Rockwood Museum
The Rockwood Mansion museum is
listed on the National Register of Historic Places and sits on a
marvelous estate in Wilmington, Delaware, constructed in 1851 and
completed in 1854. The English country estate is an outstanding
example of rural gothic revival styling of architecture that was
built for merchant banker, Joseph Shipley, would constructed the
beautiful house to retire in. Shipley had lived most of his life in
Liverpool, England, where he gained great wealth, and the mansion
was inspired by his English country house, called Wyncote, and
designed by George Williams. Shipley again used Williams to design
the American home, even though he never actually came to the
property or inspected it. Shipley moved his whole household, lock,
stock and barrel, from England to the new estate, including his
favorite dog and horse, named Toby and Branker, respectively. He
also brought over his housekeeper, Audrey Douglas and his gardener,
Robert Shaw. In 1891, the estate was given to Edward Bringhurst,
Jr., his great nephew, after he passed on, and Edward brought his
wife, Anna and their three young children, Edward, Mary and Edith;
moving in in 1892. The family's oldest daughter, Elizabeth
Bringhurst Galt Smith, nicknamed Bessie, was married and she still
lived in a castle in Ireland, and she had been the one responsible
for the interior design and decoration of the elegant mansion, which
is pretty much the same as it looked in 1890s when the family first
moved into the estate, although the majority of the furniture was
imported from England and still adorns the house. The estate would
then pass on to Mary Bringhurst, who lived to be a century, and then
left the estate to her niece, Nancy Sellers Hargraves, who
eventually left it to an unnamed nonprofit so that it would be
enjoyed by generations to come. In 1973, New Castle County acquired
the mansion and numerous acres with the Friends of Rockwood becoming
the caretakers, and enjoyed a thorough rejuvenation in 1999. Sitting
pristinely on 72 acres, the mansion, gardener's cottage, barn,
porter's lodge, conservatory and carriage house, which is presently
under restoration; and a new visitor's center that opened in 2005.
There is a 6 acre historic garden located here that is encompassed
by a ha-ha, which is a sunken wall that was used on English estates
instead of fences to keep livestock away from the main house; giving
the illusion that the gardens are one continuous row, with curving
paths, and magnificent shrubs and trees that line the expansive
lawn.
Delaware Archaeology Museum
The Delaware Archaeology Museum
is housed in a historic Presbyterian church in Dover, Delaware that
was constructed in 1790 and contains over 11,000 years of human
history in the state, with excellent artifacts like bone and stone
tools, arrowheads and ceramics many of which were used by the early
Native Americans, then European colonists and finally residents of
Delaware. The church was reconstructed in 1790 to replace the old
log church that had originally been built there, and the ownership
wasn't changed until 1947; after a newer church had been built in
1924 to serve the congregation. Included in
the historical collection are some artifacts that can be traced back
11,000 years to the last ice age in the continent, as well as relics
that were used for personal items and glass pieces from the 17th
century up to the 20th. The museum is devoted to the continual study
of the human past, a large part of archaeology, but also includes
other disciplines that are a necessary part of an archaeological
dig, since the findings must be identified and analyzed by experts
in their related fields; especially in the use of historical
archaeologists. The museum opened in 1950, with the continuing
upkeep of the cemetery that surrounds the church and contains the
remains of many distinguished Delaware residents. These include
Colonel John Haslet, the commander of the Delaware Regiment who had
been killed in the Battle of Princeton in 1777, John M. Clayton
(1767-1857) US Secretary of State; Governor Jacob Stout (1767-1857);
Governor Charles Polk (1788-1857) and Governor J. Caleb Boggs
(1909-1993). The church had been the location of the 2nd State
Constitutional convention in 1791-1792 that was chaired by John
Dickerson, and the 3rd State Constitutional convention that was held
in 1831, and put on the list of the National Register of Historic
Places in 1972.
