Delaware Historical Society
Encyclopedia
The Delaware Historical Society began in 1864 as an effort to preserve documents from the Civil War
. Since then, it has expanded into a state-wide historical institution with several venues and a major museum in Wilmington
and the historic Read House & Gardens in New Castle
.
The society participates in joint marketing with the Delaware Tourism Office, the Greater Wilmington Convention & Visitors Bureau, and the Brandywine Museums & Gardens Alliance.
. This row is the historic shopping district and currently markets itself as the LoMa Design District to promote urban redevelopment. The complex includes an arch over the street.
Woolworth's
store, one of two
that used to operate on Market Street. Exhibits include costumes, children's toys and folk art.
. Constructed in 1798 in the federal
style, the building also included the jail and library. The Marquis de Lafayette received a reception there and President Andrew Jackson
was the guest of honor at a dinner. In 1851, the body of Senator Henry Clay
was officially laid in state.
construction. Started as part of the bicentennial
celebration in 1976, the square is named after Thomas Willing
, the founder of Wilmington
.
The buildings interiors serve as office and meeting space for the society but patrons can access the courtyard and grounds.
genealogy
, maps, and underground railroad
as well as a letter from George Washington
to Caesar Rodney
. Senator William V. Roth's
widow donated all of his papers to the library.
Located at 505 North Market Street, a former Artisans Savings Bank branch location houses the library. Tilghman Ware Company built the art deco
structure in 1930-31.
on the Strand, the George Read II House was built in 1801 by the son of George Read
, a signer of the Declaration of Independence
. The house was the largest in the state at the time it was built with 22 rooms covering 14000 square feet (1,300.6 m²).
The house also includes a rathskeller
in the basement that served as a speakeasy
. This dates from the 1920s when the Laird family owned the house and were bootleggers
. The house was restored in 1986.
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. Since then, it has expanded into a state-wide historical institution with several venues and a major museum in Wilmington
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
and the historic Read House & Gardens in New Castle
New Castle, Delaware
New Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, six miles south of Wilmington, situated on the Delaware River. In 1900, 3,380 people lived here; in 1910, 3,351...
.
The society participates in joint marketing with the Delaware Tourism Office, the Greater Wilmington Convention & Visitors Bureau, and the Brandywine Museums & Gardens Alliance.
Delaware History Center
The Society's Wilmington Campus is located between 5th and 6th Streets on Lower Market Street in WilmingtonWilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
. This row is the historic shopping district and currently markets itself as the LoMa Design District to promote urban redevelopment. The complex includes an arch over the street.
Delaware History Museum
The main museum consists of three rotating exhibit halls in a converted 1941 art decoArt Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
Woolworth's
F. W. Woolworth Company
The F. W. Woolworth Company was a retail company that was one of the original American five-and-dime stores. The first successful Woolworth store was opened on July 18, 1879 by Frank Winfield Woolworth in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, as "Woolworth's Great Five Cent Store"...
store, one of two
F. W. Woolworth Building (Wilmington, Delaware)
The F. W. Woolworth Company Building is a historic department store building located in downtown Wilmington, Delaware.-History:From 1940 to 1997, the F. W. Woolworth Company operated the store, this location being one of the last to close. The building then housed a Happy Harry's drug store and...
that used to operate on Market Street. Exhibits include costumes, children's toys and folk art.
Old Town Hall
The Old Town Hall served as the city hall for the Burough and later City of WilmingtonWilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
. Constructed in 1798 in the federal
Federal architecture
Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the United States between c. 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815. This style shares its name with its era, the Federal Period. The name Federal style is also used in association with furniture design...
style, the building also included the jail and library. The Marquis de Lafayette received a reception there and President Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
was the guest of honor at a dinner. In 1851, the body of Senator Henry Clay
Henry Clay
Henry Clay, Sr. , was a lawyer, politician and skilled orator who represented Kentucky separately in both the Senate and in the House of Representatives...
was officially laid in state.
