First State Times

(DOVER, Del.) — On Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022, visitors to the home of the “Penman of the Revolution” will explore Colonial-era job opportunities during the “18th Century Trades Day” that will take place between 10:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. at the Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs’ John Dickinson Plantation located at 340 Kitts Hummock Road in Dover, Delaware. All activities are free and open to the public. For additional information, call 302-739-3277.

“18th Century Trades Day” will provide opportunities to learn about traditional carpentry and candle dipping; preserving food in a smokehouse; dyeing fabric 1700s-style; and observing the power of a musket being fired.

The John Dickinson Plantation, Delaware’s first National Historic Landmark, was the boyhood home of John Dickinson, a founding father of the United States, a framer and signer of the U.S. Constitution and “Penman of the Revolution.” Dickinson wrote eloquently about freedom and liberty for all while continuing to hold human beings in bondage. The plantation shares the stories of the Dickinsons; the tenant farmers; the trades people; the indentured servants; and the free and enslaved people who lived, labored and died on the land. Administered by the Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs, the museum is a partner site in the First State National Historical Park.

^{Log’d dwelling at the John Dickinson Plantation. The building is a recreation of the type of housing inhabited by enslaved people at the plantation as well as tenants and indentured servants. The site’s mansion house is in the background.}

The John Dickinson Plantation is administered by the Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs, an agency of the State of Delaware. The division enhances Delaware’s quality of life by preserving the state’s unique historical heritage, fostering community stability and economic vitality and providing educational programs and assistance to the general public on Delaware history. The division’s diverse array of services includes operation of five museums which are accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, administration of the State Historic Preservation Office, conservation of the state’s archaeological and historic-objects collections, operation of a conference center and management of historic properties across the state. Primary funding for division programs and services is provided by annual appropriations from the Delaware General Assembly and grants from the National Park Service, Department of the Interior, a federal agency. However, the contents and opinions expressed in the division’s programs and services do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Department of the Interior.

Original source can be found here.