We visited Old Swedes Historic Site last Saturday when we visited Wilmington and New Castle on a…read moreday trip to Delaware. We're visiting Sweden at the end of the month, and I was keen to learn some Swedish American history. And - to be honest - until I started researching for our day trip (after learning about the replica of the Kalmar Nyckel and its sails down the Christina River) - I didn't know much at all about New Sweden! Old Swedes Historic Site was not only very informative - but interesting! Old Swedes Historic Site is a place where you can learn about New Sweden - a Swedish colony in North America (in what is now Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania) from 1638-1655 (it was incorporated into New Netherland in 1655 after it was conquered by Peter Stuyvesant). For a time, Fort Christina (in what is now Delaware, and just down the street from Old Swedes) was the first settlement of New Sweden. At Old Swedes Historic Site, you visit three different sites in one spot and on one guided tour: the Hendrickson House (an example of a home built by Swedish colonists) that was moved to the site); the 1638 Burial Ground; and the Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) Church (built in 1698). The church was particularly interesting - with its brick floor, oldest pulpit in America, beautiful stained glass, and carved into wooden doors! Our tour guide was very nice, and the tour was only about 45 minutes (you can stay and explore more of the burial ground if you choose after the tour). In a single day, you can visit the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation and Museum (and sail on the Kalmar Nyckel), visit the park and monument now at the former site of Fort Christina, and Old Swedes Historic Site. These three stops were interesting and really gave us a much better understanding of this part of American colonial history that I was quite ignorant of. Definitely worth including in a day of exploring the area!

Oldest active church in the US…read more.. You can also stop for a National Park cancellation stamp here. Very cool grounds to walk. 5 stars for that!

Living part time in NYC where I'm reliant on public transportation, it's kind of a treat to ride in…read morethe car when I'm back in PA. I was game when my husband suggested visiting Hagley Museum in Wilmington, DE. Hagley is the DuPont family's first U.S. "home," though I'd describe it more as an estate. The property encompasses 235 acres along the banks of the Brandywine with historic buildings, a research library and black powder mills. The gardens and grounds are spectacular. There's shuttle service between the visitors' center, powder yard and DuPont residence. What particularly impressed me are the friendly and knowledgeable docents leading tours at key sites. Demonstrations are pretty cool, including a blast -- a literal blast! -- at the black powder mill. (As I learned, gunpowder is made from black powder, so not exactly synonymous.) Wear comfortable shoes. Some paths are rocky. And if you can, avoid visiting on a broiling hot day. (I should've taken my own advice!)

Hagley is a little hard to describe, but I spent hours there this past weekend, so I'll do my best!…read moreHagley is one of many properties in the area associated with the du Pont family. Hagley is where Éleuthère Irénée du Pont founded his black powder mills in 1802. For more than 100 years (the factory was the largest in the world but then closed in 1921), it was the center of the du Pont family's work, wealth, and success. The reason it's hard to explain? Hagley has multiple areas and attractions - it's not just one place or one thing. There's the Powder Yard, Workers' Hill, the historic home and gardens, and the Nation of Inventors (a museum/exhibit exploring inventors/patents in 19th century America). When you arrive at the visitor center, a friendly staff members hands over a map, which you'll need during your visit. You can walk around most of the property, but you do have to take their shuttle to get to and from the historic home and gardens. Since I was already at the visitors center, I explored the Nation of Inventors first and found it interesting and fun (with some interactive aspects). Then I walked along the Brandywine River and the mill race to the Powder Yard. There, I visited the Powder Yard Orientation Gallery (for some context), explored the roll mills (historic structures where the black powder was produced), and visited the millwright shop. At the millwright shop, the friendly staff turned on some of the 19th century machines in the machine room, explained about the work that happened at the factory, and demonstrated a small, contained black powder explosion. From there, I took the shuttle to the historic home and gardens. I visited the barn (where you can see carriages and antique vehicles), the pollinator garden, and the restored French kitchen garden, before taking a tour of the house and the First Office (a structure next to the house that served as DuPont Company headquarters). After all this, I looked at my phone to realize I had spent about 2 hours longer than I had intended to at Hagley and I was starving. It says a lot that I had intended to spend about 2 hours at the museum and then go grab lunch in Wilmington and instead spent at least 4 hours at the museum. And I didn't even make it to Workers' Hill (where you can visit another house, the Sunday school, a picnic pavilion, and the workers' garden)! There is so much to do at Hagley. I learned a ton (big thanks to the docents that helped me to learn at Hagley - Pete, John, and Jonathan), and I had a great time. Visiting Hagley is easy - most sites have tours or demonstrations on the half hour, so you're never waiting for long for something new to begin. The shuttle makes it easy to get around, but the property was also beautiful to walk around. Hagley would be great for anyone interested in history, science, or the Brandywine region. Definitely plan to spend a long time here to fully experience what it has to offer!

