Delaware Historical Society

Tonight! Liven up the rainy day with some historic tunes: https://dhs.givecloud.co/revolutionary-singalong

𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗮𝘂𝗹𝘁: 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴

📆 Tuesday, June 23• 6:30-7:30pm
📍Delaware Historical Society, 505 Market St, Wilmington

Warm up your voice and tap your toes! Join us as we explore an 18th century songbook from the Delaware Historical Society’s archives. Experience the music of the American Revolution as we discover lively marches and catchy songs that lifted spirits and kept people moving during the Revolutionary Era. Singing and dancing are optional but always encouraged.

𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣: dehistory.org

inwilmde.com |

If you've walked down Market Street in Wilmington lately, you might have seen our June Community Canvas window display, curated by the Delaware Juneteenth Association. The association works to preserve the meaning of Juneteenth while creating opportunities for celebration, education, service, and cultural pride throughout Delaware, like last weekend's Freedom Parade & Festival and their Annual Juneteenth Pageant.

The Delaware History Museum & Mitchell Center for African American Heritage will be OPEN tomorrow, Friday, June 19. We encourage you to visit, see the Juneteenth window displays in person, and come inside to explore the Journey to Freedom exhibition, showcasing the stories of community, struggle, courage, sorrow, celebration, injustice, and resilience of African Americans in Delaware.

Museum Hue started the month with our first road trip for our HueArts docuseries. Our first stop was Philadelphia to meet the team at Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture: Alaa Zaghloul, the Marketing and Communications Manager, and Ibrahim Bakri, VP of the Board of Directors. This organization uses Arab arts, language, and culture to connect and showcase the Arab American community. They recently moved to a gorgeous converted warehouse, where they host art exhibitions, language classes, and hands-on workshops.

The next day, we took a short drive south to Wilmington, Delaware to visit the Mitchell Center for African American Heritage. We spoke with the center's Director, Hannah Grantham, along with Ivan Henderson, the Executive Director of the Delaware Historical Society. The Mitchell Center traces the history and contributions of black Delawareans from the 1630s to today. It's located in a former Woolworth's; the former department store had locations nationwide and was a key battleground in the fight to end segregation. The museum’s large display windows had an array of Juneteenth decorations on view.

It was a pleasure learning about both of these institutions and their focus on actively engaging with the communities they serve.

Check out the latest issue of Out & About for some archival photos from our collections!

𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗦𝘄𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗻 📍 Historic places that help tell Delaware's story • Wilmington’s history is much more interesting than that. Its founding landscape was shaped by Indigenous people.
🔗outandaboutnow.com/remembering-new-sweden

In celebration of Delaware 250, this monthly series will spotlight historic people and sites unique to our state.


Kalmar Nyckel Delaware Historical Society Old Swedes Historic Site

Read House Ambassador Laura MacKelcan showed up in style this weekend! A member of the DAR, Laura stopped by the House after participating in the Separation Day Parade in New Castle on Saturday.

Separation Day celebrates Delaware’s independence from Pennsylvania and the British Crown. If you missed the festivities this weekend, you can still learn more about the history of the occasion in tomorrow's virtual talk, Not Today, PA, presented with Delaware Public Archives!

Sign up here: https://dhs.givecloud.co/not-today-pa

This Friday! We're hosting Restore & Remember: Jason Beach as part of the Jason Beach Juneteenth Celebration with Delaware State Parks!

It's a family history workshop highlighting experiences and memories from Jason Beach, where you can bring your own personal memorabilia documenting holidays, family reunions, baptism, and leisure activities at the beach, and receive expert guidance on how to document these items and their historical significance.

Event registration is free -- reserve your time spot here: https://dhs.givecloud.co/restore-remember-jason-beach
Trap Pond State Park entrance fees will apply ($5 for in-state vehicles, $10 for out of state vehicles)

As we commemorate Flag Day, here's a look at a unique American flag from our collections:

This flag was made by Emily G. Rumford Wollaston (1823-1886) of Wilmington for her half-brother, Charles Grubb Rumford (1841-1901), who carried it with him during his service in the Civil War.

Rumford served as a First Lieutenant in the First Delaware Light Artillery Battery, also known as Nields’ Independent Battery, under Captain Benjamin Nields. Rumford clearly did not want to lose this flag as it accompanied him on his tour of duty, so he wrote his name and address, “Rumford, 1401 Market St.,” on the third stripe from the bottom.

Both the flag and Rumford survived the war, and the flag was later donated to the Delaware Historical Society in 1944 by his son Lewis.

Our rare George Bush music book, featuring the popular tune "Yankee Doodle," is getting a moment in the spotlight as we approach the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Capt. George Bush (1753-1797) was born in Wilmington in 1753. When the American Revolution broke out, he hastened to serve the patriot cause. From July to December 1776, he was lieutenant in Captain Thomas Kean's company of the Flying Camp for Delaware, commanded by Samuel Patterson, before serving as captain in various Pennsylvania regiments until the end of the war. His manuscript book includes music, personal matters, and other transactions.

We're bringing the music off the page on June 23 with "From the Vault: Revolutionary Singalong," where we'll closely explore the manuscript and enjoy the music of the Revolution! Register here: https://dhs.givecloud.co/revolutionary-singalong

The book is also part of our new exhibition, "Objects, Ideals & Delaware's Unfinished Revolutions," currently on display in the 2nd floor gallery in the Delaware History Museum.

We're not the only ones fascinated by this piece of Revolutionary history: Bush's manuscript book was recently included in an article in the Journal of the American Revolution, "The Sound of Independence," by Lois Herbine. Herbine, Director of the Philly Fife and Drum Corps, also used the book as a reference while arranging music to be played at local 250th celebrations this summer.

UPDATE --
This Saturday, June 13, is Separation Day, commemorating the anniversary of Delaware declaring independence from Pennsylvania.

We hope you'll stop by the Read House if you're in New Castle for the Separation Day Festival. In addition to our regular tours, we'll also have family-friendly crafts on Saturday!

Please note: We will be closed during the parade, from 12-1 p.m.

The Delaware Historical Society hosted In Conversation: Caribbean Heritage last weekend in the Mitchell Center Theater. Alexus Whilby of the Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce moderated the event, with Judy Malcolm and Commissioner Lorraine Badley as the panelists.

Our In Conversation series brings together community members, local leaders, scholars, and experts for lively and engaging discussions on a range of topics. To learn more about all our upcoming events, be sure to subscribe to our emails: https://dehistory.org/dhs-email-sign-ups/