John Dickinson Plantation

Judge Samuel Dickinson built this plantation house, later called Poplar Hall, in 1739; his son John Dickinson — the "Penman of the American Revolution," who drafted the Articles of Confederation and refused to sign the Declaration of Independence on principle before serving in the Continental Army anyway — lived here for only about two years, but is said never to have entirely left. The plantation depended on the labor of enslaved people for generations; Delaware's Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs has since identified more than 130 enslaved, indentured, and free Black individuals connected to the property through its Plantation Stories Project, including Dinah Patten, Clem, Violet, and Chaz, drawn from period manumission documents and clothing ledgers. In 2021, state archaeologists located the graves of at least 25 enslaved people on the grounds, part of a burial ground now reachable by a 1.3-mile trail. The State of Delaware now owns and operates the plantation as a museum with guided tours. Visitors and staff report the sound of a quill scratching across parchment paper coming from what was Dickinson's study, cold spots, orbs in photographs, unexplained sounds through the halls, and his figure seen wandering the grounds; investigators have also reported capturing EVP recordings of his voice.