The Saving Delaware History Podcast

As one of the first communities to attempt desegregation, Milford, Delaware grappled with an uncooperative state government, prolonged harassment of minors, the resignation of an entire school board, disenrollment of any integrated student, and the forestallment of integration for more than a decade. Learn about them here:The Link The URL: https://edtrust.org/the-equity-line/extraordinary-districts-special-edition-the-milford-11/ Another source: https://www.capegazette.com/node/65880 

This is the last episode of The Saving Delaware History Podcast. Thank you for your support and please continue exploring your local history. Learn more about the Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs at history.delaware.gov. Find After the Canary Song at https://www.buzzsprout.com/1831758.

Named after the canaries common in coal mines towards the beginning of the 20th century, After the Canary Song examines the true stories behind popular disaster songs. This podcast from the Johnson Victrola Museum discusses the original tragedies that inspired these songs and the ways in which they became distorted with time. You can find new episodes of After the Canary Song every other week on all your regular podcast hosts and at https://www.buzzsprout.com/1831758.

A brief description of the Saving Delaware History Podcast: what we cover, who we talk to, and why we do it.The HCA Website: https://history.delaware.gov/Our Podcast Website: https://thesavingdelawarehistorypodcast.buzzsprout.com/

Delaware’s first courthouse, now the New Castle Court House Museum, hosted the infamous trials of abolitionists Thomas Garrett and John Hunn and oversaw Neil v. Delaware, the eventual Supreme Court case on fair jury representation. Join us for a discussion of Garrett’s contributions to Uncle Tom’s Cabin and the true nature of Neil’s indictment with historians Cynthia Snyder and Nicole Worthley.

Posthumous Grammy-award-winner Eldridge Johnson and his innovative Victor Talking Machine Company are memorialized in the Johnson Victrola Museum. Listen to this interview with the museum’s Lead Interpreter Chris Hall to learn how Johnson created today’s advertising techniques and founded the modern music-making industry.

The Zwaanendael Museum encompasses Europe’s first steps in Delaware in the town of Swanendael in 1631, as well as rotating exhibits on Lewes’s social, maritime, and military past. Tune in to this conversation with Site Supervisor Bridget Warner to uncover the other histories showcased at the museum.

The only Founding Father who refused to sign the Declaration of Independence. The enslaved woman who convinced him to buy her and grant her children freedom. Listen to these and other stories of John Dickinson and Dinah unfold in this talk with Site Supervisor Gloria Henry at the John Dickinson Plantation. 

Sword a-swinging, former Sheriff Clayton brazenly ran Delaware’s General Assembly out of their unfinished statehouse and into a local tavern, where, ironically, they simply resumed their contemplation of Prohibition. Listen to the rest of this story from Delaware’s Old State House in this episode with historians Gavin Malone and Nena Todd. 

Once a resplendent manor owned by a politician interested in experimental agriculture, then home to a two-term Delaware Senator and Secretary of State, and now a favorite jaunt of Senator Tom Carper, Buena Vista Mansion offers the idyll of a private residence with the convenience of being just off Route 13. Hear more about this estate’s history in this talk with Site Manager Janis Oppenheimer and Site Supervisor Sara Clendaniel.

Shirley Temple, on her way to New York, stops into a teahouse on The Green, yards away from Delaware’s first county jail, one of the only tuition-free schools in Delaware, and Immanuel Church. Rejoin us today to speak again with Cynthia Snyder of the New Castle Court House Museum about this historic location.

The hundreds of graves uncovered last month are only the most recent revelation in the lengthy record of African Americans employed on the John Dickinson Plantation. Press play to hear Gloria Henry and Annie Fenimore, the Site Supervisor and Lead Interpreter of the John Dickinson Plantation, contextualize the historical significance of this discovery. 

One people, under many nationalities, lived, worked, loved, and died in the Delaware River Valley, founding the city of Wilmington and leaving behind many forts’ worth of artifacts. Discover the story of these three forts within one community with return guest Cynthia Snyder from the New Castle Court House Museum.

Having served as the emergency meeting place for Delaware’s General Assembly in the middle of the Revolutionary War, this almost 250-year-old brick manor offers historic tree tours and an idyllic wedding venue. Tune in for this history of Belmont Hall with Mrs. Susan Wolfe and Mr. Bob Merrill.

The only functional historic mill in Delaware, Abbott’s Mill, underwent multiple groundbreaking (for the time) renovations, from water wheel power to water turbine and eventually its pièce de résistance, the diesel engine. Join me today to speak with Site Manager Matt Babbitt of the Delaware Nature Society. 

From the county division that gave you one of America’s first three railroads came the invention of railroad signals, America’s busiest canal and Delaware’s only Revolutionary War battle. Queue up this episode to hear more about Pencader Hundred from Keith Jackson, Linda Duffy, and Bob Barnes of the Pencader Heritage Museum.

At the dawn of national commercial markets, Cooch-Dayett Mill, by partnering with the University of Delaware’s early Agriculture Department, advanced industrial feed production through a series of experiments in processing corn and flour for optimal nutrition. Listen to this interview to learn the history of the mill as told by Eric Gollannek, Executive Director of the Saugatuck-Douglas History Center.

In conjunction with elementary history and environmental curriculums and Delaware’s Division for Historical and Cultural Affairs, Cooch-Dayett Mill served for a time as an educational center and tree-hugger hub. Tune in to this episode with Site Manager Joe Sebastiani and Programs Team Leader David Pragoff to learn how its history continued.

Modeled after the home of Dolly and James Madison, this estate, built by William duPont Jr., boasts a horsetrack akin to that of the Kentucky Derby, including a fishing pond, volleyball courts, tennis courts, and plenty of field space. Take in this coverage of Bellevue Hall, now part of a public park, with Interpretive Programs Manager Nick Madden. 

In the hometown of nine governors, the birthplace of Dixie cup wooden spoons, and the site of the first attempt at integration in Delaware lies this post-office-turned-museum, displaying collections of the state bug, Milford inventions, and World War I and II premier shipbuilding. Review the exhaustive contributions of this town to Delaware history in this episode with Museum Director Claudia Leister. This episode deviates from the established style of the Saving Delaware History Podcast in its more conversational tone and minimal editing. If you have the time, please offer your thoughts on this episode via this form: Thoughts on Milford Museum Episode