Letter to the Editor: Demolition of Scull Mansion is assessment of Dover community

Over a year ago, I wrote this publication with some muted pessimism regarding the fate of the Scull Mansion. Unfortunately, the worst has come true, and Bayhealth has stated that they intend to demolish the house in the next few weeks.

The title of the article, “We need more help to be able to save Scull Mansion,” assessed the situation accurately. Preservation is a community project, and our city, county and state do not have leaders willing to take the kind of action needed to save places like the Scull Mansion. It is hardly the only recent loss from the National Register of Historic Places in Delaware.

From the Bayhealth board to the mayor, City Council, Levy Court commissioners and state leaders, we needed a leader willing to question this decision and stand by citizens willing to speak up. But perhaps no one stepped up because we as a community don’t know what we want.

Dover and Kent County is a place where it is a struggle to live for so many. Long without economic purpose, exacerbated by the export of so much of our economy up and down Del. 1 since its completion, it is time for our leaders to acknowledge that we have a community in painful decline, a decline that can only be addressed by coming together around what we have, to include wonderful people and great, affordable, old buildings.  

Though we need to acknowledge the faults, we need an honest civic boosterism. We need to be proud of this place. We’re suffering, as well, from people making everything seem worse than it is, from crime to homelessness to disinvestment, when every place is dealing with these issues.

If I were to open Dover’s comprehensive plan, it would provide me hundreds of pages of facts and figures but not the most important thing that needs to be there: a vision. Right now, our city’s vision is undefined. We may have lost the Scull Mansion, but we have so much else.

Please don’t blame one person; we’re ultimately all to blame and not to blame for the loss of the Scull Mansion. Its demolition is an honest assessment of the state of our community.

It’s time to roll up our sleeves and stop talking like everything is fine. But also to stop talking like everything is terrible. It’s time to figure out who Dover is.

My hope is it is a group interested in fixing up its wonderful collection of old buildings. When we know who we are, we can start this process.

Nate Attard

Dover