Stroll With Me Through Old New Castle, DE

I have always liked strolling through the streets of Old New Castle, lined by carefully-designed sidewalks of red brick, most displaced by many years of growing tree roots.  It's always quiet and fairly empty, allowing me to immerse myself in some history without a crowd or the typical cattle-herding structure common at most historic sites.

  I strolled from Battery Park down a cobblestone street that led me to
                                 Clouds Row on Delaware Street.

 Clouds Row was designed as speculation housing in 1801.  These 
                                were called "trinity houses" or "band boxes" due to their stacked
                                designs of one room per floor and three stories high.

 Then I passed by this old building which has been noted as the David
                                 Finney Inn ca 1685.  This is now being used as a real estate office, but
                                 it's close to the old court house ... a great location to draw in those 
                                entranced by the community and history of Old New Castle!  Right next
                                door there's a beautiful Bed & Breakfast that looks small on the
                                streetfront, but which extends another house length in back and then
                                even further with a gorgeous garden.  This entire corner of town is 
                                steeped in antiques, interesting gift shops, and even has a gourmet ice
                                cream shop (try a sample of the A-Maizing Corn, Dutch Chocolate with
                                Belgian Chocolate Chips, Ligonberry Vodka, Saab Motor Oil, and Old
                                English Maple Walnut --- all fantastic and rich, but I settled on the Dutch
                                Chocolate) as well as a few other B&B's.

 Directly across the street is the Old Town Hall and Market Place.  This
                                 served as the community market place beginning in 1655.  It was also
                                 the site of the town hall and a firehouse.

 Then we have the 1732 Court House.  This was Delaware's first court
                                 house and state capital.  It was here in 1776 that New Castle, Kent,
                                 and Sussex counties declared independence from Pennsylvania and
                                 Great Britain, thus creating the Delaware State.  We truly were the
                                 First State!  The flags of the Netherlands, Sweden, Great Britain, and
                                 the United States are displayed on the balcony of the Court House to
                                 honor New Castle's proud and interesting history.  Here's some info
                                 from the pamphlet I picked up at the real estate office:

"The Swedes had landed and built a fort near present-day Wilmington in 1638.  Believing they had claimed the Delaware Valley as early as 1609, the Dutch took offense when the Swedes sailed up the Delaware River to establish a colony.  Deciding to uphold their claim, the Dutch Governor (Peter Stuyvesant) established a fort at present-day New Castle in 1651, naming it Fort Casimir.  This fort enabled the Governor to control the river and isolate the Swedish settlement.  As this strategic location made Fort Casimir a great prize, the Swedes fought back, taking the fort and renaming it Fort Trinity.  In 1655 the Dutch countered with an assault, regained the fort, and furthered their dominance by establishing a settlement called New Amstel.  In 1664, the English changed the young town's name to New Castle after they took control of the land previously owned by the Dutch.  The English then established New Castle as the seat of regional government.  Still more hostilities resulted in New Castle being returned to the Dutch in 1673 but, nevertheless, New Castle was again settled by the English the following year.

"Upheaval came again in 1682 when the Duke of York gave his Delaware holdings to William Penn.  Penn received a grant of the land from the King as repayment of a debt.  This land, now called the state of Pennsylvania, was also given to Penn to provide vast regions for the relocation of the troublesome religious sect called the Society of Friends, or Quakers.  Penn's lands had no free access to the sea.  Therefore, the Duke of York granted Penn his lands on the Delaware River to provide that access.

"Penn first set foot on American soil in New Castle on October 27, 1682 and the next day he began his journey to establish government in Philadelphia.  The Quaker government in Philadelphia set very conservative standards and their laws did not sit well with the residents of Delaware who were Swedish, Dutch, and English as they were used to the relaxes attitudes of the Restoration Monarchy.  Repeatedly petitioning for their own Assembly, Delaware finally broke away from Pennsylvania in 1704.  New Castle was then selected as the colonial capital since it was the largest city in the newly formed region.  Due to the turbulent revolutionary period, the capital was moved to Dover in May of 1777.  In February of 1777 John McKinley was elected as the first President (now known as Governor) of Delaware.  In September 1777, McKinley, who still held many State documents as well as the "Great Seal" was captured by the British and remained a prisoner for many months."

