Houston, DE

Houston is a Kent County town between Milford and Harrington, just outside the Dover metro. Its footprint is small—less than half a square mile—but its history is unusually easy to pin down. The town was named for John W. Houston, a Georgetown lawyer and Delaware Secretary of State, and it was first incorporated in 1913 as the Commissioners of Houston. Five elected commissioners handled the first local government, along with a clerk, treasurer, tax collector, alderman, and constable.

ATTRFamartin / CC BY-SA 4.0

The town's current civic life still centers on that compact municipal frame. Houston has a town council, fire department, meetings, events, and a post office, while Milford School District serves local students. Broad Street and nearby Kent County roads lead toward Milford, Harrington, and Dover, with the old railroad corridor still part of the town's boundary story. Houston does not need a big footprint to have a clear identity: a tiny incorporated Delaware town named for a state official, built around local government, neighbors, and the road network of central Kent County.