The Delaware Historical Society is the statewide, non-profit organization that explores, preserves, shares, and promotes Delaware history, heritage, and culture to strengthen our community.
Our History
The Historical Society of Delaware’s (name changed to the Delaware Historical Society in 2009) story begins on May 31, 1864. Only a few months after the that founding date, William Bringhurst presented the Society with its first major collection piece, “A piece of the Boat in which Washington crossed the Delaware.” 147 years later the Delaware Historical Society has evolved and grown into a state-wide organizations with one of the finest collection of documents and artifacts representing the history of Delaware.
The development of the Society’s museum in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was slow, with artifacts and historical curios trickling in at a rate of five or six new accessions a year. In the early days the organization placed its emphasis on acquiring manuscripts and books for the library, holding public lectures, and establishing a publication program. These interest reflect a period of time when history was considered to be primarily a literary endeavor. The relatively few museum items received tended to be relics and historic souvenirs associated with famous people, battles, and events.
Civil War Draft Wheel located in the Delaware History Museum
Among the most important gifts dating from this early period are relics related to the Civil War. The conflict had just come to a close, and the Society had the foresight to accept items such as the lottery wheel “used in Wilmington during recent Drafts,” acquired in 1865, and seven flags of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Delaware Regiments of the Civil War, received from “The Survivors” in 1872. Three regimental flags of the First Delaware Volunteer Infantry were deposited with the Society in 1884. A number of swords, muskets, pistols, uniforms, flags, and cannon balls from both the Revolutionary and Civil Wars were also received.
Perhaps the slow growth of the museum’s collections before World War I can be explained impart by the organization’s lack of storage and exhibition space. From 1864 to 1872, the Society rented a room in the Wilmington Institute. This space was soon filled, and larger quarters were taken at the Masonic Temple and grand Opera House from 1872 to 1878. The Society then leased the First Presbyterian Church at the corner of Tenth and Market streets, a historic building dating from 1740 that no longer served the needs of its congregation. Efforts were made to acquire the property, but the church was unwilling to sell because of the increasing value of the land on which it stood. Thus, the organization continued to be faced with the need to find a permanent home until Old Town Hall was acquired in 1916.
Old Town Hall
Originally constructed in 1798, Old Town Hall had served as the political and social center of Wilmington for much of the nineteenth century, but by the early part of the twentieth century the city had outgrown its space. Although Old Town Hall was purchased by the Society in 1916. They did not move into the building until 1928. At this time, the first floor of the building served as a museum, while the second floor was a reading room and stack area for the library.
DHS Research Library
From 1928 to the 1960s the collections and staff of the Society continued to grow and it soon became clear that the Old Town Hall building could no longer adequately meet the needs of both the museum and the library. From 1964 to 1968, the Old Town Hall building was again restored, this time to serve exclusively as a museum. The library and administrative offices were relocated to rented spaced across the street until in 1971 when the Artisan Bank Building was purchased and renovated to make it the Societies new library and administrative offices (officially opening in 1973).
The decade of the 1970′s brought even greater physical expansion to the Society, with he creation of an enclave of
Willingtown Square
four historic building in the 500 block of Market Street, which were occupied for the use as offices for curatorial
staff (today houses the offices of most staff members), a museum shop, and additional meeting and exhibition space. The responsibilities of the museum and size of the collection dramatically increased in 1975 when the Society took possession of the George Read II House in New Castle, Delaware and again in the 1990′s when the
Society purchased the Woolworth’s building on Market Street. The Woolworth’s building soon reopened as The Delaware History Museum and is now the home to the Societies permanent and changing exhibit spaces, as well as, the museum gift shop.
Read House
Delaware History Museum
Interior of train car
The final addition to the Society occurred in 2009 when, through a partnership with the Challenge Program, the society purchased a railway car for restoration and exhibit (currently under restoration at the Challenge Program headquarters building).
Today, the Delaware Historical Society allows the people of Delaware, the country and the world to experience Delaware’s rich and interesting history through its collections of museum artifacts, manuscripts, photography, and books. We are proud to be able to keep this very important history available to the public and hope that we will be able to continue to do so for another 150 years.
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