William Montgomery House

A stone on the facade inscribed with the initials “I.M” and a date of “1789” suggests that construction of this dwelling occurred during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a period of early industrialization in Delaware. Evidence of a stone house on this property does not appear until tax assessments of 1816-1817. William Montgomery, a farmer and War of 1812 veteran for whom the house is named, first owned the property and lived with his wife, Jane and their seven children as early as 1805. The family resided in the home until William’s death in 1838 at the age of 68. Located in an area of Mill Creek Hundred formerly referred to as “Milltown,” the house is a well-preserved example of “Penn Plan” style architecture popular in the Pennsylvania and Delaware colonies until the mid-18th century. First recommended by William Penn to colonists in the late 17th century, the double-cell plan features two rooms with a separate stair hall. The use of the Penn Plan during the second decade of the 19th century is unusual and suggests an adherence to traditions characteristic of the Delaware Valley region. Due to its construction into a natural bank, one of the home’s principal facades sits one story higher than the other. The property also features a small barn, frame well house, and the remains of a mill race, all of which date from the mid-19th century. A frame wing was added to the house in the mid-20th century by A. Felix and Marka DuPont, who owned the property at the time. The William Montgomery House was named to the National Register of Historic Places in July 1988 and was a recipient of the New Castle County Historic Preservation Award due to the efforts of Norman and Gayle Davis, longtime owners of the property.