The Historic Town of New Castle, DE

Soft breezes move from the river over the cobblestone streets and through the quiet town where preservanists have saved this seafaring port's history. Stroll along the brick walkways and cobblestone streets and instantly step into a town that was first settled by the Swedes in 1640, then by Dutchman. William Penn landed in New Castle in 1682. This town was the bustling port for Dutch, Swedish, English, and Finnish settlers and traders in the 17th century.

The New Castle Historical Society's decorative arts and archival collections on display in the Dutch House and the Amstel House span over 300 years of local and national history. The furniture, ceramics, textiles, watercolors, photographs, silver collection, books, manuscripts, documents, and newspapers of early colonial life are preserved in these houses. The archival collection contains over 1,000 photographs of the town and waterfront in the 19th and 20th centuries. The kas (a cupboard) originated in the 1740-1770. The Queen Anne yoke back, duck foot side chairs in old paint stamped "Coutant" and the Delft ceramics reflect the town's early Dutch period.

The Amstel House is an early Georgian residence that reflects the refinement and style of the early 1700s. The unique five bay, gable-end facade was built by Dr. John Finney in the 1730s. The Amstel House Garden has a Renaissance-era pilaster, originally from London Bridge, topped with a 1789 English sundial. The public and private Gardens and Battery Park are havens from a slower relaxing life of our ancestors.

The Old Library Museum is an 1892 hexagonal brick structure. Sunlight radiates from the soaring skylight and draws the eye to the extensive, breathtaking original interior woodwork. The Stitchery Exhibit, the Artifacts of Childhood Exhibit, and the Passing on the Story: African-Americans in New Castle Exhibit reflect colonial life.