Dover Presbyterian Church to celebrate 300th anniversary June 7
The First State Heritage Park, in partnership with Dover Presbyterian Church, will offer programming related to the heritage and influence of the Presbyterian Church in Dover Saturday, June 7. To celebrate the 300th anniversary of its founding, Dover Presbyterian Church will host a Community Street Fair on Reed Street featuring crafts, artisans and music of the 1700s. There will also be food and giveaways. A shuttle will be available for transportation.
Between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., an historical theater presentation at the John Bell House will tell the story of George Valentine Massey. Massey, who had his office at the Bell House in the middle of the 19th century, left an indelible mark on Delaware’s history as a soldier, lawyer, politician and businessman.
Two special walking tours will be offered by First State Heritage Park. First is a walking tour of Dover’s historic Victorian District led by historian Will Parkhurst, who has devoted many years to studying Dover’s characters and heritage during this era. Visitors will also be able to take part in walking tours of the Presbyterian Church Cemetery near the Johnson Victrola Museum. Both tours will take place between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
At 3 p.m., a concert of sacred music will take place at The Old State House on The Green. The program will feature the voocal talent of the Sacred Music Consortium of Dover led by Dover Presbyterian Church Music Director Bob Frazier and Dr. James Wilson.
Each month during First Saturdays in the First State, the First State Heritage Park offers a variety of free programs at each of the park’s partner sites, including tours of the two capitol buildings in Delaware’s capital city - The Old State House and Legislative Hall, hourly walking tours leaving from the John Bell House and the monthly Biggs Kids program at the Biggs Museum of American Art.
Exhibits are also on display at the Delaware Public Archives, the Johnson Victrola Museum, the First State Heritage Park Welcome Center and Galleries, and the Biggs Museum. The park’s newest First Saturday tour, which is offered from 1:30 to 4 p.m., June 7 is of the recently restored 19th century courtroom in the historic Kent County Courthouse on The Green.
Admission to all park sites and programs is free. Centrally located free parking is available at the First State Heritage Park Welcome Center and Galleries, 121 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. North, formerly called Duke of York Street. More information about First Saturday events and all First State Heritage Park programs is available by calling 302-739-9194 or go to destateparks.com/heritagepark.
