A new exhibit exploring Delaware’s railroad history will open July 7 at the Zwaanendael Museum in Lewes. “Delaware Railroads: Elegant Travel and Timely Transport” will use photographs, documents, and artifacts from the Delaware State Archives to bring the state’s railroad history to life. It will focus on four major rail companies that shaped the industrial, agricultural, and residential history of the First State. The railroad exhibit replaces the museum’s maritime history exhibit, which has been on display since 2015 and will remain on view for an indeterminate time.
The Zwaanendael Museum was created in 1931 in celebration of the first European settlement in Delaware, the Dutch colony of Zwaanendael. The colony was located on the present site of Lewes. Architect E. William Martin modeled the building after the seventeenth century town hall of Hoorn, Holland, home of Zwaanendael’s leader, David Pietersz de Vries.