New Castle: The Essentials

 

New Castle Court House

The Delaware Bayshore Byway’s northern terminus is New Castle. Full disclosure: While I’ve experienced the rest of the Byway as a first-time visitor, I know New Castle very well—I’ve been a volunteer tour guide for New Castle Historical Society for several years. And I’m biased—I think New Castle is the most historic town in Delaware as well as the most beautiful. In this post, I’m focusing on what I think of as essential New Castle: what any first-time visitor should try to see. Fair warning: it’s a long list!

The sign announcing the northern end of the Delaware Bayshore Byway is, oddly, on South Street, on the periphery of New Castle and outside New Castle's historic district. 

Keep going! Stay on South Street another block, then turn left on West 4^th Street. Go two blocks on West 4^th Street, then turn right on Delaware Street. In a block, you’ll reach the heart of Historic New Castle, the Green: a square block bordered by Delaware Street, Market Street, Harmony Street, and East 3^rd Street.

The Green

The Green goes back to the mid 1600s, when the town was first laid out. It was originally a pasture and marketplace. Today it is part of First State National Historical Park—Delaware’s only national park.

Start your visit at New Castle Visitor Center at the Arsenal, on the Green at 30 Market Street.

The Visitors Center at the Arsenal

You can see a free orientation video, pick up maps and brochures, get your questions answered by the friendly staff, and browse souvenirs. Once you start wandering around, you’ll find wayfinding maps at the south corner of the Court House and at the end of Delaware Street near the wharf.

The Arsenal was built for the War of 1812, in case the town was attacked by British ships coming up the Delaware River (it never was). Eventually citizens decided they didn’t like a building full of explosives in the middle of town! In the mid-1800s, the building became a school. This is when the windows and second story were added. The building remained a school through the mid-1900s.

To the left of the Arsenal, on Market Street, is the Sheriff's House . It was built in 1857 and designed by Samuel Sloan, a Philadelphia architect who also designed several buildings in Odessa.

Sheriff's House

A wayfinding sign to the right of the Sheriff's House explains that a jail once adjoined the Sheriff’s House. The Sheriff’s House is being rehabilitated as the headquarters of First State National Historical Park, but enormous work is involved, and it will be years before it opens.

Just past the Sheriff’s House, facing Delaware Street, is the Court House. It's a National Historic Landmark, the most important building in New Castle, and maybe the most important building in Delaware. The main section was built in 1732; the other sections were added later.

New Castle Court House

Why is the Court House so important? New Castle was Delaware’s colonial capital, and the Court House is where Delaware declared its independence. Delaware was not really a separate colony. When King Charles granted Pennsylvania to William Penn, Penn shrewdly asked for what were called the “lower three counties” (Delaware) so he could safely reach the Atlantic Ocean from his colony. The “lower three counties” felt neglected and disrespected by Penn and his descendants. They were eventually granted their own assembly, which met at the New Castle Court House. On June 15, 1776—about three weeks before the Declaration of Independence was adopted in Philadelphia—Delaware declared its independence from England AND Pennsylvania. June 15 is still celebrated in New Castle as Separation Day, with a parade, fireworks, and other activities you’d see elsewhere on Independence Day. The Court House is now a museum and open for tours.

A block north of the Court House, at the corner of Delaware and East 4^th Streets, is Amstel House, another important building in Delaware’s history. It's listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Amstel House

I think Amstel House is important for several reasons. First, it’s a beautiful example of Georgian architecture. It was built in 1738 (the sign over the door, erected in the early 20th century, is wrong) by John Finney, a doctor who married a wealthy woman. At that time, there were no buildings between here and the Court House, and Finney wanted a house that everyone visiting the Court House would see and be impressed by. The house is simple, elegant, and powerful.

Amstel House is also important because Nicholas Van Dyke lived here while he was Delaware governor at the end of the Revolutionary War. Van Dyke was thus the first governor of an independent rather than colonial Delaware and made many important decisions while living here. Amstel House is furnished partly with Van Dyke family furnishings and partly with the kinds of items that might have been in the house when Van Dyke lived here. Amstel House is a museum now open for tours, and you can buy tickets at the Visitor Center at the Arsenal.

But what I like best about Amstel House is that George Washington attended the wedding of Van Dyke’s daughter there. A guest reported that, while at the wedding, Washington “kissed all the girls as was his wont.” Who knew George Washington was a rogue?

Walk a block back down Delaware Street and turn left onto East 3^rd Street. You’ll get a nice view of The Green here. Halfway down the block, at 32 East 3^rd Street, is the Dutch House .

Dutch House

The Dutch House, built around 1700, is a treasure because it’s a rare example of a middle class house from that time. Most old houses that survive today are the homes of wealthy, important people. The Dutch House is just an ordinary house that had the good luck to survive over 300 years.

