Zwaanendael Museum

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Zwaanendael Museum

In Lewes, Delaware, the Zwaanendael Museum was created to mark 300 years since Delaware’s first European settlement, Zwaanendael, founded in 1631. The building imitates the former City Hall in Hoorn, Netherlands, and features 17th-century Dutch design, including a stepped gable, terra-cotta roof tiles, carved stonework, and decorative shutters. A statue of David Pietersen de Vries, who led the expedition that founded Swanendael, sits atop the front.

Designed by Wilmington architect E. William Martin, the building was completed in 1932 after being established in 1931. The exhibits tell the history of Sussex County and Delaware’s southeastern coast, covering local history, shipwrecks and lighthouses (including Cape Henlopen Lighthouse), the British bombardment of Lewes in the War of 1812, Delaware River and Bay pilots, and the changing coastline. The museum also hosts a Feejee mermaid on display, originally from China and donated on loan by a local family.