Mark’s Score 8.6
The Zwaanendael Museum would be my poster boy when I talk about my love of delightfully quirky smalltown museums. At first blush, they seem to serve no purpose, but upon inspection they offer insights into the community where they are located. I had just finished my hike at Cape Henlopen State Park and I had a half hour before Agave opened for lunch, so I took the opportunity to visit the Zwaanendael Museum.
The Zwaanendael is owned and operated by the Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs of the State of Delaware. The purpose of the Historical and Cultural Affairs Division is to “identify, preserve, and interpret” Delaware history. The Zwaanendael is one of six museums owned and operated by the division. The Zwaanendael was built in 1931 to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the establishment of the first Dutch Colony in Delaware in 1631.
The museum is tiny, it is just two rooms, one upstairs and one downstairs. I entered the museum a few moments after a couple from Pennsylvania. As I entered the docent was in mid-explanation of the purpose of the museum. I was a little disappointed to learn that the building itself was a little less than 100 years-old, though it was built in the Dutch Colonial style. But I did learn why the museum was built and the historical significance of the museum and the Lewes area, if not of Lewes itself.
The museum was built to commemorate the first Dutch settlement in 1631. This was historically significant for the State of Delaware because when King Charles I charted the Colony of Maryland, he was originally going to include the area now occupied by Delaware. However, the Dutch were able to prove that they had already established the Zwaanendael trading post where Lewes is now located, thus Delaware was ceded to the Netherlands and excluded from the Maryland colony.
Though the museum was created to commemorate the Dutch colony, none of the exhibits in the museum focus on that historical fact. Like many of the museums along the Delaware and Maryland coasts, the focus is on the sailing trade that plied these waters and the many shipwrecks that have occurred along our shores.
There are several displays showcasing debris from the sinking of the HMS DeBraak in 1798. Ironically, the DeBraak had originally been a Dutch ship that had been captured by the British and converted into a naval vessel in service of the British crown, thus becoming a metaphor of the State of Delaware itself. Delaware also began as a Dutch possession, and was later commandeered by the British.
There was also an impressive display of well-preserved Delf china recovered from another shipwreck. This museum is my kind of museum, a quirky collection of items that somehow come together to form a whole story of place. This museum is a celebration of Delaware itself. The fact that the museum is free and can easily be covered in a half hour just adds to its charm.
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