Management

Dedication Day - March 25, 2013

NPS Photo

First State National Monument was established through Presidential Proclamation on March 25, 2013 as the 400th unit of the National Park System. The national monument included the Brandywine Valley in Wilmington, Delaware and Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania; the Sheriff's House, Court House and Green in New Castle, Delaware; and Green in Dover, Delaware.

 

Important Links

• Our Staff & Offices
• Laws & Policy
• Public Involvement
• Superintendent Compendium
• Foundation Document

As described in the enabling legislation, the purpose of First State National Monument are to preserve, protect, and interpret the nationally significant cultural and historic resources that are associated with:

• early Dutch, Swedish, and English settlement of the Colony of Delaware and portions of the Colony of Pennsylvania; and
• the role of Delaware in the birth of the United States and as the first State to ratify the Constitution.

First State National Monument was redesignated as a National Historical Park on December 2, 2014, and expanded to include Fort Christina, Old Swedes Historic Site, and the John Dickinson Plantation.