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Our first bid to save public records was long said to have been in 1818, but a project to digitize old legislative records just found this earlier proposal, introduced in January 1787, to create a state archive.

The fully searchable and digitized1950 US census records are available online starting April 1st, 2022. Click to learn more and search!

This newly available collection consists of 82 historical photographs of trolleys and locomotives in the Wilmington area. The majority of the photos are of trolley cars, either on area streets, at the car barn, or at the car garage

The Abram H. Draper Collection consists of 34 unique pieces of correspondence, including letters and poetry from Sergeant Abram H. Draper to his wife Anna M. Wiley Draper during the American Civil War.

The Delaware Public Archives is honored to announce the accession of a new collection to their holdings: The Robert Fangman Collection: United Airlines Flight 175 Flight Attendant.

The Delaware Public Archives will service Delaware marriage certificates up to 1970. For marriage certificates from present-day to 1971, please contact the Office of Vital Statistics.

In celebration of Black History month, we have created an online display, “Delta Sigma Theta & The March for Women’s Suffrage.”

During the 17th-century, Anglo-European settlers established colonies throughout the Delaware Valley. The century saw the establishment of colonial societies in what became one of the most culturally diverse areas in North America. These complex cultural and social interactions continued well after Delaware, known then as the “Lower Counties” of Pennsylvania, became an English colony in 1664. Integrating information from archaeological and historic research, this presentation will examine what life was like on this frontier in what is now central Delaware. Discussed will be such topics as the pattern of settlement, landscape and environmental adaptations, immigration, family and household structure, transportation networks, and material culture.

In this program, local historian Lew Miller will discuss the sudden rise of Abraham Lincoln to the Presidency. How did this unknown former congressman pull off such a great upset? What events led southerners to the brink of secession? Lincoln was a brilliant politician but his rise to the presidency could not have happened without both mistakes by his rivals for the Republican nomination and circumstances beyond his control. The story of how he became president involves powerful personalities, a nation in crisis, and a few chance events.