After a year long hiatus due to a busy year, we have returned! It seems appropriate to start the new year with the First State National Historical Park. The park is located in Delaware and consists of different sites that made up the formation of the first state in the United States.

Our first stop through First State National Historical Park was New Castle Court House Museum, which served as the first state capitol. While the museum was closed during our visit, the exterior of the court house is a beautiful brick structure with lovely wood accents. We were able to check out the exterior of the building, learn a bit about the local history, and walk the Historic Green. If you visit, do be sure to walk around the small downtown area of New Castle. In addition to the court house, many other structures are several hundred years old, including some old row houses that we found. Some of those structures even house businesses, including The Mercury Cafe and Teahouse, where we enjoyed a nice lunch.

Our tour of First State National Historical Park continued with a stop in Dover. The Dover Green is a large, pleasant area that was central to the original town. Around the Green are situated many significant buildings to both Delaware and United States history. We walked around the Green, taking in the old architecture and reading about the different buildings. While we enjoyed the history of the place, the Green is also a beautiful area that was relaxing.

Our final stop in the national park site was the John Dickinson Plantation. We didn’t get to spend too much time here, but the site preserves the grounds and home of John Dickinson, who was known as the “Penman of the Revolution” and played an integral role in American independence.

We didn’t even explore all of the sites that were a part of the First State National Historical Park; other sites include Brandywine Valley, which preserves the natural beauty of the region, Fort Christina, where the original Swedish and Finnish settlers first arrived and established New Sweden, and Old Swedes Historic Site, which details for visitors the lives of those first settlers.

We thoroughly enjoyed getting to explore the early history and architecture of Delaware and the United States commemorated in the First State National Historical Park. We would love to visit again and highly recommend this hidden gem of the National Park Service.