New Castle Court House Museum

10/16/2026

Looking for a way to celebrate this Halloween season while learning about Delaware history? Join us on Sunday, October 25, while we ask the question: how does fear make the natural world around us ominous?

MacLaren M. Remy will present "The Pup in the Pit," a short program that explores the history of wolf hunting in colonial Delaware, from Edmund Cantwell’s efforts to control wolves to the use of wolf pits throughout the colony. More than simply a story of predator control, it asks where these anxieties about wolves came from and what they reveal about how early Anglo-Delawareans understood the natural world around them.

Guided tours of the museum will be shortened to 30 minutes to allow visitors to attend The Pup in the Pit program at the end of a tour. Visitors can also attend the program without joining a tour.

Guided Tours - 1:30 pm, 2:30 pm, 3:30 pm, and 4:30 pm
The Pup in the Pit - 2:00 pm, 3:00 pm, 4:00 pm, and 5:00 pm

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Image Description: Drawing of wolf with gray fur and tongue hanging out of mouth, with text at the bottom reading "Wolf," "Lupus," and "Loup." Text added at top of image reads "The Pup in the Pit," "Wolves, Anxiety, and the Natural World in Colonial Delaware," and "October 25, 2026."

Image Credit: de Boodt, Anselmus Boetius. Wolf (Canis lupus). Wolf. / Lupus. / Loup. Wikimedia Commons. c. 1596-1610. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wolf_(Canis_lupus)_Wolf._Lupus._Loup._(titel_op_object),_RP-T-BR-2017-1-1-61.jpg.

10/06/2026

SAVE THE DATE!

The Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs (HCA) cordially invites you to the John Dickinson Plantation Visitor Center Opening and Ribbon Cutting.

When: Saturday, October 10, 2026, at 10:00 AM

Where: 250 Kitts Hummock Road, Dover, DE 19901

We are thrilled to open this new facility, which features dedicated community meeting space and exciting educational opportunities. The grand opening will mark the debut of our new exhibition, “One Land Many Voices.”

Following the ceremony, we invite you to stay and enjoy Revolutionary Trades Day, running from 10:30 AM to 4:00 PM.

This event is free and open to the public. We look forward to celebrating with you!

10/03/2026

❕ New Pop-Up Exhibit ❕

Belman Lui was the final proprietor of the laundry that operated at 123 Delaware St in New Castle from 1889 to c. 1950. He was a part of the community for 20 years, but his story remains largely untold. By exploring sources like immigration documents, census records, and newspaper archives, we can uncover many details of his life and share his life story as both an individual and a part of greater trends in immigration and the Chinese American community in Delaware.

This pop-up exhibit is made up of three panels in the New Castle Court House Museum Welcome Area. If you join a guided tour of the museum, you can explore the exhibit at the end of the tour. If you would like to visit specifically for the exhibit, please enter the front east wing door (You must join a free guided tour to explore the rest of the museum).

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Image Description: In the bottom left corner, there is a photo of Belman Lui, a young Chinese man with slicked back hair wearing a suit, and images of historical documents, including a US Department of Justice form, a form titled "Toyo Kisen Kaisha" with another photo of Belman, and a hand-drawn house floorplan. Text across the rest of image sits in front of a subtle bamboo pattern and reads "吕兆合," "Connecting a Million Notes: Uncovering the Life of New Castle's Last Chinese Laundryman," "Pop-Up Exhibit," and "New Castle Court House Museum Welcome Area (Enter front door of east wing)."

10/02/2026

In honor of International Music Day yesterday, we are sharing part of Raimundo Marquez, Jr's life story.

Raimundo Marquez, Jr, was born in San Diego, CA, on March 6, 1917. His father, who was a well-known pianist in Mexico, had fled his native country during the Mexican Revolution, and immigrated to California shortly before he was born. He began playing the piano himself under the instruction of his father at age 4, and he was playing in public by age 6. He was touted as a child prodigy, and throughout his childhood, he played recitals and concerts across the western US and Mexico and even played on movie scores for Paramount, MGM, and Fox.

Marquez, Jr, moved to Wilmington, DE, in 1935 alongside his father, who established the Raimundo Marquez School of Music. While in Delaware, he was a part of the WPA Federal Music Project and played piano for programs like radio broadcasts and plays.

He later continued the work of the Raimundo Marquez School of Music in Philadelphia, PA, where he taught students across the Delaware Valley. In 1940, he moved to Williamstown, NJ, and opened Marquez Pianos, a music school and piano refurbishing business. He also spent his free time playing at fundraising events throughout the community. Although he died in 2007, his legacy continues at Marquez Pianos, which is still open and run by his family.

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Image Description: Newspaper clippings and piano keys graphics across image. Clippings include photo of child wearing outfit with large shirt collar and bow and looking to side, photo of bald man leaning out of truck labeled "Marquez Pianos, Williamstown, NJ, 629-7577," and text reading "Raimundo Marquez, Jr, The Boy Prodigy."

Sources available at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1f9QM8ne4nLyS2_HmKmI2Ewm6rRTt60no1rYy9Zeu2rk/edit?usp=sharing

10/01/2026

09/29/2026

Today, we are highlighting two Hispanic Delawareans who worked at the DuPont Experimental Station: Dr. Alfonso Miguel Alvarado and Dr. Horacio Enrique Bergna.

