John Dickinson Plantation

05/02/2026

The John Dickinson Plantation opened on May 2, 1956. This year we are celebrating our 70th anniversary as a historic site museum!

04/28/2026

The John Dickinson Plantation will close today at 4:00 p.m.

04/24/2026

This Saturday, tours of the our Mansion here at the John Dickinson Plantation will be led by our Site Supervisor and Delaware Historical and Cultural Affairs Curator of Education. Join them at 10:30, 11:30, 1:30, 2:30, or 3:30 to experience the Mansion under their guidance.

04/07/2026

John Dickinson and the Defense of the Delaware State, 1782 - presented by Charles Fithian
Date: April 11, 2026 Location: Delaware Public Archives Time: 10:30 am

03/23/2026

The Museum will be closed on Tuesday, March 24, 2026.
The Plantation will reopen on Wednesday, March 25, 2026 at 10 am.

03/02/2026

The John Dickinson Plantation is hiring a casual/seasonal Museum/Historic Site Interpreter! Are you interested in working at our historic site? Do you have a love of history and sharing stories about people with the public? Are you interested in learning hearth cooking, operating a smokehouse, weaving, paper quilling, dipping candles, dyeing cloth, brick making, playing colonial games, gardening, and quill pen writing? If so, this is the job for you.
https://history.delaware.gov/about-agency/employment/

02/24/2026

John Furbee (Furby) and his brother, Peter Patten (Patton), were free Black men of Kent County, Delaware. They lived and worked in the Jones Neck area as tenants of Nathaniel Luff. After John Dickinson purchased the Luff property, John Furbee and Peter Patten continued as Dickinson’s tenants.
In 1801, Furbee and Patten leased land together from John Dickinson. Rent for the property was £300 plus 100 bushels of Indian corn. This agreement lasted one year and required brandy and cider be made from the orchard and delivered to Dickinson. Once the brothers assumed separate leases, John Furbee was given permission in his lease to store grain in his brother's barn and Peter was to treat it as he would his own.
John Furbee’s tenure with the Dickinson family lasted 11 years. During that time, he rented 368 acres with dwelling house and outbuildings east of Dickinson's mansion. He grew corn, wheat and rye. John Furbee was married to Tamir Furbee and had six children named Daffiny Smith, Rachel Bryan, Sarah Rodney, Sally Ann Lowber, Clement and Edward Furbee . In November of 1812, John Furbee received a notice for eviction from Dickinson's daughter, Sally Norris Dickinson who had inherited the land after her father's death.
Furbee died in 1815. The inventory taken after his death was valued at $1,029.82. Included in the inventory were livestock valued at $315, crops valued at $354, and furniture valued at $113.

Peter Patten’s tenure with the Dickinson family lasted through 1810. During that time, he rented 642 acres with dwelling house, kitchen, corn crib, smokehouse and milk house.
By 1792, he had married Dinah, a former enslaved woman owned by John Dickinson. In 1796, Dickinson recorded that he paid Peter Patten for heart of pine boards Peter got for “finishing the House where he now dwells.”
Patten died in 1833. Two children, Naomi and John Patten were listed on the 1835 distribution list in the settlement of his estate. Each received $8.53. Peter Patten’s inventory was valued at $185.87. Almost all of the inventory's value was in livestock with two pair of oxen valued at $50.

John Furbee and Peter Patten were prosperous farmers during their tenancy with John Dickinson. They lived, worked and raised their families on Jones Neck.
Learn more about John Furbee and Peter Patten at the John Dickinson Plantation.

Furbee (Furby) Patten (Patton)
Year of Death 1815 1833
1797 Tax Assessment not assessed £207.18.6 (approx. $550.00 in 1802)
1804 Tax Assessment $414.25 $953.00
Inventory $1,029.82 $185.87 1/2

02/18/2026

Quaker Hill Historic Preservation Foundation is hosting a wreath-laying this Saturday. This free event will feature Marisa Robinson of Wilmington Concert Opera singing the "Liberty Song" and Dr. Jane Calvert speaking on John Dickinson. This event is presented in collaboration with the The Friends of the John Dickinson Mansion.

Did you know that long before Francis Scott Key wrote the poem that became the lyrics to "The Star Spangled Banner" and Irving Berlin wrote the lyrics to "God Bless America", Delaware's great founding father John Dickinson wrote the lyrics to the "Liberty Song"? Join us to hear the magnificent voice of Wilmington Concert Opera's Marisa Robinson singing the "Liberty Song" as part of the John Dickinson Memorial. An entertaining and educational event. Won't hurt the budget--its free.

02/17/2026

The John Dickinson Plantation was established by using the labor of enslaved individuals. Some of the enslaved people were skilled tailors, shoemakers, tanners, spinners, farmers, ditch diggers, beekeepers, and carpenters. The enslaved individuals were leased out to other people who needed labor and to tenants to help them fulfill their lease agreements. After their unconditional manumission in 1786, as free Black people, they could be paid for their labor.

01/31/2026

We are dreaming of warmer weather. Is it Spring yet? Unfortunately, due to the continuing ice, the John Dickinson Plantation will be closed today, Saturday, January 31.

01/30/2026

The John Dickinson Plantation will be closed today on Friday, January 30 due to the continuing icy conditions. We look forward to welcoming visitors onsite soon.