Willingtown Square
Willingtown Square is a collection of buildings relocated from other sections of downtown to make way for high riseHigh Rise
High Rise is a 1975 novel by J. G. Ballard. It takes place in an ultra-modern, luxury high-rise building.-Plot summary:The building seems to give its well-established tenants all the conveniences and commodities that modern life has to offer: swimming pools, its own school, a supermarket,...
construction. Started as part of the bicentennial
United States Bicentennial
The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to the historical events leading up to the creation of the United States as an independent republic...
celebration in 1976, the square is named after Thomas Willing
Thomas Willing
Thomas Willing was an American merchant and financier and a Delegate to the Continental Congress from Pennsylvania....
, the founder of Wilmington
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
.
The buildings interiors serve as office and meeting space for the society but patrons can access the courtyard and grounds.
| Building Name | Built | Construction | Original Use | Relocated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cook-Simms House | 1778 | Flemish bond | Herbal medicine shop, Residence | 1976 |
| Catherine Coxe House | 1801 | Band Box | Residence | 1976 |
| Margaret Coxe House | 1801 | Band Box | Residence | 1976 |
| Jacobs House | 1748 | Flemish bond | Residence | 1976 |
| Jacob Dingee House | 1771 | Flemish bond | Cabinet Cabinet (furniture) A cabinet is usually a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors or drawers for storing miscellaneous items. Some cabinets stand alone while others are built into a wall or are attached to it like a medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically made of wood or, now increasingly, of synthetic... workshop, Residence |
1976 |
| Obidiah Dingee House | 1773 | Flemish bond | Cabinet workshop, Residence | 1976 |
Library & Research Center
The society provides free access by appointment to a research library with unique special collections. The collection includes work on DelawareDelaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
genealogy
Genealogy
Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
, maps, and underground railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
as well as a letter from George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
to Caesar Rodney
Caesar Rodney
Caesar Rodney was an American lawyer and politician from St. Jones Neck in Dover Hundred, Kent County, Delaware, east of Dover...
. Senator William V. Roth's
William V. Roth, Jr.
William Victor "Bill" Roth, Jr. was an American lawyer and politician from Wilmington in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a veteran of World War II and a member of the Republican Party, who served as U.S. Representative and U.S...
widow donated all of his papers to the library.
Located at 505 North Market Street, a former Artisans Savings Bank branch location houses the library. Tilghman Ware Company built the art deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
structure in 1930-31.
Read House & Gardens
Located in New CastleNew Castle, Delaware
New Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, six miles south of Wilmington, situated on the Delaware River. In 1900, 3,380 people lived here; in 1910, 3,351...
on the Strand, the George Read II House was built in 1801 by the son of George Read
George Read (signer)
George Read was an American lawyer and politician from New Castle in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, a Continental Congressman from Delaware, a delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, President of Delaware, and a member of the...
, a signer of the Declaration of Independence
Declaration of independence
A declaration of independence is an assertion of the independence of an aspiring state or states. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another nation or failed nation, or are breakaway territories from within the larger state...
. The house was the largest in the state at the time it was built with 22 rooms covering 14000 square feet (1,300.6 m²).
The house also includes a rathskeller
Rathskeller
Ratskeller is a name in German-speaking countries for a bar or restaurant located in the basement of a city hall or nearby...
in the basement that served as a speakeasy
Speakeasy
A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an establishment that illegally sells alcoholic beverages. Such establishments came into prominence in the United States during the period known as Prohibition...
. This dates from the 1920s when the Laird family owned the house and were bootleggers
Rum-running
Rum-running, also known as bootlegging, is the illegal business of transporting alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law...
. The house was restored in 1986.
See also
- Hagley Museum and LibraryHagley Museum and LibraryThe Hagley Museum and Library is a nonprofit educational institution located in Wilmington, Delaware. Hagley Museum and Library collects, preserves and interprets the history of American enterprise.- Hagley Library :...
- History of DelawareHistory of DelawareThe history of Delaware is the story of a small American state, in the middle of the original colonies, and yet until recently often overlooked by outsiders...
- StonumStonumStonum, also called Stoneham or the George Read House, was the home of George Read, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. His advocacy enabled Delaware to become the first state ratifying the declaration...
- List of museums in Delaware
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Wilmington, DelawareNational Register of Historic Places listings in Wilmington, DelawareThis is a list of properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Wilmington, Delaware:This page was transferred for reasons of size from National Register of Historic Places listings in New Castle County, Delaware, of which it is an integral part...