Hundreds of photos, maps, newspaper clippings and drawings fill the pages of “Ye Towne of St. Georges: Buildings and Homes,” a set of books designed to provide St. Georges community members and local history buffs a lesson on the town’s properties.
In 2000, after 10 years of research, writing and numerous visits to the Delaware Public Archives building in Dover, former St. Georges resident Gladys Lester completed the five-volume collection that documents the history of the town from Red Lion Creek to Augustine Creek east of the present Route 13.
To honor Lester’s work, the St. Georges Historical Society has reprinted the collection and is selling the copies to those interested in learning about the town. Funds raised from the sale will go toward maintaining the society’s building.
“A lot of people have come into the area over a period of 300 years, and many have been interested in the history of their various properties,” said Eileen Keen, member of the historical society’s Board of Directors. “This is one way to learn about them.”
From the Sutton Apothecary Shop to the Nuttal-Sutton Home, the booklets contain information on the origin and history of various buildings that helped shape the town.
“It was a labor of love to do the whole thing,” Lester said. “I wanted it to be a true history of the whole area.”
Lester, who is 84 and lives in Dover now, said she was surprised when the historical society contacted her about reprinting the collection. She originally wrote the booklets as a way to help other researchers who were in search of personal or historic data.
“I never thought this type of an interest would be created when I wrote these books,” she said. “I thought it was really nice that [the historical society] did this so that more people that live in the area can understand how it all began.”
Keen said the society had 200 sets re-published. While some copies have been donated to libraries like the Delaware City Library and the Corbit-Calloway Memorial Library, others have been sold to people as far away as California.
“Anybody who’s interested in history, especially Delaware history, will enjoy these books,” she said.
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Hundreds of photos, maps, newspaper clippings and drawings fill the pages of “Ye Towne of St. Georges: Buildings and Homes,” a set of books designed to provide St. Georges community members and local history buffs a lesson on the town’s properties.
In 2000, after 10 years of research, writing and numerous visits to the Delaware Public Archives building in Dover, former St. Georges resident Gladys Lester completed the five-volume collection that documents the history of the town from Red Lion Creek to Augustine Creek east of the present Route 13.
To honor Lester’s work, the St. Georges Historical Society has reprinted the collection and is selling the copies to those interested in learning about the town. Funds raised from the sale will go toward maintaining the society’s building.
“A lot of people have come into the area over a period of 300 years, and many have been interested in the history of their various properties,” said Eileen Keen, member of the historical society’s Board of Directors. “This is one way to learn about them.”
From the Sutton Apothecary Shop to the Nuttal-Sutton Home, the booklets contain information on the origin and history of various buildings that helped shape the town.
“It was a labor of love to do the whole thing,” Lester said. “I wanted it to be a true history of the whole area.”
Lester, who is 84 and lives in Dover now, said she was surprised when the historical society contacted her about reprinting the collection. She originally wrote the booklets as a way to help other researchers who were in search of personal or historic data.
“I never thought this type of an interest would be created when I wrote these books,” she said. “I thought it was really nice that [the historical society] did this so that more people that live in the area can understand how it all began.”
Keen said the society had 200 sets re-published. While some copies have been donated to libraries like the Delaware City Library and the Corbit-Calloway Memorial Library, others have been sold to people as far away as California.
“Anybody who’s interested in history, especially Delaware history, will enjoy these books,” she said.
