Built in 1732 as the statehouse for Pennsylvania's "Three Lower Counties on the Delaware," the New Castle Court House was the site of a dramatic vote on June 15, 1776, when the colonial assembly declared independence from both Great Britain and Pennsylvania. In September of that year, the former colony held a state constitutional convention there and adopted the name "The Delaware State." George Read of New Castle served Delaware in both the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention. Though at first reluctant to part from Great Britain, he signed the Declaration of Independence. At the Constitutional Convention, he stood firmly for equal representation of the states, a position that helped lead to the creation of the United States Senate. After the Convention, his support was crucial in making Delaware the first state to ratify the new United States Constitution.

Photo: Adam Margolis

Photo: William Fischer, Jr.

Photo: William Fischer, Jr.