- Archaic period - Thousands of years ago Native Americans settle in the region. The Opasiskunk settlement of the Lenni Lenape was located in the present day Delaware and Pennsylvania Preserves
- 1625-1650 - European settlements by Dutch and Swedes began in Delaware and Pennsylvania.
- 1680-1705 - King of England gives William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania, a land grant to charter the states of Delaware and Pennsylvania.
- 1683 - Chief Kekelappen, of the Lenni Lenape sells a tract of land to William Penn that includes the area of present-day White Clay Creek.
- Late 1600's - Farms and small mills arise in the White Clay Creek Valley, the latter using the White Clay Creek to run the water-powered mills.
- 1764 - The famous survey team of Mason and Dixon begin their survey which will determine Delaware's borders with Maryland and Pennsylvania.
- 1870's - The Wilmington and Western and the Pomeroy and Newark Railroad tracks were laid through the Landenberg area to ship farm produce, crushed limestone, and milled goods to markets in Delaware.
- 1960 - A dam is proposed for White Clay Creek to create a water supply reservoir.
- 1965 - Citizen opposition to the dam results in the incorporation of the White Clay Watershed Association.
- 1968 - The State of Delaware begins land acquisition efforts, creating Walter S. Carpenter State Park, later renamed White Clay Creek State Park.
- Mid 1970s - Plans for a White Clay Creek dam are abandoned amidst opposition from citizens, United Auto Workers' members, and conservation organizations as well as new studies predicting lower future water needs.
- 1984 - The DuPont Company donates almost 1700 acres to the states of Pennsylvania and Delaware for inclusion in the White Clay Creek Bi-state Preserve to ensure its protection.
- 2000 - White Clay Creek is designated as a National Wild and Scenic River.
- 2005 - Total area of Pennsylvania's White Clay Creek Preserve and Delaware's White Clay Creek State Park and Preserve totals 5,000 acres after a series of land acquisitions in the preceding two decades.
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