hotel-dupont

The HOTEL DU PONT

MARAC’s Fall 2018 Conference will be held at the HOTEL DU PONT, which debuted in 1913 and was expanded in 1918.

GET TO WILMINGTON

From Philadelphia International Airport

  • Take Garage Access Rd to I-95 S
  • Follow I-95 S to W 11th St in Wilmington
  • Take exit 7A from I-95 S
  • Continue onto W 11th St

From New York and North East

  • Get on I-95 S
  • Take I-95 S and NJ Tpke S to N Adams St in Wilmington
  • Take exit 7 from I-95 N
  • Drive to W 11th St

From West Virginia

  • Get on I-64 E
  • Continue on I-64 E
  • Take I-79 N, I-68 E, I-70 E, and I-95 N to N Adams St in Wilmington
  • Take exit 7 from I-95 N
  • Drive to W 11th St

From Richmond Area

  • Take I-95 N
  • Continue on I-95 N
  • Take Baltimore-Washington Pkwy and I-95 N to N Adams St in Wilmington
  • Take exit 7 from I-95 N
  • Drive to W 11th St

EXPLORE WILMINGTON

THINGS TO DO

PLACES TO EAT

TOURS

T1. Old Swedes Church
Date: Thursday, October 11
Time: 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
Fee: $5

Meet in Lobby and depart HOTEL DU PONT at 9:45am.

Holy Trinity Church, commonly called Old Swedes Church, was constructed of Brandywine granite in 1698-1699. The only remaining structure of the early Swedish settlement along the banks of the Christina River, it is the oldest church in the nation now standing as built and still in use for regular worship. The churchyard/burial grounds pre-date the church building by 60 years.  In 2015, the Church and burial grounds become part of the First State National Historic Park, a unit of the National Park Service.  This tour will highlight church architecture and early history, including some items discovered during 2015 archaeological excavations. The cemetery tour highlights more than four centuries of graves and 1,300 grave markers that tell the stories of many Delaware residents who shaped the history of the state and the nation.

T2. Winterthur Museum, Garden, and Library
Date: Thursday, October 11
Time: 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
Fee: $37

Meet in Lobby and depart HOTEL DU PONT at 9:30am.

Situated on almost 1,000 acres of idyllic countryside, much of which is devoted to naturalistic gardens, Winterthur is the former home of Henry Francis du Pont, and now holds an unparalleled collection of American antiques, decorative arts, paintings, and more. This tour will take guests behind the scenes in Winterthur’s conservation labs and library, where they will have the opportunity to meet with conservators and learn about treatment of paper, books, manuscripts, and ephemera, and explore treasures of the Library’s Rare Book Collection, Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera, and Winterthur Archives. The tour price also provides full admission to the museum and gardens, including the option for guests to take a house tour of the historic mansion at no additional cost.

T3. Mt. Cuba Center
Date: Thursday, October 11
Time: 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Fee: $12

Meet in Lobby and depart HOTEL DU PONT at 10:30am.

On the grounds surrounding their stately, 1936 colonial-revival home, Lammot and Pamela DuPont Copeland established an extensive botanical garden in the 1980s dedicated to the preservation and conservation of native plants and the natural habitats that sustain them. Focusing on plant species from the Eastern Temperate Forests of the United States, with a particular emphasis on examples from the Appalachian Piedmont, Mt. Cuba’s living collection has received national recognition for several of its special collections.  Opened to the general public in 2002, the Mt. Cuba Center continues the Copelands’ legacy of conservation through research, education, and the propagation of native plants. Visitors to the Mt. Cuba Center will enjoy a docent-led tour of the gardens and a behind the scenes look at the Center’s archives.

T4. Delaware History Museum
Date: Thursday, October 11
Time: 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Fee: $5

No transportation. The Museum is a short walk from the hotel.

Take a short walk from the HOTEL DU PONT and spend some time exploring the history of the First State! Housed in a former Woolworth’s Department Store, the Delaware History Museum features permanent and rotating exhibitions that introduce visitors to the state’s rich history through the overarching theme of Delaware: One State, Many Stories. The museum is also home to the Jane and Littleton Mitchell Center for African American Heritage, which presents compelling perspectives of African Americans’ struggles for human rights, freedom and dignity. Join the Head of the Mitchell Center for a guided tour of the groundbreaking Journey to Freedom exhibition, chronicling the African American experience in Delaware and the nation. Once the tour concludes, participants are welcome to explore the galleries at their leisure, including a new exhibition commemorating the centennial of World War I.

T5. Hagley Library A/V Tour and Film Screening
Date: Thursday, October 11
Time: 1-3 p.m.
Fee: $5

Meet in Lobby and depart HOTEL DU PONT at 12:30pm.

Have a blast exploring the audiovisual collections at Hagley Library, located on the grounds of the former DuPont gunpowder works and home to collections documenting the history of business, technology, and industrial design. Your visit starts with a behind–the–scenes tour of the Department of Audiovisual Collections and Digital Initiatives highlighting Hagley’s digitization workflows and AV transfer station. Following the tour, participants will enjoy a screening of rarely–seen films and videos from Hagley’s collections, which include materials from companies like Avon and DuPont, and trade organizations like the United States Chamber of Commerce.

Free parking is available at the Library, 298 Buck Road, Wilmington, DE 19807.

T6. Nemours Mansion & Gardens
Date: Thursday, October 11
Time: 1-3 p.m.
Fee: $15

Meet in Lobby and depart HOTEL DU PONT at 12:30pm.

