Five trenches were excavated to a depth of 5 to 8 ft along the path of an abandoned railroad grade near the city of New Castle to investigate potential near-surface faults that may be related to earthquake activity in northern Delaware. Seismic reflection profiles along this line suggested the existence of significant faulting in the area, which lies along a postulated fault trend in eastern New Castle County. Subsequent drilling, however, failed to substantiate displacement interpreted for faults in the sedimentary section. Detailed examination of exposures in the trenches also failed to reveal the existence of near surface faults. Together these findings suggest that there has been minimal or no modern near-surface fault activity in this area of New Castle County.