Annie Jump Cannon
Annie Jump Cannon (1863-1941), a prominent astronomer who pioneered stellar classification, observed her first stars from the roof of this house. Cannon, who was legally deaf, graduated valedictorian from Wilmington Conference Academy, now Wesley College, in 1880. She continued her studies at Wellesley College and Radcliffe Women’s College at Harvard. While working at the Harvard […]
Samuel D. Burris
Samuel D. Burris, a free African-American conductor on the Underground Railroad resided in the Willow Grove area during the 1840s. He helped enslaved people find their pathway to freedom in Philadelphia. Caught for aiding and abetting runaway slaves in 1847, Burris was tried and convicted in the Kent County Court of General Sessions. He was […]
Eden Hill Farm
In 1680, a large tract of land called “Brothers Portion” was warranted to John and Richard Walker. In 1694, 200 acres of the parcel were purchased to create the town of Dover. When the town plot was completed in 1718, John Mifflin purchased 69 acres of undeveloped land from the town. The property passed through […]
Caesar Rodney School District
State Consolidated District No. 1 was authorized and created on July 1, 1915. Seven months later, on February 28, 1916, voters of the district approved the request of the State Board of Education by a vote of 52 to 1 to bond together schools in the towns of Camden and Wyoming, creating Delaware’s first-ever consolidated […]
Big Stone Beach
KC-115: Originally Installed in 2015. The metal observation tower at Big Stone Beach was one of five constructed in Delaware between World wars I and II to reinforce nearby Fort Saulsbury. These towers formed an integral part of the fort’s fire control system. Built from metal and corrugated siding, each tower featured two or three […]
Colonel John Haslet
A native of Ulster, Ireland, John Haslet was born circa 1728 and emigrated to America about 1757. After playing an active role in the Pennsylvania militia during the French and Indian War, Haslet eventually settled in the Milford area along this road on a tract of land consisting of more than 400 acres. Although he […]
Union Cemetery
The name Union Cemetery is derived from the fact that this burial site was created to inter deceased members affiliated with the African-American houses of worship in this area. Originally owned by James and Hester Till, the land for the cemetery was purchased on April 8, 1904 for $250.00 by Anna M. Johnson, Florence Whaley, […]
Byrd’s African Methodist Episcopal Church
In the early 1890s, Clayton was home to an increasing population of African-Americans, many of whom were railroad workers. Byrd’s African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church was built in 1894 to accommodate this growing community who previously had to walk several miles to Mount Friendship Church for services. The land was purchased from Willis C. Dickerson […]
Roby Methodist Church
First settled in the 18th century, the town of Leipsic quickly became a center for maritime commerce. In 1813, residents of this growing community established the Leipsic Methodist Episcopal Church. Increasing political tension over the Civil War led to a division in the membership, and on June 3, 1865 dissenting members formed a Methodist Protestant […]
Mt. Zion AME Church
KC-107: The genesis of the African Methodist Episcopal Church can be traced to Delaware in 1777 when a young slave named Richard Allen experienced a spiritual awakening at a meeting conducted by an itinerant Methodist preacher. After becoming free, Allen engaged in a long struggle to secure greater freedom of worship for his people. As […]
