| New Castle is a quiet town in Delaware.
Soft breezes blow from the river over the cobblestone streets and through
the quiet town. Walk along the brick walkways and cobblestone streets and
instantly walk into the past. The town's history began in the 1650s with a
dispute between the Swedish and the Dutch over the land. New Castle was the
bustling port for Dutch, Swedish, English, and Finnish settlers and traders
in the 17th century. William Penn landed in New Castle in 1682. The town was
incorporated in 1875.
New Castle is the home of three signers of the Declaration of
Independence: George Reed, George Ross, and Thomas McKean.
Attractions
• 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.
• The Old New Castle Court House is one of the oldest surviving
courthouses in the United States. The original 1732 court house was built
over the remains of Delaware's first court house of 1689. The Court House
was the statehouse and meeting place of Delaware's colonial and first State
Assembly from 1732 to 1777 when New Castle was Delaware's capital.
Significant events took place at the Court House involving slavery,
abolition, and the Underground Railroad.
• The Read House was built in 1801 and the Garden was designed in
1847. This Federal style house was owned by George Read II, the son of a
signer of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S.
Constitution. This early 19th century house has 14,000 square feet, 22
rooms, and a one and a half acre garden.
• The New Castle Frenchtown Railroad was constructed in 1832. Steam
locomotive "Delaware" pulled the train that operated in the pre-Civil
War period. This railroad was an important connecting link between the north
and south.
• The Immanuel Episcopal Church was founded in 1689 and built in
1703. Tombstones line the sanctuary. Tombstones in adjoining graveyard date
from 1707. New Castle Presbyterian Church was built in 1707. The
first congregation was Dutch.
• The New Castle United Methodist Church began as a small brick
chapel in 1820. The present church was built in 1863.
• The Booth House was built in 1730. The Arsenal on the Green,
Immanuel Parish House, also known as the Thomas House,
Alexander Home also known as the Sloopes House, and the Old
Academy Building are other historical buildings in New Castle.
Links
City of New Castle website
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