while other Delawares supported the English, who had assumed the role of the French traders at the end of the French and Indian War. These natives thanked England for the Proclamation of 1763, which prohibited colonists from settling any further west than the Appalachian Mountains, and feared that, if the Americans were victorious, the Delawares would be driven from their lands. Following the American victory in the Revolution, the Delawares struggled against whites as they moved onto the natives' territory. In 1829, the Delawares relinquished their remaining land in Ohio and moved to present-day Kansas.

Delaware was a popular health resort for a time, and Ohio Wesleyan University was founded in 1842 in an old spa hotel (which still stands). President Rutherford B. Hayes was born in Delaware, but only a historical marker remains to commemorate the site of this event. Some industry began to come to the area after World War II, and the town continues to grow at a modest pace. The county is one of the fastest growing in the nation.

Railroads came to the area in April, 1851 as Delaware served as a stop on the Cleveland Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad. Additional raillines were added to serve Delaware providing access to major cities and markets throughout the country by the late 1890s. At the turn of the century, Delaware could boast of its own electric street railway system. In the early 1930's, electric inter-urban service was provided by the Columbus, Delaware and Marion system.

-courtesy of wikipedia.org