List of museums in Delaware

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Henry Francis DuPont Winterthur Museum

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.

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

Name Location County Area of study Summary
Air Mobility Command Museum Dover Air Force Base Kent Military Military airlift and air refueling aircraft
Amstel House New Castle New Castle Historic house Operated by the New Castle Historical Society, 1730s Georgian mansion inked to many of the town’s prominent colonial families
Anna Hazzard Museum Rehoboth Beach Sussex History information, look for listing, 1890s camp meeting history
Marshall Steam Museum Yorklyn New Castle Transportation website, part of Auburn Heights Preserve, Stanley Steamer cars, electric cars, Packards, local history displays, Marshall Family Mansion
Barratt's Chapel and Museum Frederica Kent Religious 1780 Methodist chapel and museum about history of Methodism
Bethany Beach History Museum Bethany Beach Sussex Local history website
Bethel Heritage Museum Bethel Sussex Open air information, historic village
Biggs Museum of American Art Dover Kent Art website, American fine and decorative arts, part of First State Heritage Park
Blue Ball Barn Folk Art Museum Wilmington New Castle Folk Art, Agricultural website, A.I du Pont barn with state collection of folk art, located in Alapocas Run State Park
Bridgeville Historical Society Museum Bridgeville Sussex Local history information
Cannonball House Maritime Museum Lewes Sussex Maritime website, maritime artifacts, part of the Lewes Historical Society Historic Complex
Center for the Creative Arts Yorklyn New Castle Community Art website, community instruction center with "410 Gallery" of local art
Coverdale Farm Greenville New Castle Farm website, 19th century operating farm, operated by the Delaware Nature Society
Days Gone By Museum Seaford Sussex Local history information
Delaware Agricultural Museum and Village Dover Kent Agriculture 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 Castle Art Contains 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 Center for the Contemporary Arts Wilmington New 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 Wilmington New Castle Children's website, located on Wilmington Riverfront
Delaware History Museum Wilmington New Castle History Operated 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 Wilmington New Castle Natural History Non-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 Natural History 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 Wilmington New Castle Hall of fame - sports Over 150 years of Delaware sports history, located at Frawley Stadium
Delaware Legislative Hall Dover Kent History State capitol building, open for guided tours
Delaware State Police Museum Dover Kent Law enforcement website, history of the Delaware State Police, badges, uniforms, vehicles
Delaware Visitor Center and Galleries Dover Kent Local history Delaware history and culture, part of First State Heritage Park
Delmar Depot Railroad and Military Museum Delmar Sussex Railroad information, Facebook site
Discover Sea Shipwreck Museum Fenwick Island Sussex Maritime website, shipwreck and recovered artifacts both regional and worldwide
Dutch House (New Castle, Delaware) New Castle New Castle Historic house website, operated by the New Castle Historical Society, 17th century early Delaware settlers house
Elsie Williams Doll Collection Georgetown Sussex Doll website, located at Delaware Technical and Community College

(Jack F. Owens Campus), Stephen J. Betze Library; over 600 dolls from around the world

