The Saving Delaware History Podcast

Named after the canaries common in coal mines towards the beginning of the 20th century, After the Canary Song examines the true stories behind popular disaster songs. This podcast from the Johnson Victrola Museum discusses the original tragedies that inspired these songs and the ways in which they became distorted with time. You can find new episodes of After the Canary Song every other week on all your regular podcast hosts and at https://www.buzzsprout.com/1831758.

This is the last episode of The Saving Delaware History Podcast. Thank you for your support and please continue exploring your local history. Learn more about the Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs at history.delaware.gov. Find After the Canary Song at https://www.buzzsprout.com/1831758.

In the hometown of nine governors, the birthplace of Dixie cup wooden spoons, and the site of the first attempt at integration in Delaware lies this post-office-turned-museum, displaying collections of the state bug, Milford inventions, and World War I and II premier shipbuilding. Review the exhaustive contributions of this town to Delaware history in this episode with Museum Director Claudia Leister. This episode deviates from the established style of the Saving Delaware History Podcast in its more conversational tone and minimal editing. If you have the time, please offer your thoughts on this episode via this form: Thoughts on Milford Museum Episode

When the distant Canadian descendants of Commander Drew of the sloop DeBraak came looking for the watch imprinted with their family crest, they found it carefully conserved within the Division for Historical and Cultural Affair's archives of thousands of shipwreck artifacts. Dive into extensive coverage of Delaware's maritime history with our returned guest, Paul Nasca, the state's Curator of Archaeology.

As one of the first communities to attempt desegregation, Milford, Delaware grappled with an uncooperative state government, prolonged harassment of minors, the resignation of an entire school board, disenrollment of any integrated student, and the forestallment of integration for more than a decade. Learn about them here:The Link The URL: https://edtrust.org/the-equity-line/extraordinary-districts-special-edition-the-milford-11/ Another source: https://www.capegazette.com/node/65880 

Long-treasured locations like Funland in Rehoboth, Delaware, are brought before the State Historic Review Board, where they rigorously check the nominated sites against maintenance requirements and cultural significance standards before forwarding the approvals down to Washington, D.C. Unfold this episode of The Saving Delaware History Podcast with the Board's Chairman Jim Ellison. 

Modeled after the home of Dolly and James Madison, this estate, built by William duPont Jr., boasts a horsetrack akin to that of the Kentucky Derby, including a fishing pond, volleyball courts, tennis courts, and plenty of field space. Take in this coverage of Bellevue Hall, now part of a public park, with Interpretive Programs Manager Nick Madden. 

One people, under many nationalities, lived, worked, loved, and died in the Delaware River Valley, founding the city of Wilmington and leaving behind many forts' worth of artifacts. Discover the story of these three forts within one community with return guest Cynthia Snyder from the New Castle Court House Museum.

Running through the waters of downtown Wilmington courses a replica of the Kalmar Nyckel, a 17th-century pinnace and the Swedish colonial ship that founded the first permanent European settlement in Delaware. Brave the rough river waters in this dialogue again with Samuel Heed, Senior Historian from the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation.Visit their website: https://www.kalmarnyckel.org/View the mentioned animation: Tall Ship Time MachinePhotographer: Crewmember Jon Caspar

Diamond merchant Peter Minuit, who struck the bargain for Manhattan after governing New Amsterdam, hand-picked Fort Christina, the foundation of today's city of Wilmington. Untangle the development of Delaware's most populous city in this talk with Samuel Heed, Director of Education for the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation.

Along with her phenomenal team of horticulturists, she makes what appears ugly beautiful again by hemming boxwoods and planting annuals. Take a look at how horticulture serves the mission of Delaware Historical and Cultural Affairs in this discussion with Elizabeth Gant.

Tracked throughout history and across geography, aerial images from the Cultural and Historic Resource Information System (CHRIS) display Delaware's and the nation's historic properties and developments as they evolved. Investigate this geographic information database with Jenifer Anderson-Reno, the Cultural Research Center Resource Manager from the State Historic Preservation Office. Explore for yourself: Cultural and Historic Resource Information System 

A Harlem Renaissance activist, poetess, and teacher; one of the first desegregated schools in the US; and a major transition point in the Underground Railroad, all encircled within the bounds of the second smallest state. Review some of the many achievements of African Americans from Delaware with architectural historian Carlton Hall of the State Historic Preservation Office. 

