New Castle, Delaware

When it comes to colonial history, we found New Castle, Delaware, to be more authentic than Williamsburg, Virginia, less reproduction, less Disney, less marketing, less crowds. This town was founded in 1651 by Peter Stuyvesant as the southernmost outpost of New Netherlands (above, the Delaware seen from the New Castle battery), captured by the Swedes, recaptured by the Dutch, captured by the English. In 1682, William Penn came ashore here to take possession of Pennsylvania, which was administered from New Castle until the establishment of Philadelphia. By 1704, the three lower Delaware counties of Pennsylvania achieved limited self government and in 1776 declared their independence from both Pennsylvania and Great Britain. New Castle served as the first colonial capital of Delaware, but "with the British only two blocks away on the Delaware River", the capital was moved south and inland to Dover. With the growth of Wilmington to the north and the state capital in Dover, New Castle continued as a small backwater town, thus preserving much of its 18th century buildings and charm.
In 1732, the structure topped with a lantern (l) was built to house the colonial assembly and the New Castle county courts. We had lunch at the nearby tavern (below) on Delaware Street.
























A Calvinist Dutch Reformed congregation was established in 1658 and after the English occupation became a Calvinist Presbyterian congregation. The 1707 meeting house (above) is still in use. The established Immanuel Episcopal Church (below) was first built on the town green in 1703, modified in the 19th century, and substantially restored after a fire in 1980. Its churchyard is filled with graves and its interior is as bare as a Calvinist meeting house.





















We toured the Dutch House (c. 1700) (below l with the low roof) and the Georgian Amstel House (1738) (below r) built by New Castle's wealthiest citizen. The interior of the Dutch house has changed much over time, but the Amstel House remains mostly unchanged with original floors never carpeted, original doors and hardware and much original furniture. George Washington attended a wedding in the parlor; Lafayette sat on one of the chairs.









Click here to see the Amstel House's colonial revival garden.
View of the Delaware Memorial Bridge from the New Castle battery.