Fenwick Island Light Fenwick Island Sussex Lighthouse Small museum of the history of the lighthouse
First Presbyterian Church Wilmington New Castle History 18th-century Presbyterian church, operated by The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America
Fort Delaware Pea Patch Island New Castle Military Historic fort with living history demonstrations
Governor Ross Mansion & Plantation Seaford Sussex Historic house Operated by the Seaford Historical Society, 1850s-period Victorian Italianate mansion with a slave quarter
Greenbank Mill Wilmington New Castle Living Includes the gristmill restoration, Madison Factory textile mill, Philips House, and the 19th century farm with heritage livestock
Hagley Museum & Library Wilmington New Castle History Exhibits 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 Castle Historic house 1750 historic house
Harrington Historical Society Museum Harrington Kent Local history information, information
Harrington Railroad Museum Harrington Kent Railroad information, includes a 1926 Pennsylvania Railroad caboose that visitors walk through to see how the train crews lived and the tools that they used on the job
Harry Levin Center for Pharmacy & History Smyrna Kent Medical website, photos, pharmacy history center started by founder of Happy Harry's drug stores and run by Delaware Pharmacists Society.
Historic Houses of Odessa Odessa New Castle Historic 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 Beach Sussex Maritime Located in Delaware Seashore State Park
Iron Hill Museum Newark New Castle History / 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 Dover Kent Local history Interpretive center for the First State Heritage Park
John Dickinson Plantation Dover Kent Historic house 18th century home of John Dickinson
Johnson Victrola Museum Dover Kent Biographical website, part 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 Historical Society (Delaware) Laurel Sussex Local history website, operates the Cook House Museum and the Laurel Heritage Museum
Lewes Historical Society Complex Lewes Sussex Open air website, nine historic properties: Burton-Ingram House, Cannonball House Maritime Museum, Lewes Life-Saving Station Museum, Doctor's Office, Early Plank House, Ellegood House, Midway School #178, Rabbit's Ferry House, Thompson's Country Store and the Ryves Holt House
Milton Historical Society Milton Sussex Local history website
Marvel Carriage Museum Georgetown Sussex Transportation 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 Agriculture Museum Harrington Sussex Agriculture website, includes antique John Deere tractors, antique machinery, automobiles, tools, toys and farming memorabilia
Milford Museum Milford Sussex Local 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
Museum of Business History & Technology Wilmington New Castle History website, information, history about innovations in business technology, open by appointment
Nanticoke Indian Museum Millsboro Sussex Native American website, history of the Nanticoke Indian Tribe, jewelry, pottery, spears, arrow points, artifacts
Nemours Mansion and Gardens Wilmington New Castle Mansion A.I. duPont's Mansion and French chateau-style grounds
Newark Historical Society Museum Newark New Castle Local history website, history of Newark and Delaware, museum open Sunday afternoons on a seasonal basis
New Castle Court House Museum New Castle New Castle History One 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 Dover Kent History Delaware's old state capitol building, restored for 18th century appearance
Old Library Museum New Castle New Castle Local history website, operated by the New Castle Historical Society, changing exhibits of local history
Old Swedes Church Wilmington New Castle History Church building constructed in 1698-1699
Old Town Hall Wilmington New Castle Historic site Open 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 Newark New Castle Art Works by African American artists, part of the University of Delaware
Parson Thorne Mansion Milford Kent Historic house information, information, operated by the Milford Historical Society
Pencader Heritage Museum Newark New Castle Local history website, operated by the Pencader Heritage Area Association
Read House & Gardens New Castle New Castle Historic house website, 1801 mansion with 22 rooms, operated by the Delaware Historical Society
Rehoboth Art League Rehoboth Beach Sussex Art website, institution founded by Louise C. Corkran
Rehoboth Beach Museum Rehoboth Beach Sussex Local history website, operated by the Rehoboth Beach Historical Society
Robinson House Claymont New Castle Historic house 1723 house, home of the Claymont Historical Society and the Darley Society
Rockwood Museum and Park Wilmington New Castle Historic house Restored Gilded Age mansion and historic landscape garden, located in Rockwood Park
Seaford Fire Museum Seaford Sussex Firefighting website, fire memorabilia related to the history of the Seaford Volunteer Fire Department
Seaford Museum Seaford Sussex Local history website, operated by the Seaford Historical Society
Smyrna Museum Smyrna Kent Local history website, operated by the Duck Creek Historical Society, period rooms, history of The Barracks, now the museum
Star Hill Museum Camden Kent African American Former 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 Sussex Maritime website, located at Delaware Technical and Community College (Jack F. Owens Campus), Stephen J. Betze Library; artifacts from the shipwreck Nuestra Señora de Atocha
University Gallery Newark New Castle Art Part of the University of Delaware, photographs, prints, drawings, paintings and ceramics,
University of Delaware Mineralogical Museum Newark New Castle Geology Part of the University of Delaware, minerals, petrified wood, meteorites, DuPont collection of gemstones
Velocipede Museum New Castle New Castle Transportation website, velocipedes, tricycles, boneshakers and bicycles dating from the 1860s to the 1960s
Willingtown Square Wilmington New Castle Historic houses Operated 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 Wilmington New Castle History 950 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 Dover Kent Historic house Official residence of the Governor of Delaware, dates back to 1798
Zwaanendael Museum Lewes Sussex History Honors the 300th anniversary of Delaware's first European settlement, founded 1631; local history exhibits

Proposed Museums

Name Location County Area of study Summary
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
Overfalls Maritime Museum Lewes Sussex Maritime website, restored lighthouse ship in the Lewes Canalfront Park

Defunct Museums

References

  1. ↑ 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
  2. ↑ "Museum of Small Town Life". State of Delaware. Retrieved 3 October 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.
  3. ↑ "About us". Mike's Famous. Retrieved 2 October 2014.

See also

Hagley Museum & Library