Old First Presbyterian Church of Wilmington | |
Location | West St. on Brandywine Park Dr., in the Wilmington, Delaware, neighborhood of Midtown Brandywine |
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Coordinates | 39°45′03″N75°32′51″W / 39.750772°N 75.547472°W |
Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
Built | 1740 |
NRHP reference No. | 72000295 [1] |
Added to NRHP | April 13, 1972 |
Old First Presbyterian Church of Wilmington is a historic Presbyterian church located on West Street on Brandywine Park Drive in Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware.
Built in 1740, the one-story brick structure measures 30 feet by 40 feet and has a gambrel roof. Originally located on the east side of Wilmington's Market Street between 9th and 10th Streets, the building was used during the American Revolution by British troops as a prison and hospital during the occupation of Wilmington after the Battle of Brandywine, September 12, 1777. It remained a house of worship until 1840. [2] A cemetery on the site was the final resting place of many noted Wilmingtonians which were reinterred to Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery [3] and Riverview Cemetery. [4]
It was moved to its present site in 1916. In order to move it, it was dismantled and rebuilt with its re-dedication in 1918. It was given to the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Delaware to maintain and restore. They currently use it as their headquarters and have it open to the public on 2nd Sundays, April–October, 2-4pm.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. [1] The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America restored the interior to its original condition in 1981.
Thomas McKean was an American lawyer, politician, and Founding Father. During the American Revolution, he was a Delaware delegate to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, where he signed the Continental Association, the Declaration of Independence, and the Articles of Confederation. McKean served as a President of Congress.
New Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The city is located six miles (10 km) south of Wilmington and is situated on the Delaware River. As of 2020, the city's population was 5,551.
Wilmington is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley metropolitan area. Wilmington was named by Proprietor Thomas Penn after his friend Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington, who was prime minister during the reign of George II of Great Britain.
Brandywine Creek is a tributary of the Christina River in southeastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware in the United States. The Lower Brandywine is 20.4 miles (32.8 km) long and is a designated Pennsylvania Scenic River with several tributary streams. The East Branch and West Branch of the creek originate within 2 miles (3 km) of each other on the slopes of Welsh Mountain in Honey Brook Township, Pennsylvania, about 20 miles (32 km) northwest of their confluence.
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Dr. Joshua Clayton was an American physician and politician from Mt. Pleasant in Pencader Hundred, New Castle County, Delaware. He was an officer of the Continental Army in the American Revolution, and a member of the Federalist Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly, as Governor of Delaware and as U.S. Senator from Delaware.
David Hall was an American lawyer and politician from Lewes, in Sussex County, Delaware. He was an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolution, and member of the Democratic-Republican Party, who served as Governor of Delaware.
Gloria Dei Church, known locally as Old Swedes', is a historic church located in the Southwark neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at 929 South Water Street, bounded by Christian Street on the north, South Christopher Columbus Boulevard on the east, and Washington Avenue on the south. It was built between 1698 and 1700, making it the oldest church in Pennsylvania and second oldest Swedish church in the United States after Holy Trinity Church in Wilmington, Delaware.
Holy Trinity Church, also known as Old Swedes, is a historic church at East 7th and Church Street in Wilmington, Delaware. It was consecrated on Trinity Sunday, June 4, 1699, by a predominantly Swedish congregation formerly of the colony of New Sweden. The church, designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961, is among the few surviving public buildings that reflect the Swedish colonial effort. The church is considered part of First State National Historical Park. The church, which is often visited by tourists, remains open for tours and religious activities.
Rodney Square is the public square and historic district in downtown Wilmington, Delaware, United States, named after American Revolutionary leader Caesar Rodney. A large equestrian statue of Rodney by James E. Kelly formerly stood in the front of the square until it was removed in 2020. The square was created in the early 20th century by John Jacob Raskob, who worked for Pierre S. du Pont. The City Beautiful movement served as the inspiration for the effort.
The Delaware Historical Society began in 1864 as an effort to preserve documents from the Civil War. Since then, it has expanded into a statewide historical institution with several buildings, including Old Town Hall and the Delaware History Museum, in Wilmington and the historic Read House & Gardens in New Castle.
First State National Historical Park is a National Park Service unit which lies primarily in the state of Delaware but which extends partly into Pennsylvania in Chadds Ford. Initially created as First State National Monument by President Barack Obama under the Antiquities Act on March 25, 2013, the park was later redesignated as First State National Historical Park by Congress.
Hockessin Friends Meetinghouse is a historic Quaker meeting house and national historic district located at 1501 Old Wilmington Road in Hockessin, New Castle County, in the U.S. state of Delaware. The district encompasses three contributing buildings and one contributing site. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
St. Joseph on the Brandywine, originally Saint Joseph's Church until St. Joseph's Church- Wilmington was built in 1947, is a parish of the Catholic Church in Greenville, Delaware, United States, in the Diocese of Wilmington. It is a historic parish church complex and national historic district located on Old Church Road. Since 2002 its old convent building has housed the diocesan archives, with records going back two centuries. It is also the home parish of the 46th President of the United States, Joe Biden.
Coffee Run Mission Site, also known as Coffee Run Church and St. Mary's Church, is a historic mission church site and national historic district located at Hockessin, New Castle County, Delaware. It encompasses two contributing buildings, both now demolished, and one contributing site. They were the Father Kenney House and stone barn with frame addition. The house was built in 1812, and was a two-story, three bay stone dwelling with a cross-gable roof. The Coffee Run cemetery is the burial ground of the first Catholic church in Delaware. It measures approximately 66 feet by 183 feet and includes over 50 carved headstones and 12 uncut stone markers. Located at the cemetery is a small cinder block building, which contains an altar, and stands at the site of the original log mission church built about 1790. It was the first Catholic church in Delaware out of which grew the present Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilmington. The house was demolished in March 2010 following an arson. The barn, also affected by arson, remained mostly intact but in a decaying condition. Trinity Community Church planned to restore it and incorporate it into a new church on the site, but discovered that the mortar was no longer sound. The barn was demolished in 2016 and the stone saved for reuse in the facade of the new church.
Starr House, also known as the Michael VanKirk House, is a historic home located at Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware. It was built between 1801 and 1806, and is 2+1⁄2-story, brick dwelling with a gable roof. The house was restored in 1946 and considered the last example of colonial architecture in the city of Wilmington. Adjacent to the house is a mid-19th century frame summer kitchen, which contains a beehive oven, has been encased in brick.
Continental Army Encampment Site is a historic site located at Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware. The Continental Army troops camped on the east side of Brandywine Creek, which is now a part of Brandywine Park. An early mill race is still visible, on the site, a reminder of the extensive early milling industry on the Brandywine. The Continental Army camped at the site for a few days before the Battle of Brandywine in August 1777. On December 21, 1777, 1,500 Delaware and Maryland troops under the command of General William Smallwood returned to the campsite. These troops were stationed to prevent occupation of Wilmington by the British and to protect the flour mills on the Brandywine.
Breck's Mill Area, also known as Breck's Mill Area-Henry Clay Village Historic District, is a national historic district located along Brandywine Creek in unincorporated New Castle County, Delaware, near Wilmington. It encompasses 56 contributing buildings, five contributing sites, and three contributing structures. The district encompasses The Mill, The Workers' houses, and The Mill Owner's Home.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Wilmington, Delaware, USA.
Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery is a rural cemetery at 701 Delaware Avenue in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded in 1843, it contains over 21,000 burials on about 25 acres.