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Thursday 11am - 4pm Friday 11am - 4pm Saturday 11am - 4pm Sunday 11am - 4pm

Read House & Gardens

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New Castle, DE
Read House & Gardens

A National Historic Landmark in Historic New Castle, Delaware built between 1797 and 1804. Tours begin on the hour; last tour departs at 3 p.m. daily.

Owned and operated as a museum by the Delaware Historical Society since 1976. Closed major holidays.

09/09/2026

Whether you prefer to learn history by walking in the footsteps of past generations or on Zoom from the comfort of your own home, to preserve history by digitizing archival records or writing and telling stories, or to take action through community clean-up or join community discussions, Delaware Historical Society has an event for you this month!

💻 𝘐𝘯 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘊𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 | Sat, Sept 12 | 1 - 2 p.m.
A Zoom presentation with Delaware Public Archives about the contributions of Delawareans during the American Revolution.

📖 𝘈𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘬: 𝘊𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯 𝘖'𝘒𝘦𝘦𝘧𝘦 𝘈𝘱𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘤𝘻 | Sun, Sept 13 | 2 - 4 p.m.
DHS joins Huxley and Hiro in welcoming Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz for a discussion about her book, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘶𝘨𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘮 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘳.

✍️ 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘍𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴: 𝘈 𝘗𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰-𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘱 | Mon, Sept 14 | 6 - 8 p.m.
As part of Black Storytelling Week, learn how to use photographs and family history collections to weave stories for future generations and practice writing your own.

🎤 𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘙𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘠𝘰𝘶? 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘖𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘔𝘪𝘤 𝘕𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 | Fri, Sept 18 | 6 - 8 p.m.
For the closing event of Black Storytelling Week, guests are invited to take the mic and share the impactful, funny, emotional, and relatable personal stories that shaped their lives.

🏡 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘦 & 𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳: 𝘑𝘰𝘩𝘯 𝘉𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 | Sat, Sept 19 | 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Pack your gardening gloves and lace up your sneakers for a walking tour with First State Heritage Park followed by community cleanup at the historic John Bell House.

🏡 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘞𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘰𝘶𝘳 | Sun, Sept 20 | 1 - 3 p.m.
Step back into history in Old New Castle with a walking tour and discussion about the history and culture of generations of Black families who lived and worked there from 1776-1876.

🚌 𝘐𝘯 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯: 𝘈 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘋𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘙𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 | Mon, Sept 21 | 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.
Join local leaders and educators for a discussion about the history of school districts in New Castle County and current redistricting efforts.

👗𝘈𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴: 𝘚𝘺𝘭𝘷𝘪𝘢'𝘴 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 | Thurs, Sept 24 | 6 - 7 p.m.
Bringing the past back to life with a glimpse into the story of Sylvia Rice, a free Black cook at the Read House, and a dress recreated from 19th century records.

📜𝘋𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘓𝘢𝘣 | Sat, Sept 26 | 1 - 4 p.m.
DCPL travels to Sussex County to help attendees preserve their family photos, documents, and other historic materials.

🆓𝘚𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘋𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘍𝘶𝘯 𝘋𝘢𝘺 | Sat, Sept 26
Enjoy FREE admission to the Delaware History Museum, Mitchell Center for African American Heritage and Read House & Gardens when you register for a First State Fun Day passport!

📚 𝘏𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘍𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭 | Sat, Sept 26
DHS is sponsoring talks by Wil Haygood, Cheryl W. Thompson, Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz, and Denise Kiernan at this year's History Book Festival. Admission to all Saturday's talks are free!

09/04/2026

It’s First Friday! On the First Friday of each month, we share a favorite from the Read House & Gardens. This month’s favorite thing is presented by Read House ambassador Daphne Fish:

When people first see the fireplace in the guest parlor, many are quick to notice the beauty of the detailed mantel. However, they don't often think about what went into cleaning these fireplaces.

I think of Elizabeth “Eliza” Chew, who was indentured out to George Read II in 1829, when she was about 10 years old. Her father signed the indenture, which would have lasted for 8 years. We are not sure why Elizabeth was indentured out, but maybe the family could not afford her care or saw the indenture as a career opportunity. Two years later, her parents, James and Hannah Chew, indentured her brother, James Junior.

