Loockerman Hall

In 1723 Nicholas Loockerman purchased 600 acres of land known as “The Range.” Following his death in 1771, the property passed to his grandson Vincent Loockerman Jr. Evidence suggests that he built the Georgian-style mansion known today as Loockerman Hall soon after inheriting the property. A member of the early Revolutionary-era Committee of Inspection, and County Militia, Vincent Loockerman Jr. died on April 5, 1790. On August 24, 1891, 95 acres of the old plantation where slaves had once toiled were purchased for the purpose of establishing the “Delaware College for Colored Students.” Loockerman Hall became the center of the campus, serving variously as a dormitory, classroom, and administration building. In 1971 the structure was placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the National Park Service.