Northern Delaware Delaware Tourism

Northern Delaware Wilmington Area Tourism on DelawareBeautiful.com. Delaware Wilmington Area Tourism Region - your Wilmington Area of Delaware Travel Guide to Vacations, Attractions and Events

Woodside Farm Creamery - Hockessin, Delaware

Enjoy Delicious Homemade Ice Cream at Woodside Farm Creamery. If you love delicious homemade ice cream, stop by Woodside Farm Creamery on your next visit to Delaware. Woodside Farm Creamery is located at 1310 Little Baltimore Road in Hockessin, Delaware. Woodside Farm has operated as a farm since 1796, and today it is one of the only Centennial Farms remaining in the state of Delaware. Read more

Historic Wilmington & Western Railroad - Wilmington, Delaware

Tour Delaware’s Red Clay Valley on Board the Historic Wilmington & Western Railroad. Delaware is renowned for its beautiful countryside, and one of the best ways to see it is on a Wilmington & Western Railroad excursion. The Wilmington & Western Railroad offers a variety of regular and special event train excursions from along the Red Clay Creek. Read more

Delaware Art Museum - Wilmington, Delaware

Tour the Delaware Art Museum in Wilmington.  Art lovers won’t want to miss a tour of the spectacular Delaware Art Museum in Wilmington. A $30 million, three-year redesign and renovation was completed in 2005. Today the Museum contains 17 gallery spaces, a 9-acre Sculpture Park, and a beautiful Museum Cafe and outdoor North Terrace. The Delaware Art Museum showcases an incredible collection of American art and illustration, focused mainly on Howard Pyle & American Illustration; British Pre-Raphaelite Art; artist John Sloan; and American Art from 1757 thru the present.

A number of beautiful and interesting new works are now featured at the Delaware Art Museum. As part of the renovations and redesign, works by artists James Turrell and Dale Chihuly have transformed the Delaware Art Museum building itself into a work of contemporary art. A new light installation by James Turrell now illuminates the clerestory windows of the building’s upper levels, while Dale Chihuly has made significant additions to the Museum’s Persian Window. An archway of colored glass works by Chihuly greets visitors at the North Terrace main entrance.  

The new 9-acre Sculpture Park at the Delaware Art Museum includes works from a variety of sources. Sculptures from the Museum’s permanent collection, specially commissioned sculptures, and pieces borrowed from others’ collections are featured in the Park. Works by John Van Alstine, Bernie Felch, Lin Emergy, Tom Otterness, Isaac Witkin, Joe Moss and others grace the beautiful Sculpture Park.

There are two levels of galleries filled with exceptional art to tour at the Delaware Art Museum. The main level features themed arrangements of some of the Museum’s permanent collections, including 19th Century American Art, several stained glass windows, and more than 60 works by artist Howard Pyle. Illustrations by Pyle’s students and followers and works by John Sloan are also featured in the first floor galleries. Early American Modernism artists are showcased in impressive gallery exhibits on the main level, as well.
 
The Upper Level Galleries at the Delaware Art Museum include a variety of types of artwork. French and English prints, etchings by Seymour Haden, and additional works by Howard Pyle students are exhibited on the Museum’s second floor. American Art thru the mid-20th century, 20th Century Works on Paper, and a variety of types of artwork from the 20th and 21st Centuries are exhibited in three themed galleries on the upper level.

There are several hotel options available in Wilmington and HotelsCombined.com offers excellent rates for hotels close to all of the local attractions.

2301 Kentmere Pkwy
Wilmington, DE 19806
(302) 571-9590

 

Immanuel Episcopal Church on the Green - New Castle, Delaware

 

Immanuel Episcopal Church on the Green – New Castle, Delaware

This church was built in 1703 and was the first church of England Parish in the colony of Delaware.  Wander through the graveyard and you will see many of the graves date from the 18^th century.  You can also see a number of Revolutionary War veterans buried there and one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.

Queen Anne (1665-1714) gave the church a silver communion service.

Although the building at the site is not old, it is built on the site where Anglicans have been worshipping for over 300 years.  Anglicans were in the minority in the colony.  It was heavily settled by Anabaptists, Presbyterians, and Quakers.

During the American Revolution the church struggled since it was the official state church of England.  It had to find its roll in the future of a new country once the division of England and the United States split.  Many of the members questioned its legitimacy and whether it should continue to exist.

During the 18^th century the church building had become dilapidated to the point where it was dangerous to be inside.  The rector of the time loaned the parish $1,600 to perform repairs on the church.

In 1820 the membership decided to invest heavily in improvement of the church building.  They added a bell tower and an extension of the transepts (this is the part of a cruciform church that crosses at right angles to the greatest length between the nave and the apse or choir).

