An Oct. 1 date has been set for the opening of the Delaware Historical Society’s Delaware History Museum and Old Town Hall.
A grand opening celebration is planned from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event will include a block party.
Admission to the museum, programs, and entertainment will be free on that day.
The project began in 2014 to commemorate the Society’s 150th-anniversary and was made possible by the Sesquicentennial Campaign: Ensuring a Future for Delaware’s Past, which has raised $6.8 million.
The campaign supported improvements to Old Town Hall and the Delaware History Museum to increase accessibility, update classrooms and other education spaces, and create additional galleries and exhibition spaces.
The installation of a new core exhibition documenting Delaware’s history and the creation of the Center for African American Heritage, the first such space dedicated to sharing the stories and experiences of African Americans in Delaware, were part of the campaign.
“The many improvements support the Delaware Historical Society’s focus on history education as well as the role and value of history in contemporary society,” said Scott Loehr, CEO of the Delaware Historical Society. “Visitors will experience Delaware’s history and its many complexities in new and compelling ways.”
Inside the Delaware History Museum, which includes the new Center for African American Heritage, the new exhibition, Delaware: One State, Many Stories, presents a multi-layered history of the First State in an inclusive and thought-provoking manner representing diverse viewpoints and experiences, a release stated.
Oct. 1 kicks off with a ribbon cutting followed by educational programs and activities inside the museum and performances on North Market Street. The day will include family-friendly fun, tours of the new museum, performances, food trucks, music, and more.
Performers will include a New Orleans style Second Line Parade featuring Gerald Chavis and other area musicians, the Sussex Tech “Raven Nation” Marching Band; Twin Poets, Nnamdi Chukwuocha and Albert Mills, Sankofa African Dance Company, and a Lenni-Lenape tribal drumming and dancing group among others.
The Delaware Historical Society owns and operates the Delaware History Museum; the Center for African American Heritage, the first space dedicated to sharing the stories and experiences of African Americans in Delaware; a nationally recognized Research Library; Old Town Hall; Willingtown Square, four 18th-century houses surrounding an urban courtyard located in Wilmington; as well as the Read House & Gardens located in New Castle, recognized as an “American Treasure” by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the National Park Service. For more information on the Delaware Historical Society, call 302-655-7161 or visit dehistory.org.
