Cooch's Bridge Historic Site

10/14/2026

Have you seen this fruit on Delaware museum properties? What did you think the first time you saw them?

They are Osage Oranges from the Osage Orange tree. Today squirrels might show interest in the fruit and deer might eat the tree’s leaves, but they were food for megafauna like the extinct mammoth and giant ground sloth. The fruit isn’t eaten by people, but people have found uses for them over the millennia using the wood for bows and weapons, planting the trees to create hedges and windbreaks.

There are different names for the tree and the fruit, whatever you call them you might spot them in Delaware from Sussex County to New Castle.

10/10/2026

On this day in 1914, the dedication ceremony for the Delaware Women’s College took place. This meant that women were finally able to attend college in the state of Delaware, after many years of advocacy by Delawarean women.

When the Women’s College opened, it only had 58 students, and Eleanor Bedford Wilkins Cooch was one of them. Her classes included a cooking lab and sewing lab, and pictured below is one of her graded quizzes from her sewing class.

In 1921, the Women’s College and Delaware College (the men’s college) merged to become what we know today as the University of Delaware.

Personally, we think Eleanor deserved an A+ on her assignment!

09/11/2026

Richard Cooch couldn't hide his excitement Saturday as he saw a long line of people waiting to tour the house his family called home for more than two centuries.

09/03/2026

Look for Cooch’s Bridge Historic Site to open to the p***c this time next year! September 3, 2027 will be the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Cooch’s Bridge. In the days before the battle Johann Ewald a Hessian fighting with the British recorded in his diary that there were violent thunderstorms in the area, weather a lot like what we’ve had this week. Illustrations of what soldiers at the battle may have looked like done by artist Mark Wilson.

09/03/2026

Four illustrations of soldiers present at the Battle of Cooch's Bridge on September 3, 1777. By Artist Mark Wilson

08/31/2026

Jonathan Whitney’s latest album “Cooch’s Bridge: The African-American Presence” is the second suite of four works inspired by the historic site now operated by the Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs.

Whitney has translated the history of the people and events at Cooch's Bridge Historic Site into exceptional and emotional musical pieces to energize the next generation of people to learn about the site.

Click the link below to learn more!

https://history.delaware.gov/2026/08/24/composer-educator-and-activist-jonathan-whitney-releases-coochs-bridge-the-african-american-presence-on-september-3-2026/

08/18/2026

Two events highlighting the Battle of Cooch's Bridge on September 5! Attend both or either, they are a great opportunity to celebrate Delaware's role in the Revolutionary War. Friends of Cooch's Bridge Historic Site Pencader Heritage Museum

08/17/2026

Cooch's Bridge Historic Site isn't open to the public yet but we will be at the Bear Public Library, Thursday, August 20th!

We will be with artist Mark Wilson, he will be showcasing his illustrations of the soldiers and their uniforms that were present at the Battle of Cooch's Bridge September 3, 1777.

08/03/2026

The transformation of the Cooch’s Bridge home into a public space will preserve the legacy of this important historic site, along with that of those who called it home and all who fought there during the War of Independence. Once open to the public in late 2027, the full 10-acre site will feature the historic homestead and the outbuildings including the carriage house, granary, icehouse, and smoke house, in addition to visitor parking.

Click the link below to learn more!

HCA leads ambitious renovation and restoration project at Cooch’s Bridge, site of Delaware’s only land battle during the American Revolution.

07/31/2026

HCA announces New Hires: Deputy Director, Communications Manager/PIO and Site Supervisor of historic New Castle site, Cooch’s Bridge.