Stonum, also called Stoneham, is a historic house at 900 Washington Avenue in

New Castle, Delaware New Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The city is located six miles (10 km) south of Wilmington and is situated on the Delaware River. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 5,285. History New Castl ...

. Its main section built about 1750, it was the country home of

George Read George Read may refer to: * George Reade (colonial governor) (1608–1671), politician, judge, and Acting Governor of Virginia Colony * George Read (American politician, born 1733) (1733–1798), lawyer, signer of Declaration of Independence and U ...

(1733-1798), a signer of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the ...

. His advocacy enabled Delaware to become the first state ratifying the declaration. The house was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1973. It is the only building standing associated with this Founding Father.

Description and history

Stonum is located west of the downtown area of New Castle, at the northwest corner of Washington Street (

Delaware Route 9 Delaware Route 9 (DE 9) is a state highway that runs from DE 1 near Dover Air Force Base in Kent County north to DE 2 in the city of Wilmington in New Castle County. DE 9 is a designated scenic highway known as the ...

) and 9th Street. It is set on small wooded lot, facing roughly toward 9th Street. It is a -story brick structure, with a gabled roof and chimneys built into the side walls. A two-story ell extends to the rear, which is probably of older age than the main block. The front facade is four bays wide, with the entrance in the center-right bay, and a single-story porch across the full width, supported by brick posts. The interior has an unusual center hall plan, with the main stairway set immediately to the right of the hall, in what is normally an intra-wall space between the hall and the right-side parlor. The interior has many original finishes, including elegant period fireplace mantels and cornice moulding, and original wooden floors. The oldest portion of the house, its kitchen ell, was built about 1730. The front portion of the house was added before 1769. A further addition was made in 1850, while a concrete block porch was added in the 1920s. The house once enjoyed an expansive view of the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...

, which is now obscured by mature plantings and intervening development. The house served as a tenant farm for George Read during the 1750s and 1760s; it is unclear if the main block was built during or prior to his period of ownership. It is the only surviving structure associated with Read, a prominent figure in Delaware politics through the Revolutionary period; his rented in-town house is only a few blocks away and burned in 1824, after Read had passed away and the building was being used as a bank. The location is now the site of the formal gardens attached to the George Read II House, built by his son. Read was an influential figure, contributing significantly to the drafting of Delaware's first state constitution in addition to his service in the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...

(where he signed the

United States Declaration of Independence The United States Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America, is the pronouncement and founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Pennsylvania State House ...

), as President of Delaware, and as a delegate to the

Philadelphia Convention The Constitutional Convention took place in Philadelphia from May 25 to September 17, 1787. Although the convention was intended to revise the league of states and first system of government under the Articles of Confederation, the intention fr ...

which drafted the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...

References

External links

* {{National Register of Historic Places in Delaware National Historic Landmarks in Delaware Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Delaware Houses in New Castle, Delaware Houses completed in 1750 Historic American Buildings Survey in Delaware National Register of Historic Places in New Castle County, Delaware Plantation houses in Delaware

Description and history

See also

References

External links