We did some tourist stuff today. First stop was at the Delaware History Museum Library for a talk about the two flags that the 1st Delaware Regiment took into battle during the Civil War. This particular regiment saw a lot of action. The flags have been preserved, but is quite a sorry state. Being made of silk, they deteriorate quite a bit with time. Anyway, the talk was interesting and we left a donation for the flag restoration fund.

Next we headed to New Castle to visit the Read house. This was finished in 1804. The owner, George Read II, was a lawyer in the area. The house has been restored quite nicely. It is filled with punch and gouge woodwork, which is something we had never seen before. Part of the house was redone to the 1803 standard, and some other parts were redone to the standards and decor of later owners. There was no original Read family furniture since it was all sold to pay debts when he passed on. That is quite a common situation. There are lots of old houses which contain none of the original furnishings. This is a photo of the side of the house from the garden.

Now, the real story here is George Read's father (George Read) who was a signer of the Declaration on Independence and the United States Constitution. An interesting side note is that Delaware's state nickname is "First State" because it was the first state to ratify the Constitution.