Bradford-Loockerman House
a.k.a. Loockerman House
419 S. State St., Dover, DEThe Bradford House is an exceptional specimen of a mid-eighteenth century Dover town house never significantly altered, still occupied by descendants of its builder, with its original lot still nearly intact, and the best feature of its early garden surviving. No other house in central Dover remains so nearly in its colonial condition and setting. It is, moreover, a close neighbor of the Old State House, contributing to the integrity of that notable building's background.
Its occupants, while not themselves outstanding statesmen, have frequently been active in public affairs and have been allied by descent or marriage with several notable figures. The builder, Vincent Loockerman of Dutch descent, came of a family prominent in New Amsterdam and later in Maryland. He himself was, a Delaware Assemblyman in 1776, favoring independence at an early date. His daughter married first a son of Rev. John Miller, the most prominent colonial Presbyterian clergyman of Kent County, and second Thomas Bradford, father of her children. The house has been inherited in her line, through persons descended also from William Killen, first Chancellor of Delaware, and Willard Hall, distinguished Federal Judge whose support fostered the public school system of Delaware in its early years.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
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.