Open house at Delaware ag museum June 15
Story Location:
866 N. DuPont Highway,
Dover., DE
United States
The Delaware Agricultural Museum in Dover will hold an open house for the public from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, June 15.
This event showcases Delaware’s rich agricultural history through exhibits and artifacts on display in the museum’s 38,000-square-foot facility including: a huge collection of antique tractors, threshers, plows and other early farm machinery that shaped Delaware’s rural landscape from the mid-1800s to the mid-1900s; a Swedish-design log cabin (ca. 1750); a 1940s crop duster; antique machinery used to sort, grade and polish fruit; Mrs. Cecile Steele’s chicken house (ca. 1923), which is on the National Register of Historic Places; and a large display of whittled pieces produced by nationally recognized folk artist Jehu Camper.
Outdoors, First State rural heritage and history is brought to life in the museum’s 1890s Village where 10 historic buildings and an equal number of outbuildings tell the story of life in Delaware’s rural communities during the late 1800s. Moved to the museum grounds from locations across the state, these buildings have been preserved and include exhibits for visitors to enjoy. Village highlights include: St. Thomas Church (ca. 1857); Reed General Store (ca. 1873), the oldest continually operating country store in Delaware up to 1980; Mill Lane School House (ca. 1850); Johnson Blacksmith and Wheelwright Shop (ca. 1850); and the Carney Farmhouse (ca. 1893).
The museum’s education program interpreters, all volunteers, will be on hand to share the history of the 1890s Village buildings with visitors and provide information on the museum’s educational programs.
Museum staff and volunteers will provide short guided tours discussing the various artifacts and objects on display in the museum’s Great Hall. Guests will enjoy visiting the museum’s pot-bellied pig, Lulu, and her feathered “pen pals” Lucy, Lilly, Licorice and Lizzy. All are eagerly awaiting visitors just inside the 1890s village.
The event is free to the public. For more information, go to www.agriculturalmuseum.org or call 302-734-1618.
Delaware Agricultural Museum is at 866 N. DuPont Highway, Dover.
