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DHS boasts more than three million items in its collections, but the majority of them aren’t regularly displayed.
In August, Artifacts After Hours: Glazing Over the Past brought some of those collections into the light, with a pop-up exhibit providing a close look at pieces including china owned by George Read I, one of Delaware’s signers of both the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. |
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The exhibit was developed by Read House summer intern Sarah Coates, who took a close look at some of the ceramics in the collection and guessed they might not be quite what they seemed.
Coates and collector and ceramics expert Keith Adams shared insights and insider knowledge with guests while offering a unique, one-night-only look at some of our lesser-known treasures. |
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As U.S. schools continue to be divided along racial and economic lines and the current Justice Department withdraws long-standing desegregation orders, it’s more important than ever to understand the history of civil rights and equal opportunity in education.
This summer’s Trail to Desegregation bus tours took participants into the halls of the schools and historic sites in New Castle County that became part of the United States Supreme Court Case Brown v. Board of Education that desegregated public schools in 1954.
The tours built on the success of the capstone project developed by Wilmington resident and DHS Board member Karen Ingram for her 2024 Master of Arts from the University of Delaware’s Liberal Studies Program. Ingram, who worked for civil rights attorney Louis Redding, envisioned the tour as an opportunity to bring people to the historic sites connected to Redding’s legal cases and put them into context through conversation.
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This year’s program took attendees to Howard High School, Claymont Community Center, and Hockessin #107c, where they heard stories about the local history that became part of our national narrative directly from people who’d lived it as students in both segregated and integrated classrooms, including Syl Woolford, the primary guide at Howard High, and James “Sonny” Knotts, who shared his experiences as a student at Hockessin Colored School #107c.
“It was a fun time of communal learning,” said Hannah Grantham, Director of the Mitchell Center for African American Heritage. “People came because they felt like there was more to learn, and they got to hear from the guides as well as other participants on the tour who shared their own experiences growing up in segregated communities.”
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This fall, DHS has a little something for everyone – from family-friendly Revolutionary War themed activities this Saturday at Spotlight Delaware Family Fun Day, to weekly documentaries about Black history and culture in our Mitchell Center Cultural Film Series, to a deep-dive into some of our collections with Medical Malpractice.
Crafters can visit the Read House to sew part of America’s Tapestry, and fans of music, literature, and spooky stories should join us at Old Town Hall or the Read House for this year’s edition of Shakespeare, Poe, and Fiends with Delaware Shakespeare. We’re hosting book talks with authors on social justice and the Revolutionary War and offering a hands-on preservation pop-up to teach community members how to preserve their own meaningful objects.
Can’t visit us in person? We’re hosting a Zoom event, Cliveden and the Chew family, 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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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?
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- Unlimited free admission – our Mitchell Center Cultural Film Series and America’s Tapestry events are included with the price of admission, but our members can access all the films and sewing events at no charge.
- Special member pricing for select events like Medical Malpractice on Oct. 23.
- Making History magazine and Delaware History Journal – Join today to receive the Fall/Winter magazine!
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August 20, 2025
This summer, Rebecca Fay, our Director of Education & Inspiration, spoke with Jennifer Lee of Fox 29 Philadelphia about Delaware’s history as “the First State” and why it’s important to learn about and celebrate the 250th anniversary of both Delaware and the United States.
Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram!
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From weddings and cocktail receptions in historic Old Town Hall, to outdoor events in Willingtown Square or the Read House & Gardens, to corporate meetings and luncheons in our spacious Copeland Room, DHS looks forward to hosting you!
Contact Rental & Events Coordinator Carol Washington for rates and availability. Members get a 15% discount!
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America 250 is generating a surge of interest in materials connected to the American Revolution and Delaware’s role in it. Naturally, a historical society as long serving as ours has a broad and varied cache of cool collections on the topic. For a collection manager, connecting “the stuff” at DHS to folks out in the world for creative projects and watching old material take on new life is probably the most rewarding part of stewardship. Musicians, visual artists and writers have often tapped into our collections for inspiration over the years.
With America 250 on the horizon, there’s been renewed interest in the Revolutionary War era from history buffs and students. Recently, two authors – from different continents – reached out to the Research Library & Archives for illustrations and manuscripts. Both authors have begun fictional accounts centered on colonial Delaware during the Revolutionary War era.
One writer, from London, England, is using scans from our original entries in Captain Robert Kirkwood, Jr’s handwritten journal to inform his plotline and the psychology of the characters. A few postcards of the Dover Green may be useful for illustrations in the book.
Kirkwood’s journal includes powerful commentary on the indomitable spirit of the American soldier as well as descriptions of routine military life in the Continental Army. |
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Kirkwood was born in 1756, the only son of Irish and English immigrants Robert Kirkwood, Sr. and Miss Sarah McDowell. The family settled a few miles north of Newark, Delaware where White Clay Presbyterian Church now stands. At the beginning of the Revolution, Kirkwood was commissioned on January 17th, 1776, First Lieutenant of Captain Darby’s Company, Colonel Hazlet’s Regiment. He received his commission as Captain on December 1st, 1776 and was transferred to Colonel David Hall’s Regiment as second ranking Captain. He served to the end of the war as Senior Captain in command of the Delaware Battalion. Kirkwood Highway is named in Captain Kirkwood’s honor.
A second author is working on a fictional tale of life in colonial New Castle, Delaware throughout the 1700s into the Revolutionary War. The themes of the work include meticulously codified laws of the early 18th century for the Province of Pennsylvania, privateers, industry and commerce along the Delaware River, and the Loyalist and Patriot mindsets as the American Revolution unfolded.
DHS collections provide invaluable insight into all these topics. Accurate depictions of previous eras and understanding of the lives of those who came before us depend on primary sources and personal accounts in historical societies like ours. DHS staff is committed to preserving and connecting these irreplaceable documents to future generations.
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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. |
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Paisley mantle ca. 1870s.
Looking for some vintage fall fashion inspiration? Take a look at this piece from the Delaware Historical Society's collection.
This loose, cape-like jacket would have been worn as outerwear and was an adaptation of the popular paisley shawl but, instead of being a loose wrap as in earlier decades, the fabric was tailored into more of a fitted cape to suit the 1870s fashionable silhouette. | |
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Where Were You When...? |
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The events we live through become the history that is studied in the future. Recently, the National Guard was sent to Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., with potentially other cities to follow. Wilmington, Delaware lived through a similar occupation in 1968, when troops were installed in the city for nine months, beginning after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., in April until a new governor took office in January 1969. The occupation had a lasting impact on the city and its residents.
If you lived in the city during that time, we want to hear your experience. You can submit your memories here and they may be included in our upcoming issue of Making History magazine. |
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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.
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