Uncovering history at Cooch’s Bridge Historic Site

Archaeological work paves way to rehabilitation, upgrades

Work is well underway to make Cooch’s Bridge Historic Site in New Castle County Delaware’s latest publicly accessible museum site.

That includes archaeological work needed to move forward with rehabilitation and upgrades to the site. An archaeological survey is now under review to ensure no buried cultural resources will be damaged during the work on the grounds to upgrade the facilities, including the improved entrance and parking lot. To conduct the survey, ground-penetrating radar was used and test units were excavated. 

Any artifacts recovered during this work are being processed by professional archaeologists, and will become part of the state’s permanent collection. While such work is part of following best practices and required by federal funding, this archaeological work also gives the Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs an opportunity to learn more about the history of Cooch’s Bridge, which can, in turn, help inform future programming and exhibits. 

As work continues at the site, archaeological monitoring continue to ensure no artifacts are destroyed.

The rehabilitation of Cooch’s Bridge Historic Site is being supported in part by a Semiquincentennial grant from the Historic Preservation Fund administered by the Department of the Interior’s National Park Service.

To further celebrate happenings at the historic site, on Saturday, Sept. 27, the Friends of Cooch’s Bridge Historic Site will hold its Fifth Anniversary picnic event. For more details on the group and this event, go to friendsofcoochsbridge.org. As part of the Friends’ celebration, HCA and the Friends will also debut a new, informative database that includes information about African Americans who lived or worked at the site.

While research and updates will continue for years to come, this initial version of the database will include over 700 people who lived, worked and died in and around the Cooch’s Bridge Historic Site area. The project is intended as a public resource for descendants, genealogists, academic researchers, students and anyone else interested in learning more about their local community. Once it goes live, the link will be available on the Cooch’s Bridge Historic Site’s webpage.

Stay tuned for more details soon!