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Dr. Alfonso Miguel Alvarado was born in Cartago, Costa Rica, on September 19, 1900. He traveled to the US for the first time in 1913 and began attending school in New Orleans, LA. After receiving his doctorate in physical organic chemistry, he spent a few years teaching in both Louisiana and Iowa.

In 1927, Alvarado began working as a research chemist for the DuPont Company, and his WWII draft registration card in 1942 specified that he worked at the DuPont Experimental Station. He worked on fabric coatings and was credited as an inventor on 15 US patents. When he retired from DuPont in 1965, he took a position at the Case Institute of Technology in Cleveland, OH, to collaborate with Mexican colleges and universities - a position that was exciting to him because of his connection to Latin America.

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Dr. Horacio Enrique Bergna was born in La Plata, Argentina, on February 11, 1924. He received his doctorate in chemistry from the National University of La Plata and received further training and education at Sorbonne University in France, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the City of London College, and Columbia University.

In 1956, Bergna began working for the DuPont Company, and when he retired in 1997, he was a senior research associate at the DuPont Experimental Station. He largely studied colloidal silica and was credited as an inventor on 31 US patents and more than 200 foreign patents. He also worked with a variety of arts organizations, and in 1968, he was the chairman of an exhibition at the Delaware Art Museum that highlighted contemporary Latin American artists.

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Image Description: Postcard of DuPont Experimental Station in background, with names from patent applications and photos of Alvarado and Bergna in front of postcard.

Transcriptions and sources available at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vfcHLXP9lDCpLG8jg2vthmpmp_60xtO0eWDnFGuU1tg/edit?usp=sharing

09/26/2026

Did you know that Miss Nicaragua lived in New Castle?

Esperanza Knapp was born Esperanza Araquistain in Managua, Nicaragua, on July 12, 1909. She moved to the US with her sister, Jacinta, in 1928 to attend a private school in San Francisco, CA, and she was introduced in newspapers as Miss Nicaragua because she had just won a beauty contest in her native country. She lived in San Francisco until 1933, and she was prominently involved in fundraising efforts to aid survivors of the Managua earthquake on March 31, 1931.

After she returned to Nicaragua, she married an American, James M. Knapp, on December 18, 1935. They traveled to his residence in New York City in 1936, but they had moved to Delaware by July 16, 1937, when their first daughter, Deirdrie, was born. They lived at 101 W 6th St, New Castle, DE, until at least 1940 while James worked as a field man with the DuPont Company.

When she became a US citizen in California on October 10, 1951, her children were taken out of school for the day so the entire family could celebrate. A local newspaper described her as someone with "a very cosmopolitan background" because she had "attended school in San Francisco, [...] France and England," was "a distinguished pianiste [sic]," and had "a diploma from the Royal Conservatory in Brussels, Belgium."

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Image Description: Black-and-white photo of a woman with a short, black bob. Photo is in front of a green stamp with text reading "Nicaragua" and "Reconstrucción." Newspaper clipping at bottom reads "Senorita Esperanza Araquistain."

Sources available at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qG2lEchM21dbrDor04QOJNBBqRyJWNMrTpSFVbXJA4M/edit?usp=sharing

09/25/2026

Join us TOMORROW to learn about the first Delaware Constitution in the building where it was created!

❕ Next Week ❕ Join us on Saturday, September 26 at noon as we commemorate the 250th anniversary of the first Delaware Constitution.

One of the New Castle Court House Museum interpreters will share a presentation that explores this constitution, which was approved on September 20, 1776, and its impact on the structure of Delaware government.

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Image Description: Text on a background of aged paper reads "Creating a New State," "The First Delaware Constitution - 1776," "September 26 @ 12:00 PM," and "New Castle Court House Museum, 211 Delaware St, New Castle, DE 19720." The image includes a graphic of a quill drawing a map of Delaware and a woodcut image similar to the seal on the Delaware flag.

Image Credit: Soldier with Musket and Farmer with Hoe Holding Crest Topped with Sailing Ship. Ca. 1789 - 1805. Woodcut. Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/resource/cph.3b06779/.

09/24/2026

We will be represented at Revolutionary Trades Day at the John Dickinson Plantation! Stop by on October 10th to learn about laundry history (including history of the Chinese-owned laundry in New Castle) and engage with a variety of other historians, craftspeople, and artisans.

09/23/2026

❗️ REMINDER ❗️ We will be closed in the morning and early afternoon tomorrow. If you would like to watch the ceremonial convening of the Delaware General Assembly, please visit this page (https://legis.delaware.gov/EventNotice/6), which provides information about the event as well as a livestream link.

❗ The New Castle Court House Museum will be closed in the morning and early afternoon THIS Thursday, September 24. We will open for regular guided tours at 2 pm and 3 pm. ❗

Members of the Delaware General Assembly will be at the site for a commemorative convening of the legislature in honor of the nation's 250th anniversary. The event will be livestreamed for the public, and the link to the livestream will be available on the General Assembly's website: legis.delaware.gov.

We hope you are able to join us (virtually) for this unique event, and we apologize for any inconvenience the closure may cause.

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Image Description: Pen and ink drawing of the courthouse - a large brick building with two wings and a cupola. Text below the drawing reads "Old Court House," "New Castle," "Delaware," and "H. T. MacNeill 52."

Image Credit: RG 1325-003-207 Post Card Collection, 1952, Postcard, Delaware Public Archives. Accessed September 18, 2026. https://delaware.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15323coll6/id/29844/rec/716.