List of museums in Delaware

Last updated

Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library Winterthur Museum Building Wide Angle 2969px.jpg
Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library

This list of museums in Delaware contains museums which are defined for this context as institutions (including nonprofit organizations, government entities, and private businesses) that collect and care for objects of cultural, artistic, scientific, or historical interest and make their collections or related exhibits available for public viewing.

Contents

To use the sortable table, click on the icons at the top of each column to sort that column in alphabetical order; click again for reverse alphabetical order.

Current museums

NameLocationCountyArea of studySummary
Air Mobility Command Museum Dover Air Force Base Kent MilitaryMilitary airlift and air refueling aircraft
Amstel House New Castle New Castle Historic houseOperated by the New Castle Historical Society, 1730s Georgian mansion linked to many of the town’s prominent colonial families
Anna Hazzard Museum Rehoboth Beach Sussex History1890s camp meeting history [1]
Barratt's Chapel and Museum Frederica KentReligious1780 Methodist chapel and museum about history of Methodism
Bethany Beach History Museum Bethany Beach SussexLocal history website, located in Bethany Town Hall
Bethel Heritage Museum Bethel SussexOpen airHistoric village [2]
Biggs Museum of American Art Dover KentArtAmerican fine and decorative arts, part of First State Heritage Park
Blue Ball Barn Wilmington New CastleArtA.I. du Pont barn with state collection of folk art, located in Alapocas Run State Park
Bridgeville Historical Society Museum Bridgeville SussexLocal history [3] [4]
Cannonball House Maritime Museum Lewes SussexMaritime website, maritime artifacts, operated by the Lewes Historical Society
Center for the Creative Arts Yorklyn New CastleCommunity art website, community instruction center with 410 Gallery of local art
Coverdale Farm Preserve Greenville New CastleFarm website, 19th-century operating farm and preserve, operated by the Delaware Nature Society
Days Gone By Museum Seaford SussexLocal historyLocal history, antique tractors, carpenter's tools and other artifacts [5] [6]
Delaware Agricultural Museum and Village DoverKentAgriculture website, includes Loockerman Landing Village, a representation of a rural village in 1890s with a store, farmhouse, schoolhouse and other building; farm equipment and tools, collection of carved folk art farm scenes, local art exhibits
Delaware Art Museum Wilmington New CastleArtContains over 12,000 works focusing on American art and illustration from the 19th to the 21st century as well as the English Pre-Raphaelite movement of the mid-19th century
Delaware Aviation Museum Georgetown SussexAviation website, located at Delaware Coastal Airport, features WWII aviation artifacts, memorabilia and displays
Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts WilmingtonNew Castle Art Presents nearly 30 exhibitions annually of regionally, nationally, and internationally recognized contemporary artists
Delaware Center for Horticulture Greenville New Castle Natural history Community horticulture resource organization with public gardens, library and art gallery
Delaware Children's Museum WilmingtonNew Castle Children's website, located on Wilmington Riverfront
Delaware History Museum WilmingtonNew CastleHistoryOperated by the Delaware Historical Society, cultural and historical Delaware exhibits, including everyday life artifacts, costumes, children's toys, regional decorative arts, and paintings
Delaware Mineralogical Society WilmingtonNew CastleNatural historyNon-profit organization promoting education in earth science and lapidary art, annual show first full weekend in March hosting museum and educational exhibits
Delaware Museum of Nature and Science Greenville New Castle Natural history Features collections of seashells, birds, and bird eggs, exhibits on dinosaurs, mammals, and Charles Darwin
Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame WilmingtonNew CastleHall of fame – sportsOver 150 years of Delaware sports history, located at Frawley Stadium
Delaware Legislative Hall DoverKentHistoryState capitol building, open for guided tours
Dinker-Irvin Cottage Museum Bethany BeachSussexHistoric house museum website, early 1900s
Delaware State Police Museum DoverKentLaw enforcement website, history of the Delaware State Police, badges, uniforms, vehicles
Delaware Visitor Center and Galleries DoverKentLocal historyDelaware history and culture, part of First State Heritage Park
Delmar Depot Railroad and Military Museum Delmar SussexRailroad [7]
Discover Sea Shipwreck Museum Fenwick Island SussexMaritime website, shipwreck and recovered artifacts both regional and worldwide
Dutch House (New Castle, Delaware) New CastleNew CastleHistoric house website, operated by the New Castle Historical Society, 17th-century early Delaware settlers' house
Elsie Williams Doll Collection Georgetown SussexDoll website, located at Delaware Technical Community College (Jack F. Owens Campus), Stephen J. Betze Library; over 600 dolls from around the world
Fenwick Island Light Fenwick Island SussexLighthouseSmall museum of the history of the lighthouse
First Presbyterian Church WilmingtonNew CastleHistory18th-century Presbyterian church, operated by The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America
Fort Delaware Pea Patch Island New CastleMilitaryHistoric fort with living history demonstrations
Georgetown Train Station Georgetown SussexRailroad website, operated by the Historic Georgetown Association, restored 19th-century train station with model railroad layout
Governor Ross Mansion & Plantation Seaford SussexHistoric houseOperated by the Seaford Historical Society; 1850s-period Victorian Italianate mansion with a slave quarter
Greenbank Mill WilmingtonNew CastleLivingIncludes the gristmill restoration, Madison Factory textile mill, Philips House, and the 19th-century farm with heritage livestock
Hagley Museum & Library WilmingtonNew CastleHistoryExhibits the unfolding history of American enterprise and is the site of the gunpowder works founded by E.I. du Pont in 1802
Hale-Byrnes House Stanton New CastleHistoric house1750 historic house
Harrington Historical Society Museum Harrington KentLocal historyLocal memorabilia; also operates the Harrington Tower Railroad Museum nearby with a railroad tower, caboose and watchman’s hut [8] [9]
Harry Levin Center for Pharmacy & History Smyrna KentMedical website, pharmacy history center started by founder of Happy Harry's drug stores and run by Delaware Pharmacists Society
