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Survey of
Historic Sites and Buildings

	JOHN DICKINSON HOUSE Delaware
Location: 5 miles southeast of Dover, .3 mile east of U.S. 113 on Kitts Hummock Road, Kent County. State of Delaware

Ownership and Administration (1961). State of Delaware, administered by Delaware State Museum, Dover.

Significance. John Dickinson is known as the "Penman of the Revolution." A writer has said, "In the literature of that struggle, his position is as preeminent as Washington in war, Franklin in diplomacy, and Morris in finance." [8] Thomas Jefferson commented that "his name will be consecrated in history as one of the great worthies of the Revolution." [9] The restored John Dickinson House near Dover is the surviving structure most intimately associated with him.

It was built in 1740 by his father, and young Dickinson lived there until he was 18 in 1750, when he left for Philadelphia to study law. Dickinson lived in the house at various times after 1750, although his role in public life kept him most of the time in Philadelphia, Wilmington, and elsewhere.

Dickinson's career is briefly summarized: He read law with John Moland in Philadelphia, studied at London's Middle Temple, and in 1757 began the practice of law in Philadelphia. He was a prolific writer of political pamphlets, then the chief medium of argument and exposition, and he served in the colonial assemblies in both Delaware and Pennsylvania. His convictions were generally conservative and he disliked violence, but as a member of the Stamp Act Congress in 1765 he helped draft the Declaration of Rights and the Petition to the King adopted by that body.

In 1768 he published "Letters of a Farmer in Pennsylvania to the Inhabitants of the British Colonies," his most famous pamphlet. As leader of the conservative faction which opposed both British colonial policy and the radicals' drive for independence, and because he was fearful of a war in which Americans would have neither allies nor a central government, Dickinson refused to sign the Declaration of Independence. Nevertheless, he headed the committee which made the first draft of the Articles of Confederation, in July 1776, and he was one of the few Members of Congress who entered upon active duty with the Army during the war.

After the conflict ended Dickinson continued to be active in the public affairs of both Delaware and Pennsylvania until his death in 1808. He headed the Delaware delegation to the Annapolis Convention in 1786 and was elected chairman of the convention. In this capacity he presented the report recommending the Constitutional Convention to be held in Philadelphia in 1787, where he was a leader in fighting for the rights of small States and in urging prompt ratification of the Constitution. Delaware was the first State to ratify.

Present Appearance (1961). The Dickinson mansion near Dover, its Flemish-bond front facing south, is one of the most interesting architectural examples of the plantation house of the region. Cultivated fields, all around it, produce a scene similar to that of the plantation period.

The original dwelling was a two-story brick structure, with hip roof. A fire gutted it in 1804, leaving little but the four walls, after which it was restored under Dickinson's close supervision. A gable roof was added and a small brick kitchen wing built at the west end. The interior of the rebuilt house was substantial but plain in keeping with its intended use from this time as a tenant house.

The National Society of Colonial Dames of America presented $25,000 to the State of Delaware in 1952 to preserve the Dickinson House, when it was threatened with destruction. The State matched this donation with a similar amount, the house and surrounding tract were acquired, the necessary research accomplished, and it was restored to its appearance as Dickinson last knew it, by means of State funds and private gifts. The reconstruction was based on Dickinson's correspondence and written instructions during the period 1804-6. Materials of the original structure were reused when found in good condition. A furnishing committee provided the interior with items typical of the region, some of which once belonged to the Dickinson family. A garden adjacent to the house has been developed with the aid of garden clubs and by private donations. The house was formally opened to the public on May 2, 1956. [10]