Give visitors the power of X-ray vision! Your contribution will equip our tour guides with tablet devices, putting the Read House & Gardens image archives at their fingertips. For the first time, visitors will be able to see how the house and grounds around them have evolved across generations, look at fascinating details of furniture obscured from view, see underground through archaeological photos, and even visualize upcoming changes to the gardens.

The Read House has an extensive history, spanning generations – since its establishment in 1804, this historic landmark has seen centuries of ownership and three distinct eras of families, with each introducing new aesthetic and cultural elements to the home under their ownership. The Reads, Coupers and Laird families that owned and operated this beloved mansion each took turns in imposing influence, creating a vivid history that the home has lived through.
 

 

The Read House property hails from Lenape land, and was colonized by Swedish, Dutch, and British settlers in the 1600s. The building of the Read House was done so by George Read II, son of one of Delaware’s signers of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, and while the house maintained regional importance since its completion in 1804, it was given greater historical credit during the 1840s when it was sold to a retired trader named William Couper. Couper’s family established the garden layout we still see today, through the vision of the African American gardener Aaron Roz.

After Philip and Lydia Laird purchased it in 1920, the Read House leaped onto the national scene through dozens of magazine articles and books on historic houses. This couple added their own touches, like hand-painted scenic wallpapers, colonial-revival inspired “tap rooms” in the basement, and a marina for yachts and seaplanes.

 

The Delaware Historical Society transformed the house and grounds into a museum after Lydia’s death in 1975, and our tours now pay homage to the centuries of changes and continuity this site has seen—including the staged interiors we see today. It’s a chance to look closely at details and think deeply about the agendas and worldviews of the people who shaped this place from one generation to the next.
 

In this, the Read House can be understood as having a layered history, and while our curation pays homage to several periods throughout the house's history, we see room for improvement. By bringing tablets into our tour rotation, we hope to introduce new visuals, audio and video as a means of exploring those unseen eras of Read House history, creating a new connection between the past and present of the house. By instituting new technologies to our tours, our team aims to provide a more comprehensive and cohesive understanding of the houses’ antiquity, spanning generational gaps with connected explanations of changes undergone at the house.  
 

Your gift will open an exciting new avenue of discovery at the Read House, where we translate the complicated sweep of history into meaningful experiences for today's communities. Donating this year to Do More 24 demonstrates an initiative for the future through care for the past, which is why we’re asking you to donate this year. No amount is too small, and we thank you for your consideration to help maintain our historic identity for future generations!