BIRD-HUSBANDS HOUSE HABS No. DE-300 South side of Rockland Road, .3 mile northwest of US Route 202 Wilmington Vicinity New Castle County

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BIRD-HUSBANDS HOUSE HABS No. DE-300

Location: South side of Rockland Road, .3 mile northwest of US Route 202, Wilmington vicinity, New Castle County, Delaware

USGS Wilmington North, Del. - PA. Quadrangle Universal Transverse Mercator Coordinates: 18.452890.4403150 Significance: The Bird-Husbands House is representative of nineteenth century vernacular farm house design in , New Castle County, Delaware. Some of its characteristic features include clapboard over frame construction, a cross-gabled roof, terra cotta chimney caps, and round-headed windows. Additionally, the house became associated with the Alfred I. du Pont Nemours estate during the twentieth century and is a contributing resource within the Nemours Historic District.

Description: This frame building fronts Rockland Road and contains two distinct sections. Its main section is two and one-half-stories high with a smaller section, connected to the main section's west side, consisting of two-stories. Both sections have wood-shingled gable roofs. The main section's roof includes centered cross gables forming a cruciform roof plan. A single-storied, shed­ roofed addition extends along the building's south (rear) facade. The main section contains a shed-roofed single-story enclosed porch centered below the cross gable. The porch's north facade contains multi-light glazing. The building is covered with drop siding and includes vertical comer boards.

The building's main section contains two gable-end interior ridge chimneys while the west section has a single gable-end interior ridge chimney near the west gable end. Each chimney is constructed of brick and includes a terra-cotta chimney pot. The majority of window openings are rectangular and contain either two-over-two, one-over-one, or six-over-six double-hung wood sash. Window openings are flanked by louvered wood shutters. Each cross gable, and the main section's east end gable, contain paired round-headed windows with one-over-one double-hung wood sash. The westernmost gable end includes two small square openings containing four-light wood sash. The primary entrance is centered in the north facade of the building's main section. A secondary entrance is located in the shed addition of the west section.

Alterations to the interior included the installation of drop ceilings, alterations to room sizes, and the removal of interior details. A modem, two-car garage with gabled roof is located immediately south of the house.

History: William Bird purchased this property in 1809 from a much larger tract owned by Gunning Bedford. Bird, a carpenter and farmer, probably constructed the westernmost portion of the current house shortly after he acquired the property. Bird's tax records from 1816 include mention of "one small dwelling house." William Bird acquired an additional ten acres of land, constructed a barn (subsequently demolished), and added more stock in 1837. Bird's son, Amos, inherited the property in 1857. In 1868 Amos Bird sold the property to Andrew Husbands. Husbands probably constructed the larger and easternmost section BIRD-HUSBANDS HOUSE HABS No. DE-300 (Page 2)

of the house sometime between his 1868 acquisition of the property and his death in 1874. Husband's wife inherited the property and by 1893 a Mrs. Hunter had acquired the parcel. In 1908 A. I. du Pont purchased the house and property. Following its acquisition, the superintendent for du Pont's Nemours estate lived in the house. The estate comprised approximately three hundred acres of land and included other neighboring farms and farmhouses. In addition to the Bird property du Pont acquired the John Sweeny House, two tracts belonging to the Murphy family, and the Blue Ball property. Most of these properties, which fell outside the walls of the estate, were used as staff residences. The A. I. DuPont Institute subsequently used the Bird-Husbands House and by 1994 the building lay vacant and in a state of disrepair. Proposed highway plans associated with call for the partial realignment of the eastern portion of Rockland Road.

Sources: William M. Gardner and Joan M. Walker. A Small History of the Forgotten and the Never Known. DelDOT Archeological Series No. 84. Dover, DE: Delaware Department of Transportation, 1990.

Priscilla Thompson. "Nemours Historic District" National Register of Historic Places Nomination, 1985.

Historian: Glenn A. Ceponis KFS Cultural Resource Group Philadelphia, March 1996 BIRD-HUSBANDS HOUSE HABS No. DE-300 (Page 3)

A N View of Bird-Husbands House and vicinity, ca. 1868. Scale : 1 inch =3520 feet Source: D. G. Beers. Atlas of the State of Delaware (Phila.: Pomeroy & Beers, 1868). I ~ I I

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View of Bird-Husbands House and vicinity, ca. 1893 Scale: 1 inch = 900 feet Source: G. W. Baist. Atlas ofNew Castle County (Phila.: G. W. Baist, 1893). BIRD-HUSBANDS HOUSE HABS No. DE-300 (Page 5)

View of Nemours Estate, ca. 1917. Scale: 1 inch = approx. 1450 feet Source: Francis A. Price and Fred Somers Price. "Nemours" and Vicinity, Brandywine Hundred, New Castle County, Delaware (N.p.: Price & Price, 1917). BIRD-HUSBANDS HOUSE HABS No. DE-300 (Page 6)

View of Nemours Estate, Bird-Husbands House vicinity, ca. 1917. Scale: 3 inches = approx. 2000 feet Source: Francis A. Price and Fred Somers Price. "Nemours" and Vicinity, Brandywine Hundred, New Castle County, Delaware (N.p.: Price & Price, 1917).