Northumberland role in the Industrial Revolution from the 18th century on. Many coal mines operated in Northumberland until the widespread closures in the 1970s and 1980s. Collieries operated at Ashington, Bedlington, Blyth, Choppington, Netherton, Ellington and Pegswood. The region's coalfields fuelled industrial expansion in other areas of Britain, and the need to transport the coal from the collieries to the Tyne led to the development of the first railways. Shipbuilding and armaments manufacture were other important industries before the deindustrialisation of the 1980s. Northumberland remains largely rural, and is the least-densely populated county in England. In recent years the county has
Delaware County, New York 2000, there were 48,055 people, 19,270 households, and 12,737 families residing in the county. The population density was 13/km² (33/sq mi), making it the least densely populated in the state outside of the Adirondacks. There were 28,952 housing units at an average density of 20 per square mile (8/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.44% White, 1.18% Black or African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.53% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.53% from other races, and 0.99% from two or more races. 2.05% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 23.9% were of English ancestry, 16.9% were