About New Castle's Old New Castle

On Sunday, Feb. 5, 2012 at 1:30 p.m., the New Castle Courthouse Museum http://history.delaware.gov/museums/ncch/ncch_main.shtml located at 211 Delaware St. in Old New Castle, Delaware., will present the program "Forgotten Presidents and How the Presidency Evolved." Admission to the museum, which will also be open for visitation between 1:30 and 4:30 p.m., is free and open to the public. For additional information, call 302-323-4453.

Led by historic-site interpreter Bob Vander Decker, the program will explore the lives of the 14 men who served as presidents of the Continental Congress. See info at http://www.russpickett.com/ushist/uscont.htm This convention of delegates emerged as the first national government of the United States during the period of the American Revolution through the ratification of the United States Constitution. One of those men, Thomas McKean of Delaware, served as the Congress' 8th president in 1781.

Although few houses now NEED fireplaces as their only source of heat, from the early days of our republic until the late 19th century, fireplaces were the main cooking and heat source in most homes.

The photos above show 2 houses, the first of which, Tomahawk, was built in 1772 near Hartly, Delaware, and which has been incorporated into the life of a modern family. The second picture is from The George Read II House in New Castle, Delaware, from 1801, which is a house museum with volunteers demonstrating open hearth cooking.

Now, you might ask, "What is going on here?" And the answer would be, these are the same 2 houses, but on the basement level. Some people look at the picture on the left and say,"That must be a fireplace." But they would be wrong. That is the support arch for the hearth and chimney above. A similar situation is seen on the right on the next picture, but in front of the support arch, there is a table set for a banquet. This is to represent the period of the last private owners of the Read House, Philip and Lydia Laird, whose ownership stretched from the 1920's to Mrs. Laird's death in 1975. The story is told that during Prohibition, the family had booze flown in from Cuba. The plane would land on the Delaware River across the street from the house (doesn't everyone have a yacht and seaplane mooring in their front yard?) and the cases carried over to the Rathskeller or party room in the basement of the house. This was said to be perfectly legal because they didn't cross any state lines, and it was all for the use of their family and friends (many, many, friends).

Historic New Castle Day last Saturday went well, lots of activities, Colonial troops in uniform, people in 18th and 19th Century costumes strolling around town, but today it was quiet.

New Jersey is visible in the distance in these scenes taken in Battery Park, so named for the hill which once held a gun battery to protect the town from pirates, who plagued New Castle, so they say. Between 1926 and 1951, a ferry operated across the river just north of this point and crossing into Pennsville, New Jersey. It ran until the first of the Delaware Memorial Bridges opened in 1951.

But today, a different type of activity was being carried out by a man from Wilmington and his daughter. Every Thursday, winter or summer, they visit the park. The man, who says his name is Ozzie, brings his harmonica and a list of patriotic songs to play for people like me, who hear him work the song out on his instrument. It really reminded me of my Father, who also played the harmonica. Memories! Anyway, Ozzie, a Marine veteran, wears his Semper Fi hat every Thursday in the park, and his daughter takes him for ice cream.

Another old timer in the park is this Paulownia or Empress Tree. The purple blooms have almost all faded away, but the tree tells a tale of 1700's ships full of Chinese export porcelain being unloaded in New Castle and the dried pods from the Paulownia used as packing material being discarded, only to later sprout and grow into these big, beautiful trees. The wood is highly prized in China for dowry chests, and I remember many years ago hearing that the Chinese were trying to buy trees in Delaware to import back to China, because they could not get enough of the wood for their daughters' dowries!

In a previous posting, we learned how J. S. Cornell & Son of Cherry St. in Philadelphia were restoring a Palladian window in the c. 1800 George Read II House in New Castle, Delaware. They were installing J-channel weatherstripping on the sides of the window. For residential installations, they do not use this type of weatherstripping on the bottom of windows, but a spring-type weatherstripping so there is no danger of bending it with frequent use.

Next we see Mr. Shainline attaching a piece of cotton sash cord to the window weight. (see Historic Window Guide--The Anatomy of a Double Hung Window for definition of terms in previous posting). Cotton is used to ensure the sash pocket lets the weight move freely, and care is made not to nail through the cord when assembling the window. An interesting point is that the weight of the 2 sash weights should together equal the weight of the window. Then we see the cord knotted and ready for the weight.

Here , carpenters install the window in the jamb. Note their little invention, a notched wooden stand to hold the window off the floor. This window is at the front of the house, which is on the far right of the building in this picture of the house with its scaffolding and protective netting in place for this Save America's Treasures project in Old New Castle, Delaware.

The original capitol city of Delaware, Historic Old New Castle, DE is a beautiful colonial riverfront town. It was established in 1651 and it is also where William Penn landed. It was originally settled in 1651 under Peter Stuyvesant with the Dutch West India Company. It was then captured by the Swedish in 1654 and was recaptured the very next year by the Dutch. In 1664 the British took over and that's when it became New Castle. Eventually this land was conveyed to William Penn. This transfer was contested by Lord Baltimore and the boundary disputes were settled by Mason-Dixon who if course were made famous by the Mason-Dixon line running at the south border of Pennsylvania and the western border of Delaware. Historic Old New Castle, DE still closely resembles what it was like in those days. Although most of the streets are paved over there is still one exposed cobblestone street. If it weren't for cars and power lines it would be hard to tell the difference between the seventeenth century and present day!

Delaware Street is the main drag going into town and it's lined with quaint boutique shops and some great restaurants. Continue on to the end of the street and get a beautiful view of Battery Park and the Delaware Riverfront. Battery Park is a great place for the family for picnics and enjoying all the events that take place there. There is Separation Day, Art on The Green, Day in Old New Castle and many more great events to enjoy. There is so much to see and do here in the Delaware Valley! It's really worth the visit to Historic Old New Castle, DE and there's so much history to learn about!

Below left is a picture of the famous Amstel House and the Court Houseon the right. The current structure of the Amstel House was built in the 1730s by Dr. John Finney who was a a wealthy landowner in Historic Old New Castle, DE. It is an architectural work of art and loaded with history including a visit by George Washington! John Finney was the father of David Finney who held many important positions in the town. The well known David Finney Inn stands in the center of town across from the old court house. There is so much more to see and do here, take some tours of the museums and old churches, relax in Battery Park and watch the activities on the Delaware river, have lunch or dinner at some of the great downtown restaurants. There's plenty to do and see in this lovely, historic town on the river and you can do it all on foot. 

Real estate in Historic Old New Castle, DE ranges from affordable to quite expensive depending on the location. The Strand which is down by the riverfront gets a bit pricey. If you're thinking of making a move to the New Castle County area and love U.S. History, this might be a place to look.