  Turning east onto Third Street we see the Amstel House right on the
                                  corner.  Built in 1738, this was likely the most elegant house in the
                                  town and was the home of Governor Van Dyke.  In 1784, George
                                  Washington attending the wedding of Van Dyke's daughter to
                                  Chancellor Johns in this home.  I participated in a tour of the home
                                  and was amazed with how many artifacts have been preserved with
                                  the home - definitely recomended, if you ever get to visit.

        
I then continued east on Third Street, passing these three quaint little houses.  The first was fairly close to the beginning of the street and the next two were more towards the end of the block, just before the Dutch House.  Adorable places to live and visit!

  Then I saw The Academy, a large building that lies in the shadow of a
                                  beautiful white church.  It served as the first private school for
                                  children of the privileged.  Children went to school from the age of five
                                  until the age of twelve, at which time the boys would graduate to go
                                  on to university and the girls would return home to learn womanly 
                                  duties of the time, such as embroidery, entertaining, etiquette,
                                  etc.  The New Castle Library Company was established in this building
                                  in 1812 and during the mid-1800s it was turned into a public school
                                  and operated as such until the 1930s.

 
Looming as tall as the neighboring trees is the tower of the Immanuel Church, built in 1703 (the tower was completed later, in 1822).  This picture was impressive to me because the sun was hitting the top of the tower in such a way that the cross ornament shines almost as if it is levitating above the church.  The congregation was founded in 1689 and was the first Anglican parish in Delaware.  The building began as a small structure but was enlarged during the Federal period.  A fire in 1980 burned all but the walls (7 parishioners lost their lives and were laid to rest within the foundation of the new church) which were used in reconstructing the church.  I walked around the back of The Academy and Immanuel Church along Harmony Street and onto Market Street to enter the cemetery and church yard.  The cemetery contains many of Delaware's most important historical figures, including Governors and Senators, as well as a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

 Now on Market Street, I'm passing the Arsenal.  The building was built
                                 by the Federal government to serve as a repository for ammunition
                                 storage for the War of 1812 and the Mexican War. In 1852 it became a
                                 public school and now serves as a restuarant.

 As the day begins to come to a close, I walk back towards my car
                                parked at Battery Park.  I stop to take one more look back towards the
                                town and waterfront.  In the distance I can see the white picket fence
                                surrounding the white New Castle-Frenchtown Railroad Ticket Office
                                (on the right).  The railroad followed a route used  by the native
                                population before the Europeans arrived and connected the Delaware
                                River with the Elk River, which flows into the Chesapeake.  It was this
                                route that created New Castle's wealth after the Revolution.  A toll road
                                was developed here in the 1780s and by the 1820s the rail line was
                                laid.  The rail traffic was horse drawn until a steam engine was
                                purchased from Great Britain in 1832.  The Battery extends beyond and
                                along the waterfront.  Here visitors can see the earthwork terraces of
                                early fortifications erected to control river traffic.  Battery Park itself was
                                swampland until it was filled a developed in 1939.

Now there's nothing left to do except watch the waves of the Delaware River, stroll along the waterfront in the park, and make my way back home again.  I have a few more buildings to visit here and I'd like to take a tour of the Dutch House.  Perhaps I'll share that with you in the spring!

I have lived in Delaware for eleven years after having been born and raised on the West Coast ... and I have not until now learned much of anything about its history.  I have always loved learning about the Revolutionary War period, but didn't know that New Castle played into it at all.  New Castle was one of the beginnings to our country since its residents (regardless of their lineage) became Americans as we fought for Independence from England's rule.  Truly interesting stuff! At the end of the day I've spent $4 for the Amstel House tour (could have combined it with a tour of the Dutch House for $7) and $4 on an ice cream.  Quite an inexpensive, pleasurable trip to a local historical site!