The John Dickinson Plantation Debuts New Visitor Center
The new Visitor Center at the John Dickinson Plantation, located at 250 Kitts Hummock Road in Dover, is slated to open in August of ’26, and will debut its flagship exhibit, One Land, Many Voices, later in October.
Operated by the Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs, the 14,000 square foot exhibition, educational and meeting space will serve as a gateway to the full history of the John Dickinson Plantation, a 21st century facility to welcome guests to this important Delaware historic site. Beyond the new Visitor Center guests will visit the historic mansion from the 1700s and the reproduction buildings where people lived and worked.
Featuring expanded programming areas, the Visitor Center will provide additional meeting space for school programs and other educational events. All visitors will enjoy a more spacious setting to begin their exploration of the John Dickinson Plantation.
The new Permanent Exhibit, One Land, Many Voices, will present the complex history of communities in the area of the John Dickinson Plantation. Everyone who worked the land and who contributed to its legacy will be featured: indigenous peoples, the Dickinson family, tenant farmers, indentured servants, free and enslaved Black men, women and children.
Within the exhibit space there is an activity room for hands-on exploration by daily visitors and school groups. This room will also be utilized as a demonstration space for scheduled programs and groups. The space features a large multi-purpose room to facilitate educational programs, lecture series, and community meetings.
The Pavilion is a 1,400 square foot screened-in space for school groups, youth and adult programs, meetings, and more. Admission, programs, events, and exhibits will remain free at the site. A fee for use of the multipurpose room and pavilion for community meetings will cover maintenance costs.
The new space will accommodate a significantly larger capacity than that of the original, which opened to the public in the 1980s, and it will preserve the site’s enduring historical significance for generations to come.
Follow the John Dickinson Plantation on Facebook to learn more about the official opening.