Battery Park is a public park in New Castle. It has a walking path/trail that leads around the edge…read moreof the park along the Delaware River. It's a nice place to stretch your legs during a day of exploring New Castle, especially if it's a pretty day. But the views can be a little industrial, and I wouldn't say it's a must see if you have a day to explore New Castle.

I really liked this park. Close to downtown. Ran along the water, which was very pretty. My only…read morenegative comment is that there is no path from the parking lot to get to the path on the water, you just had to walk over grass and uneven ground, which is difficult with a stroller or if you have difficulties walking.

As such a small state with only a few votes in the Electoral College compared to the other members…read moreof the Union, even back in the mid-1800's, Delaware didn't get much respect. Abraham Lincoln came to the First State only once when he was a Congressman but never returned when he was the President? Not even once? Also, you'd think that this would be near Lincoln Square. It isn't. The marker is on the side of a building and reads: "On June 10, 1848, Congressman Abraham Lincoln traveled to Wilmington, Delaware, for the purpose of addressing a meeting of members of the Whig political party. He was accompanied by Delaware Representative John W. Houston and two other members of Congress, who were returning to Washington from the Whig National Convention that had chosen Zachary Taylor as the party's presidential nominee. The future President and his colleagues delivered their remarks from a balcony at the east end of the Fourth Street Market House, a complex of buildings which stood in the center of 4th Street between Orange and Market. Introduced as the "Lone Star of Illinois," Mr. Lincoln was greeted with great enthusiasm by those in attendance. In a speech that was praised as "eloquent and patriotic," he extolled the principles of the Whig party and the virtue of its candidates. This was his only documented visit to the First State. After serving one term in Congress, he left public office to return to his law practice in Illinois. In 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected the 16th President of the United States."

Fantastic experience due to all of the friendly, enthusiastic and knowledgeable staff. Right from…read morethe start at the ticket booth through to Ed the tour bus driver this crew of volunteers made this a memorable visit. Of course the grounds are stunning as is the house. This estate has the best basement I have ever seen. Sure the rest of the house is beautiful but that basement is great. Don't miss the chauffer's garage and living quarters. We learned a ton about the duPonts that lived here but I now need to learn more. Well worth the price of admission! Bravo!

My husband and I went to Nemours Estate & Gardens after i had recently heard about it. The mansion…read morewas very beautiful. Just remember no eating, drinking (the complimentary water they give you upon entering their welcome center, don not touch anything, sit anywhere unless there is a throw pillow indicating "Yes you can sit here", oh yes and no chewing gum. The gardens were pretty except most of the flowers aren't in bloom in mid April, the fountains aren't turned on in the multiple reflection pools either. It would be great if they indicated all of this somewhere on their website. I just feel like you don't get your money's worth if not all of the flowers are in bloom. My advice is visit sometime in the summer possibly then maybe you'll see more. All in all it was a cool experience just to get out and do something but u definitely would have went at a later date had I known the gardens were not fully in bloom. But as a love of tulips I absolutely loved seeing those.

Fort Christina was the fort established by Swedish settlers who founded the colony of New Sweden in…read more1638. The colonists landed at "The Rocks" at the confluence of the Brandywine and Christina Rivers. In 1655, the Dutch fought the Swedes, which led to the surrender of the fort and the end of official Swedish colonial presence in America. The Dutch renamed the fort (Fort Altena), but the fort eventually fell into disrepair and vanished entirely. The land where the fort had been became part of an industrialized area but was turned into a park in 1938 to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the Swedish colonization of the area. The Crown Prince of Sweden gifted a monument to the park, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Crown Prince, and other Swedish royals attended the dedication of the park. There's not much too the park, but it was worth stopping by to see the monument and to see the remnants of "The Rocks," where the Swedes landed when they established New Sweden. Its hours are limited and seasonal (I think because it's opened and staffed by volunteers from the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation), but stop by if you're in the area and it's open!