“Liberty and Justice for ALL!!!” declares the hot-pink sign created by Gail Reid for last year's removal of the whipping post at the Old Sussex Court House, which was recently acquired by the HCA's Collections program. Take in this story about Gail's protest poster as told by Curator of Collections Elizabeth Coulter and Ms. Reid herself. See the poster: @delawarehistoryHelp her nonprofit: Aliyah's Cupboard 

Sea merchants, insurance companies, past scavengers, and modern salvors all subjected Delaware's shipwrecks to centuries of salvaging; only in the past half-century have they been the focus of archaeological recoveries. Delve into Delaware's many marine riches with underwater archaeologist Stephanie Soder of the State Historic Preservation Office. 

Back from the ‘60s as one of only 63 known to the world, the Futuro House imitates for the common man the ability to live in a spaceship. Queue up this episode with Madeline Dunn, the National Register Coordinator, and Emily Whaley, a Cultural Preservation Specialist, from the State Historic Preservation Office to discuss the phenomenal structure and the status of its acceptance to the National Register.See it yourself: The Futuro House 

Since six years old, she knew she wanted a career in archaeology and paleontology; after almost two decades performing Section 106 reviews, she rose to the second-highest preservation post in Delaware. On the first day of National Historic Preservation Month, listen in to this talk with Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer Gwen Davis about the State Historic Preservation Office.

The socioeconomic elite of early 1800s Philadelphia sought the distinctive, detailed portraiture of Sarah Miriam Peale, one of the first women accepted into the respected Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the painter of families closely intertwined with early Delaware politics. Join us today to speak with Curator of Collections Elizabeth Coulter and Curator of Collections Management Laura Walsh about the history of the Collections team and one such work which has been bestowed upon them. Some associated links: The Portrait in CollectionsThe Collections Website 

The hundreds of graves uncovered last month are only the most recent revelation in the lengthy record of African Americans employed on the John Dickinson Plantation. Press play to hear Gloria Henry and Annie Fenimore, the Site Supervisor and Lead Interpreter of the John Dickinson Plantation, contextualize the historical significance of this discovery. 

Behind the scenes, supporting all of the sites owned by the Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs and maintaining their historic integrity, labors the Maintenance Team. Learn about this career niche in today's chat with the HCA's recetly-promoted chief of maintenance operations, James Scott.

In comes the Swedish ambassador, directly from Washington, to visit the archaeological dig that found a demolished colonial fort in Historic New Castle. Listen in to the story of Fort Casimir as told by Craig Lukezic, former Historic Archaeologist for the State Historic Preservation Office and now Cultural Resource Manager for the United States Navy.Preorder his book: The Archaeology of New Netherland: A World Built on Trade

Shirley Temple, on her way to New York, stops into a teahouse on The Green, yards away from Delaware's first county jail, one of the only tuition-free schools in Delaware, and Immanuel Church. Rejoin us today to speak again with Cynthia Snyder of the New Castle Court House Museum about this historic location.

Connecting the Pencader Heritage Museum, Cooch's Bridge, Cooch-Dayett Mill, and the Thomas Cooch House will be an interpretative biking and walking path designed by the Friends of Cooch's Bridge. Hear in this talk with President of the Friends of Cooch's Bridge Vince Watchorn about these sites' preservation and education potential.

A little-known fact: The last casualty in the Battle of Cooch's Bridge was in 1996, when a cannon ball fell off the mantel and onto Richard Cooch Junior's foot, resulting in an urgent trip to the Emergency Room. Hear more about this and many such anecdotes in this episode as Judge Richard Cooch recounts his family's history. 

In conjunction with elementary history and environmental curriculums and Delaware's Division for Historical and Cultural Affairs, Cooch-Dayett Mill served for a time as an educational center and tree-hugger hub. Tune in to this episode with Site Manager Joe Sebastiani and Programs Team Leader David Pragoff to learn how its history continued.

At the dawn of national commercial markets, Cooch-Dayett Mill, by partnering with the University of Delaware's early Agriculture Department, advanced industrial feed production through a series of experiments in processing corn and flour for optimal nutrition. Listen to this interview to learn the history of the mill as told by Eric Gollannek, Executive Director of the Saugatuck-Douglas History Center.

General George Washington and 800 troops stand on Iron Hill, facing an opposition force two to three times their size, in what will be the only Revolutionary War battle to take place in Delaware. Listen today to Mr. Wade Catts, a registered professional archaeologist and specialist in the Battle of Cooch's Bridge, as he explains this historic conflict.

