Seaford Museum - Seaford, DelawareSeaford Museum and Ross Mansion - Seaford, Delaware

 Print This Post

Seaford Museum and Ross Mansion - Seaford, Delaware

This museum is filled with history with a local perspective.  The community took the old post office and turned it into a fine museum.

The museum will walk you through the life of the Native American Indians of the area such as the Nanticoke Indians (they used poison arrows) and conclude with a large nylon, spinning machine which made the first synthetic fibers.  You can see exhibits on early agriculture, shipbuilding, canning, the chicken industry and railroads.  Now that is quite an accomplishment for a bunch of volunteers running the Museum!

You will meet (and be glad she didn’t know YOU) Patty Cannon.  She was the greatest murderess in U.S. history.  She ran a gang of 60 people over 30 years committing crimes in cities along the Atlantic Seaboard.  It is believed that she moved to Maryland from Canada in 1802.  She and her husband, Joe Johnson, ran a slave sale trade.  They would steal slaves or free blacks and sell them back down south to the plantation owners.  When she was captured in 1829 she committed suicide while in jail rather than face the trial.  There is a display in the Museum showing her.

You can spend time with Governor William Ross and his wife, Elizabeth.  Ross was Governor from 1851 – 1855.  They raised fine Hackney carriage horses during his lifetime.  Ross and other Sussex County residents were supporters of the South during the Civil War.  President Lincoln issued a warrant for Ross’ arrest, putting one of the state’s most popular governors running to avoid arrest.

There are displays of things such as an antique bottle of ketchup which, in the early 1900’s, a man wrote to the company that made it and told them that he liked the taste but he couldn’t find it in the store, they replied that it hadn’t been made for 18 years.

While you are visiting the Museum take the time to visit Governor Ross’ Mansion and Plantation.  Explore a complete Victorian Italianate mansion with slave quarters, barns, sheds and spacious grounds.  Get a feeling for what life was like before the Civil War and why a popular Delaware governor was smuggled to England with a Federal warrant out for his arrest (the one from Lincoln) and how the “War of Northern Aggression” changed life forever.

You will be able to see the slaves quarters which is the only remaining one left in the state of Delaware.

There is a granary, stable, smokehouse and corncribs from the era for you to stroll around.

Enter the three-story tall entry with its ornate plaster ceilings, Moroccan ventilation, beautiful furnishings and even a hidden safe.

The Mansion is located just a few blocks from downtown across the road from the Seaford Industrial Park and next to the city’s recreation area with a play ground for the children.  The Mansion is open regularly for guided tours and special events.  They also hold a spectacular Victorian Christmas events.

Hours: Seaford Museum 1 – 4 Thursday, Friday and Saturday and Sunday, except holidays.

Ross Mansion 1 – 4 Saturday and Sunday, except holidays.  Visits by appointment are possible.

Admission: $3 per person at each site or $5 for both.  Children 12 and under are free accompanied by an adult.

Annual Events:

Bus Trips – Spring and Fall
Heritage Days – May 22, 23, & 24^th in 2009 (check for other dates for other years)
Victorian Teas – Ross Mansion
Woodland Ferry Festival – Woodland.

Seaford:

Phone: 302-628-9828

Location: 203 High St., Seaford, Delaware 10073

Phone: 302-628-9828

Email: info@seafordhistoricalsociety.com

Gov. Ross Mansion

Location: 1101 N. Pine St. Ext., Seaford, Delaware 19973

Phone: 302-628-9500