A walking tour of Smyrna, Delaware

Smyrna's Architectural Heritage provides important background for this self-guided Walking Tour.

Map of the self-guided Smyrna Walking Tour

1 Smyrna’s Four Corners

The intersection of Commerce and Main Streets marks the historic crossroads of King’s Highway and the Maryland Road. The intersection reflects a rectilinear modification to King’s Highway, which originally curved slightly to the northeast. The commercial center of town, nearly all of the buildings that comprise the Four Corners have been remodeled over the years to suit the needs of the owners. The historic core of Smyrna, much of the town’s eighteenth century architecture can be found along the adjacent blocks of this intersection.

2 Enoch Spruance House

The earliest portion of the Enoch Spruance House dates to the late 1700s. A two bay wing and kitchen ell were added to the east of the original structure, probably in the early 1800s. A private home today, the building housed various businesses during the early nineteenth century, including a bank, a doctor’s office, and a boarding house. Enoch Spruance purchased the property in 1832.

3 The Barracks (Smyrna Museum) and Irishtown Worker’s Dwelling

According to local tradition, the Barracks housed soldiers during the War of 1812 and was the draft headquarters for the Union during the Civil War. The building exhibits several different style elements, such as a belt course (which reflects an early nineteenth century decorative treatment) and bracketed eaves (which suggests a late nineteenth century remodeling). One of the original “Irishtown” worker’s dwellings is located behind the museum. Saved from demolition in the 1950s, the Irishtown dwelling was originally located near North Main Street and Glenwood Avenue.

4 Odd Fellows Hall

Built as the Morning Star Lodge No. 6 IOOF, the Odd Fellows Hall displays Greek Revival detailing. The building features a pedimented end-gable facade, punctuated by a series of regularly-spaced pilasters. The Hall housed the Smyrna Library Association (formed 1858) on its first floor until it moved to the Town Hall (Opera House) in 1870.

5 The Jones House

Although widely known as the Jones House, the more appropriate name for this dwelling might be the Perkins Mansion. Built circa 1840-1850 by Dr. John D. Perkins, the Jones House is one of several Greek Revival residences that comprise the corner of South Main Street and East South Street. Unlike the neighboring brick structures, the Jones House is a frame interpretation of the style.

6 Van Gaskin Brick Dwellings

The two brick Greek Revival buildings (one single and one duplex) located at the corner of South and Main Streets were designed by local architect Van Gaskin. Several notable Smyrna citizens resided in these dwellings including John Bassett Moore, an internationally-known judge.

7 Smyrna Opera House / Old Town Hall

Designed by Smyrna native R. Mitchell, the Old Town Hall was constructed in 1869. As with many civic buildings of the day, Smyrna’s Town Hall housed several different uses, including the town’s Opera House. Additions to the Hall in 1887 allowed space for a Fire Department, Police Department, jail, and fraternal lodge. In 1948, the Hall’s third story and clock tower were destroyed by a fire set inadvertently by Christmas lights. Renovations resulted in a two-story flat-roofed structure; the Old Town Hall would remain that way for 55 years. The Smyrna Clayton Heritage Association unveiled the reconstructed third story mansard roof and bell tower in 2003.

8 John Basset Moore Intermediate School

The John Bassett Moore Intermediate School (originally, the Smyrna High School), was built in the Colonial Revival style building in 1922. Exterior decorative details include a Flemish bond brick pattern, double chimneys and lunette windows on each gable end, a belt course, and rusticated quoining.

9 The Smyrna Times

Housing Delaware’s oldest consecutively published newspaper (founded in 1854), the Smyrna Times building dates to circa 1820. The federal style building has housed the paper from 1897-2006. The building to the right of the Smyrna Times originally housed the Farmers Bank. In 1926, the bank moved to the butter-brick neoclassical building located near the corner of Main and Commerce.

10 J. R. Clements Mansion

Constructed circa 1860, the Clements Mansion is an exemplary example of the Italianate style. The building’s tall, slender windows draw the eye upward to the heavily bracketed eave. Arches are a recurrent theme and appear in the central bay in the light above the door and triple windows on the second and third stories. A low-pitched hipped roof capped by a hipped-roof cupola further accentuates the linear alignment of the facade.