Historic Houses of Odessa Odessa New CastleHistoric house website, enclave of 18th- and early 19th-century buildings which includes the Corbit-Sharp House (c. 1774), Wilson-Warner House (c. 1769), Collins-Sharp House (c. 1700), Brick Hotel (c. 1822), and Odessa Bank (c. 1853)
Indian River Lifesaving Station Museum Rehoboth BeachSussexMaritimeLocated in Delaware Seashore State Park
Iron Hill Museum Newark New CastleHistory / Natural history Former one-room schoolhouse built by the du Pont family in 1923; collections include rocks, minerals, floral and faunal specimens, archeological and historical displays, mounted birds and iron exhibits
John Bell House DoverKentLocal historyInterpretive center for the First State Heritage Park
John Dickinson Plantation DoverKentHistoric house18th-century home of John Dickinson
Johnson Victrola Museum DoverKentBiographicalPart of First State Heritage Park, exhibits about Eldridge Reeves Johnson, founder of the Victor Talking Machine Company, including phonographs, recordings, memorabilia, trademarks, objects and paintings that highlight the development of the sound-recording industry
Laurel Heritage Museum Laurel SussexLocal history website, operated by the Laurel Historical Society in a restored trail station, also the Cook House Museum by appointment
Lewes Historical Society Complex Lewes SussexOpen air website, nine historic properties: Burton-Ingram House, Lewes Life-Saving Station Museum, Doctor's Office, Early Plank House, Ellegood House, Midway School #178, Rabbit's Ferry House, Thompson's Country Store
Lightship Overfalls LewesSussexMaritimeHistoric lightship museum
Marshall Steam Museum Yorklyn New CastleTransportationPart of Auburn Valley State Park, includes Stanley Steamer cars, electric cars, Packards, miniature railroad, locomotives, local history displays, Marshall Family Mansion
Marvel Carriage Museum Georgetown SussexTransportation website, collection of antique carriages as well as many original, restored buildings, Victrolas, ephemera, photographs, telephones, furniture and many more items related to Georgetown; open by appointment; operated by the Georgetown Historical Society
Messick Museum Harrington SussexAgriculture website, includes antique John Deere tractors, antique machinery, automobiles, tools, toys and farming memorabilia
Milford Museum Milford SussexLocal history website; model ships; silver collection of coins, spoons, and novelties; early settlement of Milford; the city's variety of architecture; prominent citizens; artifacts; photographs; and historical memorabilia
Milton Historical Society Museum Milton SussexLocal history website, history of Milton and the Broadkill Hundred, art gallery
Museum of Business History & TechnologyWilmingtonNew CastleHistory website, history about innovations in business technology, open by appointment [10]
Nanticoke Indian Museum Millsboro SussexNative American website, history of the Nanticoke Indian Tribe, jewelry, pottery, spears, arrow points, artifacts
Nemours Mansion and Gardens WilmingtonNew CastleMansionA.I. duPont's mansion and French chateau-style grounds
Newark Historical Society MuseumNewarkNew CastleLocal history website, history of Newark and Delaware, museum open Sunday afternoons on a seasonal basis
New Castle Court House Museum New CastleNew CastleHistoryOne of the oldest surviving court houses in the United States, exhibits about Delaware's colonial court and assembly, Delaware's Underground Railroad and abolitionists, and the early system of law and government
Old State House DoverKentHistoryDelaware's old state capitol building, restored for 18th-century appearance
Old Library Museum New CastleNew CastleLocal history website, operated by the New Castle Historical Society, changing exhibits of local history
Old Swedes Church WilmingtonNew CastleHistoryChurch building constructed in 1698–1699
Old Town Hall WilmingtonNew CastleHistoric siteOpen by appointment with the Delaware Historical Society, the hall housed the city's meeting chambers, offices and jail
Paul R. Jones Collection of African American Art NewarkNew CastleArtWorks by African American artists, part of the University of Delaware
Parson Thorne Mansion Milford KentHistoric houseOperated by the Milford Historical Society
Pencader Heritage MuseumNewarkNew CastleLocal history website, operated by the Pencader Heritage Area Association
Read House & Gardens New CastleNew CastleHistoric house1801 mansion with 22 rooms, operated by the Delaware Historical Society
Rehoboth Art League Rehoboth BeachSussexArt website, institution founded by Louise C. Corkran
Rehoboth Beach Museum Rehoboth BeachSussexLocal history website, operated by the Rehoboth Beach Historical Society
Robinson House Claymont New CastleHistoric house1723 house, home of the Claymont Historical Society and the Darley Society
Rockwood Museum and Park WilmingtonNew CastleHistoric houseRestored Gilded Age mansion and historic landscape garden, located in Rockwood Park
Seaford Fire Museum Seaford SussexFirefighting website, fire memorabilia related to the history of the Seaford Volunteer Fire Department
Seaford Museum Seaford SussexLocal history website, operated by the Seaford Historical Society
Smyrna Museum Smyrna KentLocal history website, operated by the Duck Creek Historical Society, period rooms, history of The Barracks, now the museum
Star Hill Museum Camden KentAfrican AmericanFormer AME church, site on the Underground Railroad, reproduction inventions by African-Americans, African artifacts, utensils used in daily slave life
Treasures of the Sea Exhibit Georgetown SussexMaritime website, located at Delaware Technical Community College (Jack F. Owens Campus), Stephen J. Betze Library; artifacts from the shipwreck Nuestra Señora de Atocha
University Gallery NewarkNew CastleArtPart of the University of Delaware, photographs, prints, drawings, paintings and ceramics
University of Delaware Mineralogical Museum NewarkNew CastleGeologyPart of the University of Delaware, minerals, petrified wood, meteorites, DuPont collection of gemstones
Willingtown Square WilmingtonNew CastleHistoric housesOperated by the Delaware Historical Society, collection of four historic buildings, dating from 1748 to the early 19th century, which can be viewed from the outside, and changing local history exhibits in the Willingtown Square Gallery
Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library WilmingtonNew CastleHistory950 acres (3.8 km2) with gardens, estate mansion with 175 period-room displays, museum galleries of fine and decorative arts, including American furniture, silver and metalwork, textiles and needlework, ceramics, glass, clock and woodworking shop displays
Woodburn DoverKentHistoric houseOfficial residence of the governor of Delaware, dates back to 1798
Zwaanendael Museum LewesSussexHistoryHonors the 300th anniversary of Delaware's first European settlement, founded in 1631; local history exhibits

