Updated: 4/22/2011
The restoration of the Hendrickson House took place in 1958, after it was moved to Wilmington to prevent its being torn down. The pine mantel and woodwork around the large fireplace are original, but the floorboards were taken from a Massachusetts farmhouse of the same period. The pine ceiling beams were made by hand as part of the restoration. Existing doors and windows were used as patterns for new ones, and the curved staircase was reconstructed in accordance with marks on the walls. The straight staircase is new; it was added for safety reasons. The house is now used as the church offices and a small museum.
THE HENDRICKSON HOUSE was built in 1690 by Andrew Hendrickson, a Swedish farmer who had settled near Chester, Pennsylvania. The house was moved to this site in 1958 and restored. Originally consisting of one large room on the first floor for all the family's daily activities and a large bedroom above, the house was enlarged in the 1790's. Andrew Hendrickson, the first owner, built the house when he was married; he eventually had eight children. The house was occupied by three generations of Hendricksons. They sold it in 1788, and it was used as a house for tenant farmers. A fire in the early 1900s destroyed many wooden parts of the house.
The Old Swedes' Foundation
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