The Dutch House is also an example of how some houses are dramatically altered over the years. It was originally just one room and built of wood. In the mid-1700s, the wood walls were wrapped with brick and the second story added. In 1825, each floor was divided into two rooms and the chimney moved to the center so it could heat all four rooms. The Dutch House is now a museum open for tours. You can buy tickets at the Visitor Center at the Arsenal.

Two doors down from the Dutch House, at 38 East 3^rd Street, is the Old Library.

Old Library

This delightful building, built in 1892, was designed by Frank Furness, a noted Philadelphia architect who also designed Wilmington’s train station. This is a building where, the more you look at it, the more details you see. The Old Library is now a museum that houses free annual exhibits. When the exhibits are open, many people stop in just to see the inside of the building, which is beautiful! The Old Library should reopen later in 2021.

Across East 3^rd Street from the Old Library, on the Green, is the Academy, built in 1799 as New Castle’s first public school and a lovely example of Federal architecture.

Academy

Next to the Academy on the Green is Immanuel Episcopal Church .

Immanuel Episcopal Church

The part of the building with brown shingles was built in 1703. The rest, including the bell tower, was added in 1822. One of New Castle’s great tragedies occurred here in 1980, when sparks from a nearby marsh fire landed on the wood-shingle roof. The resulting fire destroyed the church except for the exterior walls. The church interior was rebuilt to the 1822 design.

The Immanuel Church graveyard is interesting to wander. George Read, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, is buried here. So are three Delaware governors: Nicholas Van Dyke, Thomas Stockton, and Gunning Bedford. You can get a map of the graveyard at the Visitor Center at the Arsenal.

Gravestone of George Read, one of Delaware's three signers of the Declaration of Independence

Past Immanuel Church is cobblestoned Market Street and, on the other side of a narrow park, East 2^nd Street. At 25 East 2^nd Street is New Castle Presbyterian Church, built in 1706.

New Castle Presbyterian Church

At 201 Delaware Street, between Market and East 2^nd Streets, is Town Hall, built in 1823.

New Castle Town Hall

The arched doorways on either side once housed fire companies. The arcade or tunnel in the center once led to an enclosed marketplace on the brick plaza behind Town Hall.

Walk a block and a half down Delaware Street toward the Delaware River, and you’ll see the New Castle-Frenchtown Railroad ticket office.

New Castle Frenchtown Railroad Ticket Office

In the 1700s and early 1800s, New Castle was important not just as a government seat but as a major East Coast transportation hub. In those days, it was faster and easier to travel by water than by land. So people traveling from, say, Philadelphia to Baltimore would travel by boat to New Castle, travel by land from New Castle to Frenchtown near the Chesapeake Bay, then take a second boat to Baltimore. Passengers rode between New Castle and Frenchtown in a stagecoach on a private turnpike. Eventually the turnpike owners had the idea to put the stagecoaches on rails, making the trip smoother and faster. In 1832, the horses were replaced with a steam locomotive, making the New Castle-Frenchtown Railroad one of the first railroads in the country.

Enjoy the wharf on the Delaware River and its view of Delaware Memorial Bridge. Delaware’s tall ship the Kalmar Nyckel sometimes docks here and offers tours and sailings.

The Kalmar Nyckel docked at New Castle

Battery Park, created out of an industrial area in the early 20^th century, has a lovely two-mile path along the Delaware River. 

Battery Park

Walk half a block back up Delaware Street and turn right onto the Strand, one of the most charming streets in New Castle.

The Strand, looking northeast

Read House, at 42 The Strand, was built in 1801 by George Read, a lawyer and son of the George Read who signed the Declaration of Independence.

George Read II House

Read House is one of the finest examples of Federal architecture on the East Coast and the most opulent house in New Castle. Take a close look at the woodwork around the front door.

Closeup of woodwork surrounding the Read House front door

That’s called punch and gouge woodwork, and the interior of the house is full of it, along with many other magnificent design elements. Read House is a museum and reopens for tours later in 2021.

Round out your visit with a walk on Delaware Street to explore its shops and restaurants.  

There’s lots more to see in New Castle, but this should get you started! I’m planning two more blog posts to cover more New Castle sights. UPDATE 9/23/2021: Click here for my second blog post with a deeper dive into the diversity of New Castle's historic architecture.

New Castle can be visited almost any time of year. Weekdays are quieter than weekends. The hours of the Visitors Center and New Castle’s museums and shops vary by time of year and day of week…and are changing as we emerge from the pandemic...so check before you go. There is a public restroom in Battery Park and one in the Visitors Center at the Arsenal. If you can’t find on-street parking, there are parking lots on West 3^rd Street (one a block off Delaware Street and one at the end of the street) and one off Chestnut Street near East 4^th Street.

Many online articles have been written on things to see and do in New Castle. My favorite is this one from Travel Awaits.