Tag: Delaware History

Mapping the Delaware Diaspora: Life & Legacy of Samuel E. Cornish

Join us online on October 19 to discover the life and legacy of Samuel Eli Cornish and his contributions to education, religion, and the Black print culture, from Delaware to New York. 

Dr. Anne Garner, from the New York Historical Society, will discuss Cornish’s life and work and the materials historians and researchers can use to learn about historical figures. Cornish was born free in Sussex County, Delaware in 1795. He organized the first Black Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, New York, and he co-founded Freedom’s Journal, the first Black newspaper in the United States, which spurred the foundation of the Black press.

Mapping the Delaware Diaspora is an online series that puts the Delaware Historical Society’s collections into conversation with other repositories around the nation to showcase the Delaware stories available to researchers and learners. These hour-long Zoom events with cultural heritage professionals and researchers will expose audiences to research methods, new stories of Delawareans, and the wealth of resources available to them in museums, libraries, and archives.

Tickets $5. Register here: https://dhs.givecloud.co/mapping-samuel-cornish
Zoom link will be provided after registration.

Delaware Community Preservation Lab

Every Delawarean has a history worth preserving. Yet personal, community, and organizational collections filled with photographs, letters, quilts, scrapbooks, posters, and other keepsakes are often at risk from humidity, common pests, poor storage, and the passage of time.

The Delaware Community Preservation Lab (DCPL) helps safeguard these materials by offering on-site scanning, photography, and video recording services. Visitors can bring in a wide range of items, including photographs, 35mm film and slides, yearbooks, scrapbooks, leaflets and other historic papers and documents to be carefully scanned and converted into high-quality digital files. In addition to flat materials, DCPL staff can photograph three-dimensional objects and record short video interviews, giving participants the opportunity to share the stories behind their items and preserve those memories alongside the images.

We’ve been bringing our technology and resources to sites around the First State, and in November, we’ll return to New Castle County with an event at the Delaware History Museum!

Participants who schedule an appointment at one of our digitization booths will receive a USB drive with their newly digitized files, along with easy-to-follow preservation guides created by Delaware Historical Society collections care staff to help them continue their preservation efforts at home or in their churches and community organizations.

Visitors can also stop by our Build-Your-Own Preservation Kit Station to customize a kit with archival-quality materials like acid-free tissue paper, folders, Mylar sleeves, and more, ensuring their items are well-protected for the long term.

Free event, registration required. Register here.

Questions? Check out the FAQ page.

Historic Perspectives Photo Walk

Explore Delaware history through a new lens during the Historic Perspectives Photo Walk in downtown Wilmington.

Presented by the Delaware Historical Society in partnership with 1865 studios, this guided walking tour invites participants to discover the stories, architecture, and details that connect Wilmington’s past to the city we see today. Along the way, participants will use their smartphones to photograph historic locations, compare past and present views, and learn simple techniques for composition, perspective, light, and visual storytelling.

No photography experience or special equipment is needed. Just bring a charged smartphone, comfortable walking shoes, and a willingness to slow down and see Wilmington differently.

The November tour will focus on the buildings and views of Market Street from 7th to 10th Streets.

Tickets $25. Purchase here: https://dhs.givecloud.co/historic-photo-walk

Historic Perspectives Photo Walk

Explore Delaware history through a new lens during the Historic Perspectives Photo Walk in downtown Wilmington.

Presented by the Delaware Historical Society in partnership with 1865 studios, this guided walking tour invites participants to discover the stories, architecture, and details that connect Wilmington’s past to the city we see today. Along the way, participants will use their smartphones to photograph historic locations, compare past and present views, and learn simple techniques for composition, perspective, light, and visual storytelling.

No photography experience or special equipment is needed. Just bring a charged smartphone, comfortable walking shoes, and a willingness to slow down and see Wilmington differently.

Tickets $25. Purchase here: https://dhs.givecloud.co/historic-photo-walk

Haunted Delaware

Get into the spooky Halloween spirit with Delaware Historical Society, as we join storyteller and author Josh Hitchens for a chilling evening of scary tales from the darker side of Delaware’s history.

Hitchens is a historian, storyteller, and author of the books Haunted History of Delaware and Eerie Delaware: Chilling Tales from the First State. Born and raised in Sussex County, Delaware, he has been a storyteller for the Ghost Tour of Philadelphia since 2007.

The evening will feature some of Hitchens’ favorite scary tales from his books along with a spirited Q&A with the audience followed by a book signing (bring your own books).

