Tom (William) Marvel, grandson of Nutter D. Marvel, Sr., honors his legacy. He resides in Georgetown.
With all the controversy surrounding the Nutter D. Marvel Carriage Museum in Georgetown and the flying of the Confederate flag on the grounds, and with Return Day and its festivities just around the corner, I just wanted to say a few words about the man who created the complex, my grandfather, Nutter D. Marvel Sr.
My grandfather was a kind and generous man, who developed his love for horses at a very early age. He was born in 1902 on a secluded wooded farm adjacent to where the Sussex County landfill is located now. His parents ran a sawmill operation on the property, where horses were a key ingredient in the day-to-day operations and, needless to say, were the only mode of transportation at the time.
Early on, my grandfather’s job at the mill was the feeding and grooming of the horses. He would attend a small, one-room schoolhouse and live at home until his early 20s, when he got married and moved to Georgetown, where he would reside for the rest of his life. After marriage, he started out by operating a small filling station, where he worked on old Model T’s and sold kerosene for them for 3 cents a gallon.
From those humble beginnings, my grandfather went on to become a very successful businessman. He would become an owner of a fuel oil distributorship and own 19 gas stations throughout Kent and Sussex counties. He would also become very interested in politics, becoming a prominent and influential member of the Democratic Party. He was elected as a state representative in the early ’50s and contributed strongly to the Democratic Party all his life. He once held a party for then-New Castle County Councilman Joe Biden, when he kicked off his first U.S. Senate campaign versus Caleb Boggs in 1972.
His business and political life would, however, never get in the way of his love for horses and the simple way of life. His wife could be heard on many occasions saying that she wasn’t sure what he loved more, his family or that “damn collection of horse stuff he has out in those barns.”
His love for horses would also make him very influential in Delaware’s harness racing industry throughout the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. He would come to own many racehorses and become a member of the board of directors of the Georgetown and Brandywine raceways.
In 1964, my father — Nutter’s only son — passed away, and Nutter’s wife died shortly thereafter. This, obviously, left a large void that he filled by continuing his collection of horse-related memorabilia and historical items related to the town of Georgetown and Sussex County. This is when he started a small museum in a two-room outbuilding he had behind his home. This building was put out there just after World War II. In the ’50s, he was having to store items in warehouses that he owned. That is about the time he came up with the idea for the complex you see today.
In the mid-’60s, he started to move buildings of some historic significance, such as the old train station from the Greenwood/Harrington area and the old one-room schoolhouse where he went to school. He also moved an old blacksmith shop, a small gas station annex, two barrel-roof barns and a church he attended when he was a young man.
He filled these up with carriages, sleighs, buggies, old photos, antiques and any other items he saw that would remind him of days gone by. The complex was ready to be viewed by the public in the late ’60s/early ’70s. He continued to make additions to the museum up until shortly before he passed away in 1988.
I do not want to end this story without mentioning my grandfather’s relationship to Return Day. Besides being a kind and caring man, he was also quite the entertainer and just enjoyed being around people. These qualities, along with the fact that he owned horses and carriages that could be utilized during the Return Day parade, made the two a natural pair. From 1942-1946, Return Day was canceled because of the war. I was told that my grandfather was one of the people instrumental in reviving the festivities again. For all his work, they made him the grand marshal of the parade in 1948. Since then, my grandfather’s name has always been synonymous with Return Day.
From 1948 on, he would always drive the lead politician through the parade in his best carriage. When he was no longer able to handle a team of horses, he would ride along with a friend who would drive the carriage. He did not miss a single parade until a stroke incapacitated him in 1986. After that, he would lend out any of the carriages for their use in the parade. Upon completion of his museum complex, he would also allow the place to become a staging area for the parade — a place where people who were driving carriages in the parade could have some breakfast in the dining hall and then hook up their horses to the carriages prior to the parade.
In the ’70s, he began having a party for the dignitaries, carriage drivers and workers, and parade committee workers the night following the parade. He had two player pianos and would hire a swing band for the event. However, he had to discontinue it in the early ’80s due to outsiders overcrowding the event and causing vandalism and theft.
All in all, Return Day was my grandfather’s favorite time of the year. He enjoyed displaying his showmanship, his collection and the small town he was from. Above all of that, however, he just enjoyed a good time with old friends, reminiscing about a time that had all but passed him by.
It is harder than I thought to put someone’s life into 1,000 or so words, especially a life that has been as full and as rewarding as my grandfather’s. I just hope this has given you a small insight into a man who gave his love of horses, the horse-drawn era and some history of our town and county to the people of Georgetown and Sussex County.
