About Arasapha
Arasapha Garden Club, Inc., is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation. Its purpose is the beautification and improvement of Historic New Castle with primary emphasis on the Amstel and Dutch House gardens and the stimulation of interest in and practical knowledge of gardening among its members.
What Does "Arasapha" Mean?
View of the Delaware River at sunset from the Delaware Street pier in historic New Castle
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We don't know why the club chose Arasapha as its name when the club was founded in 1934. We know that Arasapha was one of the names of the Delaware River in the 1600s and 1700s. But we don't know why the river was called Arasapha in those days. There are four possibilities.
According to local legend, Arasapha was a Native American term for "the bend in the river,” describing where the Delaware River meets the Delaware Bay. But a Public Ledger Almanac from the 1870s says Arasapha comes from the word "arasaphe" or "it goes fine," meaning a river at all times navigable and useful. An 1877 book by John Clement, Sketches of the First Immigrant Settlers, Newton Township, Old Gloucester County, West New Jersey, mentions a tribal "king" named Arasapha. And a 1924 book by Alfred Miller Heston, South Jersey: A History, refers to the Arasapha Tribe. So the Delaware River may have been named Arasapha in the 1600s and 1700s in recognition of a bend in the river, the river's navigability, a local Native American tribe, or a local Native American tribal leader. |
Arasapha Board
Ceal Camponelli, Membership Chair
Alice Jarvis, Gardens Chair
Sheila Shannon, Holiday Greening Co-Chair and Board Co-Chair
Linda Suskie, May Market Chair and Board Co-Chair
Jim Whisman, Treasurer
Alice Jarvis, Gardens Chair
Sheila Shannon, Holiday Greening Co-Chair and Board Co-Chair
Linda Suskie, May Market Chair and Board Co-Chair
Jim Whisman, Treasurer
Contact any board member at ArasaphaGarden@gmail.com or by writing to Arasapha Garden Club, P.O. Box 126, Historic New Castle DE 19720. Arasapha members can use their membership directories, distributed annually by e-mail, to contact board members directly.