Syllabus for "New Castle History" as of October 23. Subject to change! The Arsenal, New Castle Wednesdays at 7p.m. September 16-December 9 (12 Classes) Jim Meek Mail: james.l.meek@gmail.com PDFs of each week's slides are available a day or two after the lecture 1 Sept. 16 -- 1493 to 1664 Two degrees of separation between Christopher Columbus and New Castle Why study New Castle? 1925 and 2011 versions The usual correct, but incomplete and inadequate story of the beginning of New Castle. A more complete story with the addition of Merchant Warriors. A still more complete story of colonization: Dutch, Swedes, Dutch, English, Dutch, English, Quakers Where precisely was Ft. Casimir/New Amstel, what did it look like? 2 Sept. 23 -- 1664 to 1699 What Harrison Ford movie shows how the old Dutch House was built? Life in Ft Casimir/New Amstel Food, beer, fear, hunger, sickness, death The "Mail System" Women in Ft. Casimir Problems with Lord Baltimore Duke of York Period Long Finne rebellion Dike Uprising Cranehook & Swanwyck First Quaker visit Architecture: Framing of the Dutch House 3 Sept. 30; 1699 -- to 1776 Why did a Pennsylvania governor stage a fake raid on Philadelphia and fire on a merchant ship sailing by New Castle?
What fort in New Castle was financed by a lottery? Pirates/privateers, who are the good guys? Fear of pirates New Charter; Delaware gets separate assembly; New Castle Common founded Toleration of pirates gets Penn into trouble; Gov. Markham fired Gov. John Evans bizarre and unpopular actions get HIM fired French & Indian War (1757) Fear of Indian attacks Trade in New Castle: official 1772 spreadsheet of ships, imports and exports Revolutionary war: the players; effects of the war on the town Architecture: Neoclassical: Georgian, Federal, Greek Revival Guessing building ages from architectural details and approximate local midpoints Early Georgian ~1730; Late Georgian: ~1780 4 Oct. 7 -- 1776 to 1804 Why were there Frisian horses upriver from New Castle? Fortifications near Philadelphia and Wilmington. Whigs, Tories, Scots-Irish Prebyterians, Anglicans Secretary to British Commander Lord Howe visits New Castle & Spring Garden Seven of the setbacks in New Castle history Finally, self government in 1797 The Academy (c1800), Ice Piers, proposed C&D Canal (1803) Architecture: Early Federal ~1790; Late Federal ~1825 5 Oct 14 -- 1804 to 1850 Who was the New Castle resident called America's first architect? Latrobe Survey (1805) The Arsenal (1809) Fear in New Castle (1813) The fire of 1824. Started by two boys trying to warm a puppy? Reminiscences by a girl who lost her home. (And needlework she did, and education of boys and girls in those years). The NC&FT RR. Frenchtown, 60,000 stone sleepers, source of design of Baldwin's locomotives PBS documentary on Benjamin Henry Latrobe Architecture: Victorian (reign: 1837-1901) Greek Revival, Gothic, 2nd Empire, Italianate, Queen Anne Greek Revival ~1830 6 Oct 21 -- Portraits -- People to 1850 What son of a prominent resident was an opium dealer and diplomat What FOUR people who lived or worked in New Castle signed the Declaration of Independence Lawyers, judges, sailors, merchant, mother of 13 (!) famous architects, ministers, patriots, librarians, musicians, nationally famous bride Architecture: Gothic Revival ~1860 7 Oct 28 -- People to 1950 (videos) Video interviews with people who remember: trollies, gas lights, ice skating to NJ, dances in the Opera House, the whipping post, hired help living in a 10' x 12' cabin, working (and dieing) in local steel mills, immigrating from Italy in the 20's then becoming American, shad fishing and life on the waterfront and the Laird yacht basin 8 Nov. 4 -- Fashion -- Women's Dress How many layers are there underneath a lady's skirt? 1750-1850 From portraits of New Castle Women 1860-1920 From dresses in NCHS Hoops, bustles, panniers, crinolines, chemises, corsets Two residents display the dresses they made and construction stories Alice Jarvis -- Artifacts found in a privy: china, bottles, clay pipes, bone toothbrushes, ink bottles, lamps, door knob marbles, doll's leg, tableware, shaving mug, elixir of opium, liniment bottle Architecture: Queen Anne: ~1885 9 Nov 11 -- Civil War What New Castle boy became Adjutant General under Lincoln, then (briefly) Secretary of State? Lincoln's map of slave ownership People: (North)Regular army, army volunteers, "colored troops", "colored sailors", "witnesses to war" (South) Rev. John Johns, Col. John Lambson, husbands of Georege Read III daughters, diary of Annie Dorsey Read Reeves Military rule in New Castle Julia Jefferson, Angel of Mercy McCrone Pic Nic 10 Nov. 18 -- Audience's Pick: Virtual tour through New Castle Nov. 24 -- Thanksgiving, no class 11 Dec. 2 -- Audience's Pick: Transportation NC&FT RR, Packet Boats, Steamers, Ferries, Trolleys 12 Dec. 9 -- Audience's Pick: Industry, #NC Manufacturing Co.; #Tasker Iron, #Baldt Steel, Brylgon Steel, #American Manganese (Tropenas) #Gas Co., #New Castle Manufacturing, #Amoco and explosion of 1980, #Wilmington Fiber Architecture