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First State Heritage Park

Page Contents:

• General Information
• Attractions
• Maps

General Information

Delaware Legislative Hall, photo from destateparks.com

First State Heritage Park is a group of sites in Dover which highlight Delaware's role as the "First State."  Established by Governor Ruth Ann Minner in 2004, The First State Heritage Park represents a partnership between the Delaware Department of State, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, and the Delaware Economic Development Office. The state's first "park without boundaries" links historical and cultural sites in the capital city of Dover.  First State Heritage Park is open year round, with special tours of the sites given the first Saturday of each month at Delaware's Legislative Hall (pictured above).

Attractions

The attraction sites that make up the First Heritage Park include:

• Biggs Museum

  • This independent, non-profit museum with an outstanding collection of 18th- through 20th-century Delaware and American art is housed in the State Visitors' Center.

• Delaware Public Archives

  • One of the finest state archival exhibitions in the country. The archives was renovated and expanded in 2001 and contains materials from the 17th century to today.
• Legislative Hall
  • A Georgian-style structure that has been home to Delaware's General Assembly since 1933.
• Museum Square:
  1. Johnson Victrola Museum

     A premier collection of its kind, displaying sound recording industry items dating from the 1890's through 1929. The museum honors Eldridge Reeves Johnson of Dover who founded the Victor Talking Machine Company in 1901.

  2. Delaware Archaeology Museum (Currently Closed for Repairs) 

     Encompassing 12,000 years of Delaware's archeological history, the museum includes an overview of Delaware's Native American history.

  3. Museum of Small Town Life

     The museum represents a late 19th-century main street furnished with five different shops and a working pearl printing press, circa 1897.

• State House Museum
  • Delaware's first permanent capitol building completed in 1792 on Dover's historic Green. The State House was the home of Delaware's General Assembly until 1933.
• Visitor Center
  • The center provides information on local and statewide attractions, events, and activities with two galleries of exhibits that change regularly.
• Woodburn House
  • Woodburn, the home of Delaware's governors since 1965, was built around 1798. Next door is the Victorian-era Hall House, which serves as the Governor's guest house.

Maps