'First Saturday in the First State' at Dover museums June 4

Delaware’s three downtown Dover museums will be presenting special programming from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m,, Saturday, June 4, as part of “First Saturday in the First State,” a monthly series of events sponsored by the First State Heritage Park. Admission for all programs is free and open to the public. For additional information, call the First State Heritage Park Welcome Center and Galleries at 302-744-5055.

At the Johnson Victrola Museum, located at 375 S. New St., visitors can enjoy a Kickoff to Black Music Month with a program exploring how E. R. Johnson, founder of the Victor Talking Machine Company, gave early black artists their big break on a major record label while others shut them out. Listen to early recordings from these artists played on authentic Victor Talking Machines and discover how profoundly the history of African American music shaped the history of American music and society.

The Old State House, located at 25 The Green, will be presenting “Diagnosis Dover,” a living history program in which museum interpreters, dressed in period clothing, will perform historical vignettes involving two of Delaware’s prominent 19th century physicians - James Sykes and James Tilton. Performances will take place at 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.

Finally, the First State Heritage Park Welcome Center and Galleries, located at 121 Duke of York St., will present “We Poor Devils,” a series of specialized guided tours focusing on various aspects of “The Civil War: Five Delaware Soldiers’ Stories,” a display that explores the experiences of five of the more than 13,000 Delawareans who fought in the American Civil War. June 4 guided tours, which will be conducted at 10 a.m., noon and 2:30 p.m., will explore the records and personal effects related to Civil War physician David W. Maull of Georgetown, as well as the medical crises that plagued Americans on both sides of the conflict.