Stevens, William, House
a.k.a. Peach Mansion
DE 6, Kenton, DEThe William Stevens House is an architectural expression of the great agricultural prosperity that Kenton Hundred experienced in the mid-decades of the nineteenth century. The use of the massive Italianate building was a radical departure in building choices for Kenton Hundred. This style is commonly associated with New Castle County. The attention that was paid to this house to style indicates that Stevens saw his new home as an extension of self and wished to create a most favorable impression. The landscaping, the use of the circular drive, and the double line of trees all contributed to the proper effect of a prosperous landowner. The William Stevens Housen is an example of the emerging mid-nineteenth-century aesthetic of building construction.
Local significance of the building:Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.
Delaware was one of the few slave states that remained in the Union during the American Civil War, and the District of Delaware was the site of several notable cases related to slavery and the Civil War. For example, in 1861, a group of slaves in Delaware attempted to escape to freedom on a ship called the Pearl, which was intercepted and brought back to Delaware. The case, which became known as the "Pearl Incident," was one of the earliest examples of a slave rebellion in the United States.