National Register Listing

Greenwold

a.k.a. Manlove Hayes House

625 S. State St., Dover, DE

Born in 1817, Manlove Hayes was the son of a wealthy Kent County farmer and merchant. He received a formal education at the academy and college in Newark. After finishing his studies, Hayes obtained a position with the East Tennessee Railroad.

In 1840, however, he returned to York Seat farm, east of Dover, where he became a very successful farmer. His other business activities included a steamship line to Philadelphia. Hayes was also active in public affairs; he served as clerk of the State Senate in 1845 and as a representative in the 1852-53 General Assembly.

In 1862 Hayes purchased from John C. Pennewill a lot of twelve and one-half acres, just south of Dover; the decision to buy this lot was the result of several factors. He had decided to retire from farm life to concentrate on his other business enterprises. He wished to be close to the Delaware Railroad, to his relatives in Dover, and to a commercial center; yet he required the pastoral setting to which he had become accustomed. The parallels with the later "suburban movement" are obvious.

In April 1863 he entered into an agreement with Richard D. Smithers to erect a house of his own design. To complete the setting for his "gentleman's house," Hayes engaged William Saunders, "a distinguished landscape gardener," to lay out the ground plan and to select the varieties of trees to be planted. Saunders situated the
house, laid out the carriage drive and turn, and positioned trees to give the house light and circulation. Throughout the whole plan is a balance of concern for aesthetics and practicality.

In the spring of 1864 Manlove Hayes moved into his completed house. From here Hayes conducted his several business interests, which included the Delaware Railroad Company and the First National Bank of Dover.

Local significance of the building:
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1973.