July 16, 2010
Vol. 40, No. 246

For more information contact Elaine Brenchley, First State Heritage Park, 302-739-9194, elaine.brenchley@state.de.us; or Necia Beck, Delaware State Parks, 302-739-9175, Necia.Beck@state.de.us

Summer Lantern Tours of the Green Offered by First State Heritage Park on Friday, July 30 and Friday, August 20

A stroll across the Dover Green is a stroll across time. The historic town center of Dover was the site of markets and fairs, suffragists and abolitionists, soldiers and slaves, lawmakers and law breakers. The First State Heritage Park gives visitors a way to experience this history by the light of a lantern on Friday, July 30 and Friday, August 20 at 8:30 p.m.

Historical interpreters from the First State Heritage Park dressed in colonial attire relate the stories of historic Dover. Among them are tales of the most infamous resident of Dover’s jail and the only Loyalist executed in Delaware during the Revolution, the legendary Caesar Rodney, devastating fires that threatened the town, tragic love and the auctioning of slaves on the steps of the Old State House.

Tour admission is $5 and begins in front of the Biggs Museum of American Art, 406 Federal Street, Dover. Tour space is very limited and advance reservations are strongly suggested. Reservations and information are available at 302-739-9194.  The First State Heritage Park can be found online at www.destateparks.com/heritagepark

The First State Heritage Park at Dover is Delaware’s first urban “park without boundaries” linking historicand cultural sites in the city that has been the seat of state government since 1777. The park is a partnership of state agencies, under the leadership of Delaware State Parks, working in collaboration with city and county government, nonprofit organizations and the private sector.