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As part of our Semiquincentennial commemorations, DHS participated in a film project jointly led by Thomas Jefferson's Monticello and New American History.
STATES OF INDEPENDENCE, an interactive digital exhibition timed to the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, offers an extensive collection of videos that paint an expansive and, at the same time, intricate picture of American independence.
The videos, roughly 100 in total, feature historical experts from each
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of the thirteen original states. Delaware's videos were filmed at our site in Old Town Hall with historian and archaeologist Chuck Fithian and supported by our colleagues at Delaware Public Archives.
The exhibition is the brainchild of renowned historian Edward L. Ayers, 2025-26 Fritz and Claudine Kundrun Fellow at the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies, and led by historian Andy Hammann. Like all of New American History’s resources, STATES OF INDEPENDENCE is available for free to the public.
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Have you visited Ancestral Dream, Living Blueprint? This new temporary exhibition follows the Mother African Union Church from its founding through the present day.
Speak "to" Peter Spencer, who founded the Church in Wilmington in 1830, and explore how the Church's history intersected with the history of the city and the nation through interactive maps and never-before-seen photographs from our collections. The exhibition is on display through October 17 -- be sure to visit soon!
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Then, come back later in October to see Breaking Barriers, Building Legacy, a temporary exhibition commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Mitchell Center for African American Heritage and the 125th birthday of Wilmington civil rights attorney Louis Redding.
The exhibitions are included with Museum admission, and admission is always free for DHS members.
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It's a busy fall at DHS! We kick off our Mitchell Center Cultural Film Series at the beginning of the month with Seeking Mavis Beacon, before shifting from film to music with Preserving Delaware's Songs. Join us at the Read House with folkorist Derek Piotr to learn about the regional folk music he's collected for his Fieldwork Archive.
We'll delve into old photographs and modern photography techniques with a new Historic Perspectives Photo Walk in October and November and, just in time for Halloween, we invite you to join us for Haunted Delaware, a night of spooky stories from the First State.
When it comes to family history, Flags of Our Forefathers, with Delaware Public Archives, will assist you in searching the types of records needed to apply for the Sons or Daughters of the American Revolution. You can also preserve family heirlooms and keepsakes with Delaware Community Preservation Lab on Nov. 7.
Can’t visit us in person? We’re hosting a Zoom event, Life & Legacy of Samuel E. Cornish, who co-founded the first Black newspaper in the nation, as part of our Mapping the Delaware Diaspora signature series.
For the full list and all the details of our upcoming events, visit our calendar.
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The Read House's picturesque gardens have been under construction all spring and summer, but they're nearly complete and ready to welcome guests!
The pathways were re-graded and widened to better accommodate visitors with strollers, wheelchairs, and other mobility aids. The boxwood hedge was removed to improve the sightlines in the parterre garden and return it to its historical footprint. Beneath the surface, the drainage was updated and improved to divert stormwater away from the House's basement.
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These changes will make the gardens more sustainable and more welcoming and accessible for guests, and we look forward to expanding the programming we can offer in these outdoor spaces, from educational opportunities to special events and rentals.
The final phase of the project is partially supported by a $150,000 Longwood Foundation grant – but only if we raise $150,000 to match. Visit dehistory.org/bloom to support the project and double your gift's impact.
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Members are our partners in the mission to preserve and promote Delaware’s unique history to educate, inspire, and empower people and communities. We can’t do what we do without members like you!
Why join?
- Unlimited free admission to the Delaware History Museum, Mitchell Center for African American Heritage, and Read House & Gardens.
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Free admission to our temporary exhibitions: Objects, Ideals & Delaware’s Unfinished Revolution (through Dec. 31), Ancestral Dream, Living Blueprint (through Oct. 17), Breaking Barriers, Building Legacy (opening Oct. 26).
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A complimentary copy of Making History magazine. Join today to receive the Fall/Winter magazine!
- Special member pricing for select events and rentals.
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July 4, 2026
We commemorated this summer's semiquincentennial with events at the Read House and the Delaware History Museum on July 3. At the Read House, guests enjoyed tea from The Mercury Cafe & Teahouse while learning about the drink's role in the revolution. The Museum hosted Delaware Shakespeare for an expansive reading of the Declaration of Independence followed by hands-on activities for the whole family.
Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram!
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DHS possesses a large number of original postcards designed by Ellen Hattie Clapsaddle (January 8th, 1865-January 7th, 1934), which we've sent to our friends and members in past holiday emails.
Clapsaddle is a fascinating artist and personality. She was the first and only female souvenir postcard artist of her era to establish her own enterprise and is generally considered the most prolific postcard and greeting card artist of the early 1900s.
Her postcards display a playful, whimsical, childlike spirit designed to celebrate the heart of each holiday or personal greeting, and they exude a delight in youthful innocence.
Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and 4th of July are all represented in the DHS ephemera collection and available to see in person at the DHS library.
Beyond the pure skill of the designs in her work and vibrant color choices, there is the intriguing personality of the artist herself. She had the unusual combination of artistic ability at displaying themes of innocence and the pragmatic skills of a savvy businesswoman and entrepreneur who also explored techniques of mass production for her designs.
In an overwhelmingly male industry and business climate, Clapsaddle overcame obstacles of gender and
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the grinding demands of international travel prior to the First World War to coordinate the technical side of publishing her art in Germany, which was the preeminent location of high-end publishing at the time.
She navigated language barriers, the Atlantic Ocean, and the rough and tumble business world of Turn-of-the-Century Europe and America all while generating art with themes of childlike innocence — a unique dichotomy. And she did all this without the aid of a spouse or wealthy family.
Though she was born is near the end of the Civil War, there's a connection to this year's America 250 celebration: her great grandfather was Revolutionary War hero Major Dennis Clapsaddle of Mohawk, New York. Major Clapsaddle was killed in action at the Battle of Oriskany in New York in 1777, about a month before the Battle of Brandywine here in the Delaware Valley.
The artist passed away one day shy of her 69th birthday at the Peabody Home for Aged and Indigent Women on Pelham Parkway in New York City. She rests alongside her parents in Lake View Cemetery in Richfield Springs, upstate New York.
It would be no surprise if her life and work were someday commemorated in a play or movie about "The Remarkable Ellen Clapsaddle."
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Ed Richi is the Curator of Printed Materials at DHS.
Visit our website to learn more about our Research Library & Archives and available research services or to book an appointment.
| | | | Your support helps us to preserve and present priceless collections and to keep telling all the ever-expanding stories of Delaware’s past and present in new ways. | | | | |