General George Washington and 800 troops stand on Iron Hill, facing an opposition force two to three times their size, in what will be the only Revolutionary War battle to take place in Delaware. Listen today to Mr. Wade Catts, a registered professional archaeologist and specialist in the Battle of Cooch's Bridge, as he explains this historic conflict.

From the county division that gave you one of America's first three railroads came the invention of railroad signals, America's busiest canal and Delaware's only Revolutionary War battle. Queue up this episode to hear more about Pencader Hundred from Keith Jackson, Linda Duffy, and Bob Barnes of the Pencader Heritage Museum.

The only functional historic mill in Delaware, Abbott's Mill, underwent multiple groundbreaking (for the time) renovations, from water wheel power to water turbine and eventually its pièce de résistance, the diesel engine. Join me today to speak with Site Manager Matt Babbitt of the Delaware Nature Society. 

Having served as the emergency meeting place for Delaware's General Assembly in the middle of the Revolutionary War, this almost 250-year-old brick manor offers historic tree tours and an idyllic wedding venue. Tune in for this history of Belmont Hall with Mrs. Susan Wolfe and Mr. Bob Merrill.

Once a resplendent manor owned by a politician interested in experimental agriculture, then home to a two-term Delaware Senator and Secretary of State, and now a favorite jaunt of Senator Tom Carper, Buena Vista Mansion offers the idyll of a private residence with the convenience of being just off Route 13. Hear more about this estate's history in this talk with Site Manager Janis Oppenheimer and Site Supervisor Sara Clendaniel.

Straight pins, button molds, and scrap metal: the colonial keys to understanding the Avery family's lives after they moved from bustling Boston to rural Delaware. Get to know the commonplace, domestic operations of Avery's Rest in this episode with historian Julianne Danna.Check out her full paper: Culture and  Comfort: A Study of Personal Adornment at Avery's Rest

For years, anthropologists and archeologists at the Smithsonian Institution have worked to uncover the maternal relations and habitual vices secreted within the bones found at Avery's Rest. Today we speak with researcher Raquel Fleskes about the bioarchaeological perspectives revealed by their intensive DNA analysis.  Read her full paper: Ancient DNA and bioarchaeological perspectives on European and African diversity and relationships on the colonial Delaware frontier

Organic or inorganic, treasured or forgotten, only a very few of the items we leave behind persist long enough to become artifacts in the archaeological record. Hear about the tangible remnants found at Avery's Rest in this discussion with State Curator of Archaeology Paul Nasca.

Unidentified remains for eleven people, constituting the largest colonial burial site in Delaware, were inadvertently discovered in 2007 as a part of an excavation by the Archaeological Society of Delaware. Join us for this introduction to the Avery's Rest site with Chief Project Manager Dan Griffith.

Sword a-swinging, former Sheriff Clayton brazenly ran Delaware's General Assembly out of their unfinished statehouse and into a local tavern, where, ironically, they simply resumed their contemplation of Prohibition. Listen to the rest of this story from Delaware's Old State House in this episode with historians Gavin Malone and Nena Todd. 

The only Founding Father who refused to sign the Declaration of Independence. The enslaved woman who convinced him to buy her and grant her children freedom. Listen to these and other stories of John Dickinson and Dinah unfold in this talk with Site Supervisor Gloria Henry at the John Dickinson Plantation. 

The Zwaanendael Museum encompasses Europe's first steps in Delaware in the town of Swanendael in 1631, as well as rotating exhibits on Lewes's social, maritime, and military past. Tune in to this conversation with Site Supervisor Bridget Warner to uncover the other histories showcased at the museum.

Posthumous Grammy-award-winner Eldridge Johnson and his innovative Victor Talking Machine Company are memorialized in the Johnson Victrola Museum. Listen to this interview with the museum's Lead Interpreter Chris Hall to learn how Johnson created today's advertising techniques and founded the modern music-making industry.

Delaware's first courthouse, now the New Castle Court House Museum, hosted the infamous trials of abolitionists Thomas Garrett and John Hunn and oversaw Neil v. Delaware, the eventual Supreme Court case on fair jury representation. Join us for a discussion of Garrett's contributions to Uncle Tom's Cabin and the true nature of Neil's indictment with historians Cynthia Snyder and Nicole Worthley.

A brief description of the Saving Delaware History Podcast: what we cover, who we talk to, and why we do it.The HCA Website: https://history.delaware.gov/Our Podcast Website: https://thesavingdelawarehistorypodcast.buzzsprout.com/