The indenture states the Eliza was an apprentice in the “art of housewifery,” essentially learning how to be a domestic servant. Usually, they were responsible for keeping the home clean, and maintaining the fireplaces would have been one of the tasks for a house maid. This was especially important during the colder months. If Elizabeth was learning to clean a hearth, she may have been taught using techniques from the 1762 publication, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘋𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺, 𝘐𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥; 𝘰𝘳 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦-𝘒𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 by Hannah Glass, which instructs its readers to use a mixture of red-lead and milk and rubbing the bricks with a brush or rag.

09/02/2026

What's better than spending a beautiful summer Saturday evening at the Read House Gardens? Enjoying the gardens with a paintbrush in one hand and a cocktail in the other!

Saturday's 𝘗𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘦: 𝘈𝘳𝘵 𝘈𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘮𝘴 featured a watercolor tutorial by Read House intern Kayla Wilen, signature cocktails from The Mercury Cafe and Teahouse, and creativity from our guests, who found their own inspiration among the flowers and blooms of our newly restored parterre garden.

This event was sponsored in part by the Robert R. and Mary Wolcott Davis Endowed Fund.

08/31/2026

The Delaware Historical Society is proud to announce we are participating in Spotlight Delaware’s First State Fun Day, where Delawareans across the state can enjoy FREE admission and special programming at more than 15 attractions. Visit both the Delaware History Museum & Mitchell Center for African American Heritage AND at the Read House & Gardens on Saturday, September 26 - register today at spotlightdelaware.org/first-state-fun-day

08/27/2026

Join us in the beautiful Read House gardens this Saturday, August 29 from 6-8 p.m. for a paint and sip surrounded by our seasonal blooms!

Enjoy cocktails inspired by the gardens from The Mercury Cafe and Teahouse while painting a watercolor the flowers of your choice. No experience necessary. Guests must be 21+.

Register here: https://dhs.givecloud.co/painting-the-parterre

08/21/2026

Try your hand at painting a watercolor of one of the Read House Gardens' seasonal blooms while sipping a garden-inspired cocktail from The Mercury Cafe and Teahouse!

Saturday, August 29 | 6 - 8 p.m. | $25

We'll gather in the gardens to learn watercolor technique, and each guest can select their own flower to paint. No experience necessary! This event is for ages 21+.

https://dhs.givecloud.co/painting-the-parterre

08/17/2026

The Read House gardens will be CLOSED tomorrow, Tuesday, August 18 for mosquito treatment. Thank you for understanding.

08/10/2026

Join us this Saturday in New Castle for our August 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘞𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 walking tour. Learn about the history and culture of generations of Black families while walking through the neighborhoods where they lived and worked.

August 15 | 1-3 p.m. | Meet at the Read House

Can't make it this weekend? We're offering this tour one Saturday each month through November. Register here: https://dhs.givecloud.co/these-houses-were-homes-2026

08/07/2026

It's First Friday! On the First Friday of each month, we share a favorite from the Read House & Gardens. In July, we dove into an engraving entitled "Declaration of Independence," which hangs in the front parlor. This month, as we continue to mark the 250th anniversary of its signing, Read House Lead Ambassador Pam Mansfield explores the signatures on the Declaration itself:

While July 4, 1776, marks the official adoption of the Declaration of Independence, finalizing the document took several weeks. On that day, the Continental Congress formally declared the thirteen colonies independent from Great Britain.

By July 19, Congress instructed that the text be engrossed (calligraphed) on parchment under the official title, "The unanimous declaration of the thirteen united states of America," and signed by all members.

Though commonly associated with July 4th, the signing of the Declaration actually began on August 2, 1776.

Congress President John Hancock was the first to sign, placing his bold and prominent signature below the center of the text. The remaining delegates' signatures are arranged geographically from north to south, starting with New Hampshire, then Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

Following this pattern, one can match the delegates to their states- for the most part. Not all delegates were present on August 2nd, so they signed where there was available space. Late-arriving New Hampshire delegate Matthew Thornton found a spot and signed at the bottom of column six below Connecticut. Others, like John Dickinson, who opposed separation from British rule, chose not to sign at all.

In the end, the Declaration's unique layout reflects both geographical order and practical necessity, capturing a pivotal moment in history through the signatures of those who risked everything for independence.

Address

42 The Strand
New Castle, DE
19720

Opening Hours

Thursday	11am - 4pm
Friday	11am - 4pm
Saturday	11am - 4pm
Sunday	11am - 4pm

Telephone

(302) 322-8411

Website

https://linktr.ee/readhouseandgardens

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