Discovering, sharing Delaware history, from the celebratory to the complicated and difficult
Delaware: The Diamond State, the First State, the Peach State, the Corporate Capital, the Blue Hen State — all of these nicknames are connected to our history.
At the Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs, we engage in exploring, preserving and sharing Delaware’s history every day.
As a division that presents Delaware history, we must move past presenting ‘'historical truths'’ because history is just not that simple. Our approach to history is not about memorizing dates, names and slogans.
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Understanding and evaluating different historical perspectives, and understanding their significance and meaning has not always occurred at historic sites and museums. These important community institutions now see the opportunity to encounter the past, at specific locations, and give visitors a chance to grapple with our countries full, complex and difficult history.
Over the centuries, Delaware’s communities have continued to grow and reflect the rich diversity of our country. To connect to new audiences and to teach history, museums and cultural agencies are now rethinking how they reach out to visitors, how to tell different stories, and how to present new and different perspectives.
That rethinking has also taken place at the division’s museums as we teach Delaware’s history.
As a state agency that presents Delaware history, we are committed to examining our state’s complicated history in all its intricacies. We recognize that our history has often been harsh and violent, as well as awe-inspiring and celebratory. As such, we strive to place our visitors in the shoes of those living in earlier times so that we can understand what motivated them, why they made their decisions and how those decisions impact us today.
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At the New Castle Court House Museum, we explore the decision to separate from both Great Britain and Pennsylvania to create the Delaware State in June 1776. At Dover’s Old State House, we share the laws made from the formation of the nation to the early 20th century. The decisions and laws made in these buildings created our state, and continue to impact us today.
At the Zwaanendael Museum in Lewes, we explore shipwreck history in our gallery and the history of segregated beaches in our online exhibit. We also recognize the loss of the Native American community in the face of Dutch colonization in the 17th century. At Dover’s Johnson Victrola Museum, we discuss the pioneering of sound-recording with musicians in opera, country, blues, and most recently, Hawaiian performers whose music swept to the U.S. mainland.
At Dover’s John Dickinson Plantation, we share the significant work of “the Penman of the Revolution.” Dickinson is an under-recognized founding father and his life and work are important components of Delaware history. But we need to recognize that his is not the only story we have to share.
Recent archaeological fieldwork has identified cultural resources that illustrate Native American presence on Dickinson’s land, as well as the location of a burial site of what we believe is the final resting place for enslaved and free people of African descent, women and children who died on the property. As historians, we need to see how “all” of the people — and their many perspectives — fit together to tell the full story: the American story, the Delaware story.
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Similarly, at the Cooch’s Bridge Historic Site in Newark, a property which we are working to develop into the sixth museum in the state-museum system, we are not only exploring the location of Delaware’s only Revolutionary War land battle, but also use of the land by Native Americans, the Cooch family, enslaved individuals and mill workers.
Studying history allows us to recognize and understand the complexity of our state, and helps us comprehend how our world has changed. Exploring history allows us to acknowledge our current complicated world, as well as our future challenges and opportunities. The study of history helps us from repeating the injustices of the past.
At the Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs, we are steadfast in researching, listening and sharing all of Delaware’s history, from the celebratory to the complicated and difficult.
Through this history, we learn where we have come from and how we can create a better future. As our work continues, join us in exploring all of our history — be it awe-inspiring or difficult. Remember, our collective history is Delaware’s history.
Suzanne Savery, director, State Historic Preservation Officer, Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: This state agency is rethinking how museums teach Delaware history