Proposed museums

NameLocationCountyArea of studySummary
Afro-American Historical Society of Delaware Wilmington New Castle African American Proposed at Allied Kid Leather building in East Wilmington
Delaware Military Museum Delaware City New Castle Military museum website, proposed at Burton Hall building at Fort DuPont

Defunct museums

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Museums – Directory". Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Attractions" (PDF). Laurel Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Community Organizations". Town of Bridgeville. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Bridgeville Historical Society". Museums USA. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Days Gone By Museum". Community Walk. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
  6. ↑ "A Historical Day Along the Nanticoke...Part II". YouTube. June 29, 2009. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Railroad Attractions". Visit Southern Delaware. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Harrington Historical Society Museum". Delaware Tourism. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Harrington Historical Society". City of Harrington. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
  10. ↑ Sally Friedman (September 27, 2014). "Business equipment collection presents a social history". The Inquirer. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
  11. ↑ http://www.toycollectormagazine.com/bertoias-april-17-19-auction-features-a-blue-ribbon-lineup-of-toys-banks-dollhouses-and-more Auction description of collections from the museum, Toy Collectors Magazine, March 1, 2008
  12. ↑ "About us". Mike's Famous. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Museum of Small Town Life". State of Delaware. Archived from the original on December 11, 2012. Retrieved October 3, 2014. The museum is permanently closed, however there are numerous other free and low cost cultural venues in the downtown Dover area. Please call the Delaware Welcome Center for more information at (302) 744–5055.
  14. ↑ "Velocipede Museum". Trip Advisor. October 14, 2014. Retrieved May 13, 2015. The museum closed. The owners took their private collection elsewhere.
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