New Castle, DE

by Carol Milano

Not every place lives to be 350 years old, but New Castle, Del., is one that has—so it’s going to celebrate. The party is set for October.

“It’s amazing to walk down a street where William Penn, Davy Crockett, George Washington, and the Marquis de Lafayette all passed by,” says Don Reese, a town councilman, referring to a sign on old Packet Alley that names people who came by boat from Philadelphia.

Like many in New Castle (pop. 5,200), Reese is hooked on his town’s past. Located near the mouth of the Delaware River, the town always has lured explorers—Swedish, Dutch, and British flags all have flown over the town.

“My house was built in 1830. We’re the third family to live in it,” Reese says. Such dates are points of pride, and one resident jokes that he even knows the age of his phone: 111—14 years younger than his house. “We’re the new people on the block—homes here date to late 1600s and early 1700s,” he says.

From 1732 to 1777, New Castle was Delaware’s capital, and the Colonial Assembly met in the courthouse. Today, the city council convenes in the restored town hall across the street, built in the 1700s. And though the issues have changed, council meetings are real grass roots. A recent meeting on skateboarding packed the house. “People didn’t want it in the historic district because it damaged the bricks,” Reese says. Skateboarding was banned.

Former Mayor John Euben is proud of the attention New Castle’s cobblestone streets and well-preserved structures have brought it, citing two National Geographic Traveler articles and a recent documentary on the underground railroad that was shot here. Authentic Colonial, Victorian, and Federal-style buildings have brought crews from Good Morning America, many PBS movie crews, and the feature films Dead Poets Society and Beloved were filmed here.

Euben, a 38-year resident, says that despite the attention New Castle has gotten, “We don’t advertise much. We want to stay the way we are—a quaint, living, breathing town, not a restoration.” New Castle nearly had a different fate, though: In the 1930s, the Rockefellers were looking for a historic town to turn into a living museum. A member of the family visited New Castle, hoping to transform it. When the town failed to express interest, they turned instead to what eventually became Historic Williamsburg in Virginia.

“The fun of living here are the celebrations that touch on our history,” says Bob Sigmund, a former New Jersey resident and past chairman for A Day In Old New Castle, held on a May Saturday. Another holiday, Separation Day (June 6), commemorates Delaware’s declaration of independence from Great Britain—as well as northern Delaware’s separation from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, of which it once was a part.

But the town’s biggest celebration is still to come. Heading a committee for the town’s 350th anniversary, to be celebrated Oct. 6-7, Sigmund looks forward to historic re-enactments, musical and dancing entertainment, and demonstrations of Colonial arts such as candle making, with the courthouse and museums opening their doors to take part.

Such celebrations aside, life in New Castle delights its citizens. New Castle’s residents, Sigmund says, include “those who were raised here (some going back several generations), retirees, and people who commute to work”—often in nearby Wilmington. He estimates the five-square-block historic district population at 1,500, and, for its residents, the town’s past remains vivid in its present.

Norma Weir is one of those. “Living on Delaware (the main street), we sit outside and talk to people who walk by. They speak many languages,” she says, noting the town’s attraction for international tourists. Captivated by the town’s heritage, she admires its architecture and belongs to several preservation societies. Weir is a part-time guide at the 200-year-old Reade House. Its 12 rooms and adjacent formal gardens are open to the public. Several descendants of original owner George Reade, the son of a local signer of the Declaration Independence and the Constitution, still live in town.

Weir, who likes to visit the river every day, says, “It’s beautiful to have that lovely walk each morning at sunrise, or at sunset.” She says she appreciates “people working to accomplish a common goal. We garden in the public gardens to beautify the town. Groups of us make a quilt together to raffle off every year at the annual May Market.” The money goes into a community fund.

Weir arrived in 1988 when her husband was transferred to the area and always expected to return to their Pittsburgh “home.” He retired this year—in New Castle.

“We like New Castle so much,” Weir smiles, “we’ve decided to stay here.”

Carol Milano, who enjoys visiting historic districts, is the author of Hers: The Wise Woman’s Guide to Starting a Business on $2,000 or Less.

first appeared: 7/15/2001