Dover, DE - Capitol #24

This was one of the newest state houses we visited but here in the "first state" we got lots of really old history!

But first... We woke up in Philadelphia and went to the mint. Hey have a no photography policy. It was really cool. Wish I had photos!

Then we drove by the rocky steps. 

Yup. 

The Delaware State house was built in 1933. But the old State House from the 1700s is still right across the green, they just needed more space. 

House and senate

The kids are running the senate!

The old state house. Just to the right is the Supreme Court that continues to be used. 

And to the right of that is this wooden home, built in the early 1700s. It is unique because it is wood. Many brick structures have survived from that time period, but few wooden ones.

This gal was inside preparing for an event this weekend. When I stuck my head in just to see what was inside the house, they were loading a "hogshead" on a dolly. It was perfect timing because not an hour before we had been reading in Farmer Boy about father getting two hogsheads of cider made from their apples. The book said that it would last them a year, but we had no idea how much it was until we saw the hogshead barrel at this house. The gal graciously spent about 20 minutes giving us the history of the home. 

This home is directly to the left of the old State House. It was built in 1728 and has been continuously inhabited by the Ridgely family since it was built.

Just to the left of the Ridgely house is the location where Delaware was the first state to ratify our federal Constitution, earning them the title "first state".

We crossed into Maryland late in the evening. Tomorrow we'll visit their state house.