Just a short drive from downtown Wilmington, enjoy an afternoon at the gorgeous Nemours estate, owned by Alfred I. du Pont. Named for a town represented by du Pont’s great-great-grandfather when he served in the French Estates General, Nemours includes a stunning, 77-room mansion and the largest formal French gardens in North America. The visit begins with a short movie and a docent-led tour of the mansion. Participants are then treated to a 30-minute scenic drive through the gardens, including stories of life on the estate. Afterward, linger as long as you like on the grounds, or take a self-guided tour of the Chauffeur’s Garage, which houses Nemours’ collection of vintage automobiles.

T7. Auburn Heights and the Marshall Steam Museum
Date: Thursday, October 11
Time: 2-4 p.m.
Fee: $14

Meet in Lobby and depart HOTEL DU PONT at 1:30pm.

Situated within a 390-acre nature preserve near the old industrial village of Yorklyn, Delaware sits Auburn Heights, the beautiful Queen-Anne style mansion of local industrialist Israel Marshall and his wife, Elizabeth, built in 1897 overlooking the family’s milling operations. Also on the site is the Marshall Steam Museum, showcasing the antique automobile collection of T. Clarence Marshall, youngest son of Israel and Elizabeth. The collection preserves some of the earliest examples of the automotive age and features the world’s largest operating collection of Stanley steam cars. Visitors to the site will enjoy guided tours of both the mansion and the Marshall Steam Museum as well as a sneak peak into the conservation shop where they care for these beautiful vehicles.

PLEASE NOTE: The Steam Museum is ADA-Accessible, but the mansion is not.

T9. Twin Lakes Brewing Company
Date: Thursday, October 11
Time: 5-7 p.m.
Fee: $5

Meet in Lobby and depart HOTEL DU PONT at 4:30pm.

Founded in nearby Greenville, Delaware in 2006, Twin Lakes Brewing Company describes its beers as being “produced according to historic methods and truly, fresh, local, delicious!” This complete tour of the brewery includes tasting samples of six beers and concludes in the tasting room, where you can purchase additional beers or a house–made, non–alcoholic root beer, and snacks. The tour
provides the perfect, laid back happy hour to welcome you to Delaware and ease you into the MARAC meeting.

COMMUNITY SERVICE PROJECT

9 a.m.–4 p.m. | Arden Craft Shop Museum

MARAC is excited to offer conference attendees a unique opportunity to help our host city preserve aspects of its rich history. We are looking for 3-5 volunteers to work with the Arden Craft Shop Museum. MARAC volunteers will be processing two collections by sorting, arranging, and inventorying the materials. The container lists will be used to create complete finding aids for the collection. The museum is eager to process these collections to help fill requests from researchers.

UPDATE: Thanks for your support! This project is full and has a waiting list. 

Website

Want to know more about the collections you'll be processing?

Frank Akatowicz Collections, c. 1964-2003. 

  • Personal papers (5 LF) which include mostly archival material and ephemera relating to Arden, DE. Topics include traffic assessment, Arden Club, Town Meetings, planning of nearby townships, etc.
  • Harvey Road Collection (4 LF) which includes archival material related to the traffic flow of Harvey Road which runs through the middle of the Ardens and impacts its residents on a daily basis.

Arden Craft Shop Museum

Museum Exhibit

Museum Exhibits

Museum Interior

The Green

Arden Craft Shop Museum Porch

Arden’s Famous Fell’s Oak

Program and Local Arrangements (PLAC) Co-Chairs

Emily Cottle

Corporate Archivist
Vanguard

Kate Fair

Assistant Archivist
Vanguard

Sarah Denison

Deputy Director
Delaware Public Archives

Maegan Peterman

Imaging Archivist
Delaware Public Archives

Local Arrangements Committee

Kevin M. Brown
W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.

Heather Calloway
Washington College

Bryan J. Dickerson
Township of Brick

Dyani Feige
Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts

Lisa Gensel
University of Delaware Archives

Connor Graham
Delaware Public Archives

Brenton Grom
Delaware Historical Society

Hillary S. Kativa
Science History Institute

Susan Kirk Ryan
Catholic Diocese of Wilmington

Shaun Kirkpatrick
Chubb

Nedda Moqtaderi
W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.

Laura Parrish
Winterthur Museum

Leigh Rifenburg
Delaware Historical Society

Bill Robinson
Delaware Historical Society

Alyce Graham Stiles
W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.

Theresa Altieri Taplin
The Foundations of The Union League of Philadelphia

Program Committee

Sara A. Borden
Rowan University

Janet Bunde
New York University

Kerri Anne Burke
Citigroup

John Caldwell
University of Delaware Library

Tabitha Cary
Cornell University

Lynn Eaton
George Mason University

Derek Gray
DC Public Library

Katie Hall
Delaware Public Archives

Susan M. Kline
New York Public Library

Melissa McMullen
University at Albany, SUNY

Sarah Oswald
Drexel University

Fatemeh Rezaei
University of Baltimore

Lela J. Sewell-Williams
Columbia Archives

Dawn Sherman-Fells
National Archives and Records Administration

Eric C. Stoykovich
University of Maryland, College Park

Nicole Topich
SUNY Upstate Medical University

Amy Wickner
University of Maryland, College Park

MARAC Wilmington would like to extend a special thank you to:

DE SOS Seal

The Honorable Jeffrey W. Bullock

Delaware’s Secretary of State

Thank you to our Sponsor!

Gore Creative Technologies

Thank you to our Sponsor!

Hagley Museum and Library

Thank you to our Sponsor!

University of Delaware

Thank you to our Sponsor!

Thank you to our Contributor!

The Abraham Lincoln Foundation

Thank you to our Contributor!

Thank you to our Contributor!

Thank you to our Contributor!