The John Dickinson House, generally known as Poplar Hall, is located on the John Dickinson Plantation in

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maids ...

, a property owned by the State of Delaware and open to the public as a museum by the Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs and newly part of the

First State National Historical Park First State National Historical Park is a National Park Service unit which lies primarily in the state of Delaware but which extends partly into Pennsylvania in Chadds Ford. Initially created as First State National Monument by President Barack O ...

. It was the boyhood home and sometime residence of the

Founding Father The following list of national founding figures is a record, by country, of people who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e. ...

and American revolutionary leader

John Dickinson John Dickinson (November 13 Julian_calendar">/nowiki>Julian_calendar_November_2.html" ;"title="Julian_calendar.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Julian calendar">/nowiki>Julian calendar November 2">Julian_calendar.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Julian calendar" ...

(1732-1808). The main house is an Early Georgian mansion and was built on a plantation in 1739–40 by Judge Samuel Dickinson, the father of John Dickinson. Wings were added in 1752 and 1754. The house faced a nearby bend of the St. Jones River which is no longer there as the river has been straightened. The original house suffered major damage during a British raid in August 1781 and was nearly destroyed in a fire in 1804. John Dickinson lived there for extended periods only in 1776–77 and 1781–82, although he kept up a keen interest in the property and often visited. Purchased by the National Society of Colonial Dames of America in 1952, it was given to the State of Delaware and 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 liste ...

in 1961.Richard E. Greenwood (March 12, 1975) , National Park Service and JOHN DICKINSON HOUSE INTERIOR, DELAWARE

John Dickinson (1732–1808) was a lawyer and politician who spent most of the time in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, and Wilmington,

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent ...

. He was at various times a

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. ...

man from Pennsylvania and Delaware, a delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787,

President of Delaware The governor of Delaware (president of Delaware from 1776 to 1792) is the head of government of Delaware and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or ...

, and

President of Pennsylvania The governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is the head of state and head of government of the U.S. state, Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as well as commander-in-chief of the Commonwealth's Pennsylvania National Guard, military ...

. Among the wealthiest men in the American colonies, he became known as the ''Penman of the Revolution'', for his ''

Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania ''Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania'' is a series of essays written by the Pennsylvania lawyer and legislator John Dickinson (1732–1808) and published under the pseudonym "A Farmer" from 1767 to 1768. The twelve letters were widely read and r ...

'', where he eloquently argued the cause of American liberty. Although refusing to vote in favor 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 th ...

in 1776, he supported the establishment of the new government during the American Revolution and afterward in many official capacities. The John Dickinson Plantation is located at 340 Kitts Hummock Road, south of

Dover, Delaware Dover () is the capital and second-largest city of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County and the principal city of the Dover, DE, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Kent County and is part o ...

Delaware Route 1 Delaware Route 1 (DE 1) is the longest numbered state highway in the U.S. state of Delaware. The route runs from the Maryland state line in Fenwick Island, Sussex County, where the road continues south into that state as Maryland ...

, and .3 miles east on Kitts Hummock Road.

References

External links

John Dickinson Plantation
* {{authority control Houses completed in 1740 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Delaware National Historic Landmarks in Delaware Historic house museums in Delaware Museums in Dover, Delaware Georgian architecture in Delaware Houses in Dover, Delaware Historic American Buildings Survey in Delaware National Register of Historic Places in Dover, Delaware First State National Historical Park 1740 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies Plantation houses in Delaware Homes of United States Founding Fathers