In the 1850’s the interior was changed to suit Victorian tastes and then altered again around 1900 with Colonial Revival architectural features.

In 1980 the church was heavily damaged in a fire.  The church was rebuilt in its 1820 design, with modifications to the sanctuary to accommodate modern needs.

Location: The Strand and Harmony Streets, New Castle, Delaware 19720

Phone: 302-328-2413

Fort Delaware State Park - Delaware City, Delaware

 

Fort Delaware State Park - Delaware City, Delaware

This was the prison for more than 30,000 Confederate, Federal and political prisoners during the Civil War. 

This is one of Delaware’s first state parks, created in 1951.  It is on the National Register of Historic Places.  The fort dates back to 1859 when it was originally built to protect the ports of Wilmington and Philadelphia.

The State of Delaware purchased the Fort from the Federal Government in 1947.

The visit to the Fort will take you on a journey of days gone by, lives of those early settlers that fought to survive in the early days of the United States. Read more

Delaware Museum of Natural History - Wilmington, Delaware

 

Delaware Museum of Natural History - Wilmington, Delaware

Here you will be able to look beneath the seas, encounter life-sized dinosaurs, get up close and personal with a jaguar, and marvel at the diversity of birds and shells from all over the world.

There are three traveling exhibitions throughout the year so be sure to check and see what is showing, in conjunction with the permanent exhibit, while you are in the area.

Hours: Monday through Saturday: 9:30 – 4:30; Sunday: Noon – 4:30.  Closed New Year’s Day, Easter, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  There is an early closing on Christmas Eve (1 pm) and New Year’s Eve (close at 3) Read more

Delaware's Tall Ship, The Kalmar Nyckel - Wilmington, Delaware

 

Delaware's Tall Ship, The Kalmar Nyckel - Wilmington, Delaware

The original Kalmar Nyckel was a ship that sailed from Sweden to the New World in 1638 leaving its passengers to establish the first permanent European settlement in the Delaware Valley, the Colony of New Sweden in what is now Wilmington.

This Kalmar Nyckel had a place in our history but the story has rarely been told, people always learn about the Mayflower.

The Kalmar Nyckel made a total of four roundtrip crossings of the Atlantic – more than any other ship of the era.

The first permanent settlement was established with 24 people of Swedish, Finnish, German and Dutch descent.  Joining them was a black freedman who sailed from the Caribbean aboard her companion ship the Fogel Grip. Read more

New Castle Court House Museum - New Castle, Delaware

 

New Castle Court House Museum - New Castle, Delaware

The courthouse was built in 1732 and served as Delaware’s first court and state capitol.  It is one of the oldest surviving court houses in the United States and registered National Historic Landmark.

It was in this building that New Castle, Kent and Sussex Counties declared their independence from Pennsylvania and England in 1776 therein creating the Delaware State.

There are tours offered of this building, large group tours require prior reservations.  Regular tours are offered throughout the day. Read more

Buena Vista - New Castle, Delaware

 

Buena Vista - New Castle, Delaware

The name Buena Vista was given to this estate by John Clayton who had purchased the land it was built on in 1845.  He called it Buena Vista in honor of General Zachary Taylor’s victory during the Mexican War.

The tenant house, built on the right side of the lane as you enter Buena Vista, was built in 1858 in the English Cottage style. 

The estate stayed in the Clayton family for many years. The house was sold to Coleman DuPont in 1914 for $35,000. DuPont was the President of the Dupont Company from 1902 – 1915.  He then was elected to the US Senate in 1924 and was the founder of the Wilmington Trust Company.  He owned the estate until his death in 1930.  The house was then owned by Clayton D. Buck when he married Alice DuPont.  Clayton D.Buck inherited Buena Vista from his father in 1930. It is then that the prominent large wing on the south side of the house was built. Read more

Robinson House - Claymont, Delaware

 

Robinson House - Claymont, Delaware

This house was built in 1793 on the site of the original 1654 Swedish settlement on Naaman’s Creek just over the border from Pennsylvania on the “Kings Highway” of the Revolutionary War period.

Colonel Thomas Robinson, the home builder and owner, served in the American Revolutionary War and was wounded at the Battle of the Bradywine.  He had the honor of being inducted into the Order of Cincinnati by George Washington in 1785.

Visitors to the house during the Revolutionary War period were George Washington, Lighthorse Harry Lee, Mad Anthony Wayne, Lafayette and a wide array of others.

It is said that Caesar Rodney changed horses here on his famous ride to Philadelphia in 1776.  Caesar Rodney was the man that rode through storms, on muddy roads, slippery cobblestone streets for an 80 mile trip to vote for independence from England. Read more

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