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Contact: Lorin Felter
The National Park Service and US Senator Tom Carper kicked off National Park Week Friday morning with a press event to celebrate the rehabilitation of the historic Sheriff’s House in New Castle, Delaware.With the rehabilitation of the Sheriff’s House officially underway, park partners, community champions, and state and local elected officials gathered to celebrate the significant milestone. Last week, preliminary efforts were made to prepare the site for the initial groundwork with a safety fence. New Castle residents will start to see some action around the Sheriff’s House as exterior work will begin in the next couple of weeks and will continue through the early fall. Interior work will start in earnest in the late fall through the early spring, and the entire project is set to conclude in April 2023.
“In a year from now, we’ll be back here to celebrate the Park’s 10th birthday and the completion of the Sheriff’s House, First State National Historical Park’s first welcome center,” said Josh Boles, superintendent of First State National Historical Park. “This rehabilitation project is in the very capable hands of an amazing team of contractors and construction managers, and we are very excited to be on this journey with this team. I cannot wait to see this project come to fruition and have this beautiful welcome space for visitors to Delaware’s national park,” said Superintendent Boles.
Roughly five months ago, the National Park Service awarded a $5.4 million construction contract to rehabilitate the historic Sheriff’s House, a contributing structure to the New Castle National Historic Landmark Historic District and a listed structure in the National Register of Historic Places. The construction project includes exterior accessibility improvements, utility improvements, exterior stone repair and repointing, interior restoration and replacement work, and exhibit fabrication and installation.
The restoration of the Sheriff’s House will allow the building to serve as the principal location for visitors to get an orientation to the park’s six sites. This new welcome center will interpret the nationally significant stories that shaped the nation’s first state through photos, exhibits, and audio-visual displays, which will allow visitors to understand the themes that connect the sites. Visitors will then be encouraged to get a more in-depth, place-based visitor experience at the partner sites throughout the state. In addition, the rehabilitation will provide park staff office space on the second floor.
About First State National Historical Park. First State National Historical Park is a collection of sites throughout the state of Delaware. These include Brandywine Valley, Fort Christina, Old Swedes Historic Site, and the New Castle Court House Museum and New Castle Green in New Castle County, and John Dickinson Plantation and The Dover Green in Kent County. First State National Monument was established by Presidential Proclamation on March 25, 2013 and re-designated a National Historical Park on
December 19, 2014.
December 19, 2014.
Last updated: April 18, 2022