The staff were very friendly. The park were closed most of the time. There is a museum nearby where…read moreyou can ask someone if there is any ranger available to open the park. The park itself is small. Very peaceful inside.

Another important landmark and point of history, this marker commemorates one of the station…read moremasters on the Underground Railroad. This was how many southern slaves escaped their slavery to the North and freedom. Wilmington was an important stop on this route. The marker reads: "Born August 21, 1789, in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, Garrett came to Wilmington in 1822. A prominent merchant, his home and business were located nearby on Shipley Street. Garrett was committed to the anti-slavery efforts of his Quaker faith. He is credited with assisting more than 2,700 of "God's Poor" to escape slavery through the secret network known as the Underground Railroad. Though he was convicted and fined by the U.S. District Court in 1848 for aiding runaway slaves, he refused to abandon the fight to abolish slavery. After his death on January 25, 1871, Black Wilmintonians carried him to the Quaker Cemetery at 4th and West Streets in appreciation of his unwavering commitment to the emancipation of slaves."

I visited Winterthur for the first time with my mom on Christmas Eve for their Yuletide exhibit…read more I'd been mildly curious about the mansion over the years, and it seemed like a fun thing to do on my day off from work. The mansion is ornate, truly massive, and opulent. It's a true peek into the lifestyles of the rich. The Yuletide theme this past year was centered around Christmas and children's books, like Alice and Wonderland, Twas the Night Before Christmas, etc. When we arrived, we were a bit confused on where to park, as my mom has a handicap sticker. We ended up parking right at the visitor's center where the tram retrieves guests. We didn't have a long wait. On the tram, the driver recommended starting at the house and then walking down to the galleries. She didn't mention the enchanted woods/garden, so I didn't even realize they were there until I got home later that night -- bummer. Some of the folks working the rooms were pleasant, others felt like security guards. One chided my mom for leaning her hand against a wall at one point. Some were knowledgeable, and others clearly didn't want to be there. I appreciated the girl in the garden entry room who snapped our photo with the decorated trees before we stepped into the house! I took many pictures while in the house, and then we traipsed over to the galleries. The gallery building had a doll house, a really well-done gingerbread train station, furniture and other exhibits on the ground floor, and a rotating, very interesting exhibit on African American history on the second floor. After the galleries, we stopped by the museum store, and while most everything was dramatically overpriced, I did find a few cool items in my price range. We were on the grounds for roughly 2-3 hours I'd say before having lunch nearby. Arriving early was a good choice. They do offer reciprocal garden access with other garden memberships (I have one at home in Richmond, VA), so perhaps one day I'll use that access to see the gardens that I missed!

This was not on our list of museums to hit but since the weather was so darn hot we changed what we…read morewere going to do after spending the morning at Longwood Gardens. It helped that we got free admission with our reciprocal museum membership. It was 2:30pm we when we arrived so we didn't have a lot of time. We were given good advice on what to do in our limited time from the folks at the ticket office. We took the garden tram tour which was educational and got off at the house where we did the self guided tour. You only see a small fraction of this giant mansion but that was enough for me. While most of the docents had interesting facts the actual contents of the collection were not that interesting to me. If you are really into this era of American decorative furnishing supposedly they have more in-depth guided tours. We still had time to see a bit more of the grounds around the house but with big thunderstorms rolling in we headed out. I am guessing for some this place is a must... I am glad we got free admission.

Not much to see here, I'm not sure why they would note a historical marker for a piece of road…read morethat's barely three blocks long even if it looks pretty. The marker reads: "This 14.7 acre strip of land, connecting Rockford Park and Grove with Brandywine Park, was designed by famed American landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead. The land was donated by two Wilmington businessman, William M. Fields and William Poole Bancroft, the latter known as the father of the Wilmington park system. Olmstead's design was based on Fields research of parkways in other eastern cities he visited. He concluded that the right-of-way should be 150 feet wide, with buildings set back 25 feet on either side. Kentmere Parkway was completed to Fields' specifications in 1891."