Home

Crystal Trust Does It Again!

Santa came early to the Greater Harrington Historical Society!

The wonderful folks at Crystal Trust in Montchanin Delaware have once again bestowed on our organization an amazing grant in the amount of $100,000!!!!

These fund will restore the exterior of the former St. Stephens Church which now serves as one of our museums. We will also be able to install stained-glass windows back in to the building as well. This will all be done in time to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the church, which will occur in Jan of 2026. We can never thank Crystal Trust enough!

2024 Newsletter now online

Our 2024 Newsletter is now online. To view the latest information, click here

HAVE WE SAID HOW MUCH WE LOVE DELAWARE HUMANITIES!!!!!!

All we can say is THANK YOU!!!!!!!

Delaware Humanities has blessed the Greater Harrington Historical Society with two recent grants. These generous funds will provide the following projects

Voices of Harrington

Recently found in our archives was over 50 cassette recordings that featured interviews with local citizens from the community. Several featured business leaders, school teachers, and wonderful stories from our African American community. Thanks to Delaware Humanities, these tapes will now be transferred to digital media. Once completed, these stories will be available for all at the museum and we will rotate them on our website for you to enjoy. These recordings all also serve as the backdrop for our Black History Month display in February of 2024. Be sure to check back often for updates and progress on this project!

To listen to the recordings, click here

Blue Hen Records: The Sound of Delmarva

Did you know Harrington was more than the hub of the railroad? The city also was home to the hub of Rockabilly in Delaware! Located on Center Street in a small store was the home of Blue Hen Records, a record production company in the 1950’s. Owned by Sam Short, the company wrote, recorded, and sold both 78 and 45 records under the name of Blue Hen Records. The museum, in cooperation with 302 Stories, submitted a proposal to create a documentary on this history, and we received the grant!!!!

To learn more about Blue Hen Records and hear the Rockabilly sound, click here

Our friends at Delaware Humanities are just amazing! We could never accomplish this and the other programs we have achieved in the past few years without them! Please visit them on the web, and hey its there 50th anniversary too! To visit Delaware Humanities, click here

The Harrington Journal is on your doorstep!

The Greater Harrington Historical Society, through a second generous grant from Delaware Humanities, now has the Harrington Journal online! Currently the years of 1933 to 1988 are online and available free of charge to the public. To learn more about this exciting new view of history and access these wonderful pages, click the link below. We hope you enjoy reading them! And please, consider donating to the museum to help support this and other ongoing projects.

Harrington Journal Online

ANNOUCNING THE HOMETOWN HEROES BANNER PROGRAM!

The Greater Harrington Historical Society is proud to announce the Hometown Heroes Banner Program. The program serves as a tribute to recognize service men and women from the greater Harrington area who have served or are serving our country in a branch of the military. The banners are 24” wide by 48” tall. Each individual banner will honor a specific Harrington area service man or woman and will include his or her picture, branch of service and era of service. Sponsors who may be friends, families, or businesses will pay for the Hometown Heroes Banners. Sponsorship will be named on the banners. For more information or to download a form click here.

Building Expansion!

We are bulging at the seams! The Greater Harrington Historical Society has been in existence for over 40 years and during that time we have gathered over 70,000 artifacts! We have grown from a corner room to three buildings. The demand for more space to display artifacts and a research room to provide digital access to our holdings has prompted the officers to move forward with expansion plans to our Annex building located at 108 Fleming St in Harrington. To learn more on the expansion, to donate to this cause, click here. Thank you for your support!

Looking for something to do?

Check out The Budget Travelers blog on suggestions on things to do this winter in Delaware. The Greater Harrington Historical Society has a feature spot on the blog!

Also take walking tour of Harrington. Visit Clio for a tour of all there is to see in Harrington!

Welcome to the Greater Harrington Historical Society. We here at the society strive to preserve the history of our area through the collection of artifacts and living history. Whether you are looking to see how our city began, what businesses have been in our town, or look back at our churches and civic organizations, we have something for everyone. Our collections also includes documents and photographs that anyone who is working on genealogy will find invaluable in learning more about their family tree. No matter if you are a lifelong resident, a Harringtonian at heart, or just interested in history, we here at the Greater Harrington Historical Society will be happy to give you a tour you will find interesting and full of fun.