Robinson House
The oldest portion of this structure is believed to have been built circa 1730. In the 1740s the house and surrounding property were sold to Philadelphia merchant Thomas Robinson. Other holdings included a milling operation and landing on nearby Naaman’s Creek. Following Thomas Robinson’s death the house passed to his son and namesake. Commissioned as […]
Hiram Lodge No. 25
NCC-159: By the 1780s, members of the Masonic fraternity were organized and meeting locally. On December 6, 1802, a charter was issued by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania for Lodge No. 96 in Newark. This was one of four Lodges whose representatives gathered in Wilmington on June 6 and 7, 1806, to form the Grand […]
Grand Lodge of Delaware
NC-156: Originally Installed in 2006. Organized Freemasonry in Delaware can be traced to the mid-18th century. For many years Lodges were chartered by other states. On June 6, 1806, representatives of Masonic Lodges located in Wilmington, New Castle, Newark, and Laurel, met at this location for the purpose of organizing the Grand Lodge of […]
Old Farmers Bank
NC-155: Originally Installed in 2006. On February 4, 1807, the General Assembly of the State of Delaware passed an act modeled after the charter of the Bank of the United States “to establish a Bank…under the name of the Farmers’ Bank of the State of Delaware.” On January 22, 1813, the General Assembly authorized the […]
Old Cathedral Cemetery
NC-154: Originally Installed in 2006: In May 1852, this parcel of land was purchased by Bishop (now Saint) John N. Neumann of Philadelphia. From the early 1850s through the late 1870s, this was the primary cemetery for Wilmington’s Catholics. Those buried here represented all walks of life, from leather workers and housekeepers to elected officials […]
Old Drawyers Presbyterian Church
NCC-153: The history of this congregation may be traced to the 1670s when Dutch and Swedish members of the “Reformed Church” were gathering locally for worship. By the first decade of the 18th century, the settlement of persons largely of Scottish descent resulted in the formal establishment of a congregation in the area then known […]
Shiloh Baptist Church
NC-152: Originally Installed in 2006. The origin of this congregation can be traced to 1875, when members of a Sunday School class affiliated with First Baptist Church met to plan the organization of a separate church to serve the needs of the city’s African-American residents. Formally organized on May 31, 1876, Shiloh was the first […]
Old Town Hall
NC-150: Originally Installed in 2006. The construction of Town Hall began in 1798. Completed the following year, this was the first structure in Wilmington built for government use. It was designed by a building committee which followed the Borough Council’s request that the structure be “built in a plain and handsome manner.” The building’s style […]
Salesianum School
NC-148: Originally Installed in 2006. Salesianum School, a Catholic high school for young men, stood at 8th and West Streets from its founding in 1903 until its move to this location in 1957. The original “House of Sales” was pioneered by Rev. Charles Fromentin, Rev. James Isenring and Rev. Louis Jacquier, priests in the order […]
Old St. Paul’s Church
NCC-147: In 1831, a Methodist Society was organized in this community. The congregation was incorporated as Cantwell’s Bridge Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832. A small meeting house known as “Brickbat Church” was subsequently constructed on land provided by Joseph C. Griffith. Desiring a larger place of worship, construction of the present building was initiated in […]
