District Profile and History

The Seaford School District, based in the town of Seaford, Delaware, encompasses 82 square miles in the southwest corner of Sussex County. It serves the communities of Seaford and Blades and consists of four elementary, one middle and one high school, serving approximately 3,500 students in grades pre-K through 12.

The Nanticoke people and their ancestors originally inhabited the area at the head of the Nanticoke River where Seaford now sits as far back as 6,000 years ago. As European settlers arrived in the 1600s, the area became central to the agriculture of the British colonies and eventually the young United States.

The town of Seaford was chartered in April of 1865 after the end of the Civil War, and since then has figured significantly in the economy of Sussex County. Thanks to its proximity to the river, Seaford was a center of Delaware’s oyster harvesting industry. While tobacco was the main cash crop in the 18th and 19th centuries, poultry farming emerged as the dominant economic driver in the 1920s, supported by the cultivation of grain and corn for chicken feed.

In 1939, DuPont established its first nylon manufacturing facility in Seaford, providing significant economic gains to the town, employing a large number of its residents and forming the basis of Seaford’s designation as “Nylon Capital of the World.” DuPont closed the plant in 2004 after selling off its fibers division.

Since then, Seaford has reestablished itself as a wonderful place to grow up and a thriving and economically vibrant community, emphasizing its small-town charm, proximity to the Nanticoke River and its many natural attractions, the Delaware beaches and Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Seaford School District works in tandem with these efforts to help our students grow into successful, educated adults who will help our community thrive.