Tickets $10. Purchase here: https://dhs.givecloud.co/Haunted-Delaware

Ancestral Dream, Living Blueprint

An ancestor dreamed a church into being. That church dreamed a community into action. The dream continues. The blueprint lives in the people, not the walls.

Explore this temporary exhibition from Peter Spencer’s founding dream, through gathering and resilience, to the living congregation that carries the blueprint forward — even after the Mother African Union Church was damaged by a two-alarm fire.

On display in the Mitchell Center Theater at the Delaware History Museum through October 17, 2026. Exhibition is included with Museum admission fees.

August Quarterly Liberation Fest

Join the Mother African Union Church and the Delaware Historical Society for a Friday night block party to celebrate the arts during this year’s August Quarterly!

Incorporating the theme of the Harlem Renaissance, the evening will feature movement and dance by Pieces of a Dream Dance Group and music by Best Kept Soul Band, along with dialogue, food trucks, and other vendors. Guests are asked to wear all-white attire. 

This free community event is co-curated with the Smithsonian Folklife Festival.

Objects, Ideals & Delaware’s Unfinished Revolution

Objects, Ideals & Delaware’s Unfinished Revolution, a new exhibition in partnership with Alexis I. duPont High School, commemorates the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The exhibition pairs objects and archival materials from Delaware Historical Society (DHS) collections with a variety of themes in Delaware’s history, using them as a lens to determine whether Delaware has upheld the primary ideals set forth in the Declaration of Independence.

Under the direction of visual arts teacher Mr. Greg Thompson, students from A.I. duPont High School interpreted objects from DHS collections and created original artwork representing key themes in the state’s history, including movement and migration, civil resistance, agriculture and maritime history, and more. The artists selected themes that resonated with their own perspectives as Delawareans and submitted their art along with artist statements explaining their projects and what they hope visitors take away from the exhibition.

The exhibition is on display in the 2nd floor gallery of the Delaware History Museum through the end of 2026 and is included with Museum admission. The Museum is open weekly Wednesday through Saturday from 12 – 5 p.m.

Delaware Community Preservation Lab

Every Delawarean has a history worth preserving. Yet personal, community, and organizational collections filled with photographs, letters, quilts, scrapbooks, posters, and other keepsakes are often at risk from humidity, common pests, poor storage, and the passage of time.

The Delaware Community Preservation Lab (DCPL) helps safeguard these materials by offering on-site scanning, photography, and video recording services. Visitors can bring in a wide range of items, including photographs, 35mm film and slides, yearbooks, scrapbooks, leaflets and other historic papers and documents to be carefully scanned and converted into high-quality digital files. In addition to flat materials, DCPL staff can photograph three-dimensional objects and record short video interviews, giving participants the opportunity to share the stories behind their items and preserve those memories alongside the images.

We’ve been bringing our technology and resources to sites around the First State, and this September, we’ll be in Sussex County at the Lewes Senior Activity Center!

Participants who schedule an appointment at one of our digitization booths will receive a USB drive with their newly digitized files, along with easy-to-follow preservation guides created by Delaware Historical Society collections care staff to help them continue their preservation efforts at home or in their churches and community organizations.

Visitors can also stop by our Build-Your-Own Preservation Kit Station to customize a kit with archival-quality materials like acid-free tissue paper, folders, Mylar sleeves, and more, ensuring their items are well-protected for the long term.

Free event, registration required. Register here.

Questions? Check out the FAQ page.

Restore & Remember: John Bell House

Pack your gardening gloves and lace up your sneakers for a walking tour with First State Heritage Park followed by community cleanup at the John Bell House.

The John Bell House is operated by First State Heritage Park. It includes three historic gardens representing the three main communities who existed in Dover in the 18th century – Indigenous, Enslaved, and English. The three historic gardens utilize heirloom seeds of each community group as well as their unique gardening practices.

During this Restore & Remember event, in addition to helping with the John Bell House site, we will clean up the general Dover Green area that bore witness to the American Revolution, ratification of the constitution, and enslavement.

Attendees will participate in a walking tour with First State Heritage Park interpreters to learn about the history of the Dover Green and the John Bell House site. After learning about the history and the significance of these spaces to Delaware’s Black history, we will use our remaining time to do gardening upkeep and trash pickup.

Free event. Registration required: https://dhs.givecloud.co/restore-remember-john-bell-house