Old New Castle

In my last post, I said that I’ll take some pictures of the city of Historic New Castle. Today, I decided to walk around!

Established in 1651 by the Dutch, New Castle was one of the first settlements in Delaware and where William Penn first set foot in the United States. It was invaded and taken over various times early on, and now we’re left with a nice colonial village for me to take pictures of.

Van Dyke Armory, where you can buy tickets to visit some of the museums in New Castle. This sits at the front of the city.

Very old trees are pushing up the bricks in the sidewalk. I remember these when I was a child.

Constructed in the 1800s, this is a large Methodist church still in use today. There’s a few large churches in the town.

The Historic New Castle post office; while I don’t have a date, it was probably constructed in the 1800s like most of the buildings around here. I didn’t take any pictures from the inside, but the post office is fully operational.

Like the post office, the library is also fully operational; it was established in 1810.

A view from inside the library. No, I’m not joking.

Another view from inside the library, with a more modern look to it.

Perspective shot of a side road. There’s some more modern houses built in with the older ones, with the cobblestone road underneath the street tarred over.

The Amstel House, built in the 1700s. Currently a museum; in the late 1700s, there was wedding between Ann Van Dyke and Kensey Johns, Sr. George Washington was a guest at the wedding, and legend has it he threw a glass by a fireplace and broke it.

There’s a house right next to it currently for sale, and it’s just as old. Sadly, it’s about $600,000 and I can’t afford that. Anyone that rich? Want to send me some money? :)

There’s a small garden behind the house, surrounded by a brick wall. You can see the house in the back that’s currently for sale.

There’s various small shops along Main Street, New Castle; some established long ago.

This is the Court House, serving as Delaware’s first State House. Delaware was signed into being the first state of the union in this building. It’s a museum now, and not open; so I couldn’t get any pictures of the inside.

The angle was really messed up on this building, which is a shame, it’s a really cool place. It’s a two-story artesian art house. It’s managed by six artists and in the back is a small coffee house. I bought a large Iced Chai Tea Latte, and not only was it delicious, it was about $2 cheaper than everywhere else! I’ll certainly be returning, and when I do, I’ll try to take some pictures of the inside.

On the side of the house, there’s a path leading to a secret garden, where you can wine and dine.

After having some tea, I walked off the main road to find a clock tower as part of a church.

Some of the roads in this city are still cobblestone, and they’re still driven on.

The plaque reads:

THESE STONES WERE SLEEPERS IN THE NEW CASTLE AND FRENCHTOWN RAILROAD.COMPLETED IN 1831,THE FIRST RAILROAD IN DELAWARE AND ONE OF THE FIRST IN THE UNITED STATES. ERECTED BY THE COMMIS- SIONERS OF OLD COURT HOUSE 1915 You are staring at a 100-year-old pile of rocks!

This is the garden of The George Read II House. The house was built in the late 1700s.

This is a map of the garden with the location of the house at the end. I had a nice stroll through that garden.

While walking around, I saw a squirrel. I was able to calm it down long enough to stand up, so I can snap its picture!

Some shots of the garden.

The house overlooks the river; I found a sailboat traveling along.

And finally, on the other side of the garden, is the house itself!

While I was walking back, I noticed something written on the side of a building. It looks like an advertisement for ivory soap!

Another shot of a side street, from Main Street.

Small museum that’s only open a few days out of the month.

This is a tavern that I’ll have to visit. You hear that, Jon? We’re going when I get paid!

A shot of another house, with a pretty large yard.

And last, one more shot of the river. It looks horseshoe due to being a panoramic. Sorry about that.