George Washington used the Hale-Byrnes House as his General Staff Headquarters on September 6, 1777, when Generals Washington, Lafayette, Wayne, Maxwell, Sullivan, and Greene planned the defense of Wilmington there. The house was built circa 1750 by Samuel Hale. In 1776 its owner was Daniel Byrnes, a miller and preacher. It was later restored by the Delaware Society for Preservation of Antiquities and donated to the state in 1971.