 
 The
decorative arts and archival collections of the Society are comprised
of textiles, furniture, ceramics, metals, photographs, works-on-paper,
books, manuscripts, and documents. The collections span over three
hundred years of local and national history. The collections are
used extensively in the historic site interpretations of the Dutch
and Amstel Houses.
The Amstel House, built in 1730s, was home to the
seventh governor of Delaware, Nicholas Van Dyke. Various objects
on display in the house convey the 18th-century lifestyle of the
Van Dyke family. The objects descended through Nicholas’ daughter
Ann who married Kensey Johns in the parlor of the house. Examples
of these pieces are the exquisite pair of mahogany chests of drawers
with untouched surfaces and original open brasses. A few of the
other pieces belonging to the Van Dyke family are watercolors by
Nicholas' thirteen-year-old granddaughter Fidelia Johns. A purse
carried by Thomas Stockton when he went off to the War of 1812 is
on view. Stockton was the husband of Fidelia Johns and the grand
nephew of Richard Stockton, signer of the Declaration of Independence
for New Jersey. A silver ladle owned by Sheriff John Moody who resided
in the Amstel house in the 1830s was used at the wedding of Dorcas
Van Dyke and Charles du Pont. In the portrait collection, there
is a 1759 painting of New Castle resident, Mary Brinckle, by artist
John Hesselius, a noted mid-Atlantic portraitist. A highlight of
the Society’s silver collection is a pair of tablespoons made
by Delaware clockmaker and silversmith Duncan Beard.
The Dutch House is furnished with American and European decorative
arts that reflect the town’s Dutch heritage. The kas (a cupboard)
like much of the furniture is from New York; it illustrates the
types of items found in a colonial Dutch household. Delft ceramics
are displayed throughout the house. The majority of the collections
were purchased in the late 1930s by one of the society’s founders,
Louise du Pont Crowninshield. The rooms are furnished in the style
and sensibility of the Colonial Revival. The house tells two stories:
one of the early Dutch period in the town’s history and how
the collectors and preservationists of the early 20th century interpreted
early colonial life. Unique to the period is a set of six Queen
Anne yoke back, duck foot side chairs in old paint stamped “Coutant.”
The archival collection contains, surveys, maps, documents, manuscripts,
photographs, glass negatives and newspapers. The archival collection
contains over 1,000 photographs of the town and the waterfront in
the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The collection contains
many items important to the early history of the town and the State
of Delaware. There is a 1805 survey of the town by Benjamin H. Latrobe
and Robert Mills and indentures (land deeds) from the 17th century.
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