James Henry “Nip” Winters
Born in 1899 in Washington DC, James Henry Winters was a pitcher in the Negro leagues from 1919-1933. Winters, who was also known as “Jesse” and “Nip,” was one of the top left-handed pitchers of his day. Known for his wild style and pitching speed, he began his baseball career playing for the Norfolk Stars. […]
St. John the Evangelist Church
Built in 1882, St. John the Evangelist Church was the third Catholic church to be built in the Hockessin area. Soon after it opened, St. John’s established a parochial school in its hall. By 1934 the school was closed due to dwindling financial support. Parishioners outgrew the existing church by the mid-20th century and in […]
Mount Salem U. M. Church
NC-217: Originally Installed in 2015. In 1854, a Methodist Society was organized in the African American community in New Castle. Not long after the society’s inception, the group adopted the name Mount Salem Methodist Church and purchased land on which to build a church. Mount Salem’s first members helped build the first church in 1878, […]
One Love Park
NCC-216: Originally named Tatnall Street Playground in 1907, this park is located across the street from the home at 2311 Tatnall Street that singer-songwriter Bob Marley occupied with his mother in 1966. In order to raise funds to start his own record label in Jamaica, Marley assumed the alias “Donald Marley” and worked as a […]
Walnut Street YMCA
NC-215: Originally Installed in 2015. Walnut Street YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association) was designed by Wilmington architect G. Morris Whitehead II as a community center for the city’s African-American population. Construction began on the three-story structure in 1939 and the building was dedicated in September 1940. A gift from Mr. and Mrs. H Fletcher Brown […]
Union Lodge No. 5, A.F. & A. M.
NC-214: Chartered on June 24, 1765 by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania A.Y.M., Lodge No. 5 at Cantwell’s Bridge (later known as Odessa) became the first Masonic lodge established in Delaware. The lodge was admitted to membership under the Grand Lodge of Delaware in January, 1816. Lodge No. 5 moved to Middletown in 1822 and […]
William “Judy” Johnson Park
NC-212: Originally Installed in 2015. Regarded as one of the best third baseman to have played in the Negro Leagues, William Julius “Judy” Johnson (1899-1989) grew up nearby on the west side of Delamore Place. During his youth, Johnson played baseball at various lots in the city, including one located between 2nd and 3rd Streets […]
Iron Hill School #112-C
The Iron Hill area was a community of African American farming and mining families. Constructed in 1923, Iron Hill School #112-C was one of over 80 schools built with funding from Pierre S. duPont, who sought to replace rundown public schools with modern facilities. Open from 1923-1964, the school was in session from September through […]
Former Site of the Hunn and Alston Farms
NC-210: Originally Installed in 2015. Near this location were the farms of John Alston (1794-1872) and John Hunn (1818-1894), cousins who shared the Quaker faith and were well documented operatives on Delaware’s Underground Railroad, John Alston sometimes employed fugitives as laborers on his farm and in 1850, sheltered a young woman named Molly who was later […]
Tweed’s Tavern
Formerly known as “MudFort,” this log structure was built circa 1790. The original two-story building measured 21 X 27 feet, and featured an attic and full stone basement. A later tax assessment describes the house as “large” and cites the presence of a “cookery (separate, original kitchen), frame barn, and stables.” In 1802, the tavern […]
