President Obama created the monument along with four other national monuments in an Oval Office ceremony alongside Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, using powers designated under the Antiquities Act of 1906 to recognize historically significant landmarks.

The largest component of the First State National Monument is the Woodlawn property, a 1,100-acre (445-hectare) parcel of land located between Wilmington, Delaware, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The tract was set aside for preservation a century ago by its then owner, textile manufacturer and philanthropist William Bancroft, who hoped the land would eventually become a park. In recent years the property, a portion of which extends into Pennsylvania, has faced increasing pressure from developers.

The other sites included in