A tradition takes hold
Although the date of the first Return Day in Georgetown is uncertain — it could have been as early as 1792 — the celebration has been held in Georgetown since about 1812. When voting districts were established in the hundreds in 1811, the trip to Georgetown to vote was no longer required; but the Board of Canvassers, presided over by the Sheriff, still met there two days after the election to announce the final count. The crowds kept coming, and the announcement day grew into a festival.
Over two centuries the day acquired the customs it keeps today: the Town Crier reading the returns to the assembled crowd, winning and losing candidates riding together through town in horse-drawn carriages, the ox roast, and — closing the political season — the county party leaders burying a hatchet together in a box of sand brought from Lewes, the old county seat.