By Mike Finney(Editor’s note: This is the first in a series this week on America’s 250th and what was happening in Dover in 1776.)
DOVER — The tiny John Bell House sits unassuming on The Green, surrounded by dignified government buildings and stately homes.
However, of all the historic properties in the heart of the state capital, the John Bell House has probably witnessed more history than any other.
That is what makes it such a unique place to work and visit, says Nicole Hutchison, interpretive programs manager for First State Heritage Park, which oversees the property.
The John Bell House is about 30 yards from where the Declaration of Independence was first read to the public in Dover on July 29, 1776, when it was read to the citizens from the front porch of the original Kent County Courthouse (a small brick structure built in 1722), which stood on the site of what is now the Old State House.
The small clapboard-covered cottage was originally constructed as a workshop and tavern complex outbuilding and is one of a handful of its kind still surviving in America.
“The John Bell House was built between 1743 and 1760,” Hutchison pointed out. “We know by 1760 it was on the record, but there is a beam inside that says ‘1743,’ so there’s a chance it could have been here at that time, or it was lumber from another building.
“It was here throughout the entire (American) Revolution and well before it.”
During the American Revolution, The Green was a place where free and enslaved people would gather for market and any kind of festivities that were happening.
Hutchison says there were two wells on The Green, so it was just a place where everyone was seemingly all of the time.
“Pretty much anything that you could think of that was happening was happening out here,” noted the interpretive programs manager. “The old jail was actually right on the corner, where the courthouse was at the time has moved around a few times, but the courthouse was out here, as well.
“One of the big things that has happened here right around the American Revolution is that (Col. John) Haslet’s soldiers were mustered out here on The Green and there are stories of them marching off down old State Street.
“The story goes that there were people cheering them on as they went off to war. It was a big hullabaloo for sure.”
So, as the United States prepares to mark its 250th milestone birthday on the Fourth of July, this tiny building has witnessed it all.
Of course, there have been numerous changes along the journey.
“I’d say the whole nation has come a long way, for sure, but definitely Delaware, too,” Hutchison pointed out. “A lot of The Green has changed. Over those 250 years buildings have come, gone, been burned down, been torn down, and built back up.
“During the Bicentennial (in 1976, the state) made a huge point of revitalizing the colonial look of this area. It still is here today thanks to Mable Lloyd Ridgely, who was in charge of that (project).”
The John Bell House on the 250th
Hutchison said the First State Heritage Park team will offer many things to do on the Fourth of July celebration.
They will host a Revolutionary Dover walking tour that will start at the Bell House at 3 p.m.
They will also be putting on a founding father costume contest at 1 p.m., with a pet category, as well, if people want to bring out their pet to dress up as one of the founding fathers or mothers.
There are three categories and people can win some park swag, an annual pass, and other things the group has to offer.
The Old State House is going to have two readings of the Declaration of Independence, one at 2 p.m. and another at 4.
The John Bell House will also have colonial games throughout the day and a performance at 5 p.m. by Token Entertainment, an 18th-century sailor duo that will be performing on The Green.
“We cover 300 years of Delaware history at our site, but our bread-and-butter is the 18th century and the American Revolution and we talk a lot about the middle class and lower classes and the working class of the American Revolution here,” Hutchison noted.
“We’ve churned butter, we cook out back, we do candle making, sewing … all different kinds of things.”
It all plays a part in keeping the history of Dover alive.
Staff writer Mike Finney can be reached at 302-741-8230 or mfinney@iniusa.org.