11 First Presbyterian Church

This prominent Gothic Revival style church on West Commerce is further set apart from the block by its serpentine limestone exterior. The stone was most likely quarried in southeastern Pennsylvania and shipped to Smyrna. The 1884 church exhibits many Gothic Revival elements, particularly lancet-shaped windows and door heads.

12 St. Peter’s Episcopal Church

St. Peter’s stands as an example of how a building evolves to meet the needs of its current occupants. Constructed in 1827, the church underwent an extensive remodeling project in 1857 that included the addition of a vestibule and two transepts. The eastern end of the building was extended twenty-seven feet during this period. The sanctuary was enlarged in 1885 and a new altar and timber roof were added in 1902. The property gained a Sunday school building in 1872 and a church office in 1958.

13 The Academy

Constructed around 1820, the Academy appears today as a twin house. The Academy derives its name from the girl’s school it housed during the nineteenth century. The structure has always been divided: one side serving as the school, while the other as a home for the school’s teacher.

14 The Pope-Mustard Mansion

Originally a two story dwelling with wing, the house located at 204 West Mt. Vernon Street was constructed in 1790 for Colonel Charles Pope, who served in the Revolutionary War. John Mustard, co-owner of the Peterson-Mustard Tannery, purchased the home in 1837. In 1850 a large remodeling project took place, the result of which is the house today. The tannery was located approximately one block north of the house.

15 McLane-Spearman-Gootee House

The McLane-Spearman-Gootee House underwent three distinct building phases since its first incarnation over 200 years ago. Upon returning to Smyrna after the American Revolution, Allen McLane and his family took up residence in this three-bay Georgian, replete with a Flemish bond brick pattern and belt course facade. By 1791, Simon Spearman purchased the house and added the two story wing to the west sometime in the early nineteenth century. In 1871, Dr. B. S. Gootee purchased the house and added the mansard roof with dormers.

16 Alexander Griswold Cummins, Sr. House

The pastor of Smyrna’s Protestant Episcopal Church, Alexander Cummins chose the Gothic Revival style when constructing his home in 1875. The pointed arch and lancet are recurring themes in this highly decorative style and can be found throughout the home’s exterior. Intricately detailed vergeboards accent the dwelling’s gables, window surrounds, and porch supports.

17 The Presley Spruance House

Originally a three-bay side passage plan, the Flemish bond facade of the Presley Spruance House now appears nearly symmetrical due to an 1830s expansion. The arched dormers were most likely added during this expansion to reinforce the idea of symmetry along the dwelling’s facade. The bracketed cornice and portico reflect a Victorian-era addition. Successful merchants known under the moniker of P&E Spruance, Presley and his brother Enoch purchased the property in 1818 from John and Susan Cummins. Presley Spruance, both a State Representative and Senator, served as a United States Senator from 1847-1853.

18 John Cummins Mansion

One of the most prominent figures in Smyrna’s history, John Cummins made his fortune as a grain dealer, selling his products via ship to ports along the Eastern Seaboard. John and Susan Cummins originally made their home in the one story with attic building located to the south, that now appears as a wing of the larger structure. As Cummins’ prominence and wealth grew, his needs for a larger dwelling were met by the construction of the Mansion in the early nineteenth century. Federal in style, the two-story dwelling exhibits a Flemish bond, five-bay facade, interior end chimneys, and a fanlight above the entry door. The much smaller, earlier Cummins dwelling to the south of the mansion was attached to the main structure sometime after 1940.

19 Governor William Temple Mansion

The William Temple House represents a fusion of two distinct building styles: Federal and Italianate. The two and one half story, side-gabled Federal portion of the home was expanded circa 1845 to include a three-bay, three-story Italianate structure. Although much of the exterior now includes Italianate detailing, such as the heavy brackets found under the eaves, the structural composition of the two different periods remains evident.

20 The Delaware House

Constructed during the first quarter of the nineteenth century, the Delaware House began as a two-story, five bay dwelling. The building was renovated in 1837 and then again in 1856 to accommodate visiting businessmen and merchants. Known as the Steamboat Hotel and then as the Delaware House, the hostelry lodged visitors until 1944, when the hotel was converted into a nursing home.

21 The Greybox Chateau

Romanesque, Queen Anne, and Colonial additions conceal the original core of this dwelling, which may date to the late eighteenth century. Other noteworthy features include the boxwood gardens, established in 1856, and the intact wrought iron fence.