Loockerman Hall
Delaware State College campus, Dover, DELoockerman Hall, well into its third century, for size and elegance in brick, stone, and wood could be considered to be one of the finest pre-Revolutionary houses now standing in Delaware.
Sadly enough, this distinguished plantation mansion at the head of St. Jones River was allowed to fall into disuse and disrepair after seventy (70) years of usefulness as a classroom building and dormitory. After 1891 it had been the main building for the Delaware State College established that year.
The origin of the Loockerman family began in the 17th century with the arrival of the young Dutch Govert Loockerman in 1633 at New Amsterdam and soon becoming "the richest man in North America, being worth 52,000 Dutch guilders or about $208,099". Govert's son Jacob is recorded as moving to Talbot County on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, where he sired (among other children) Nicholas Loockerman who moved to Kent County, Delaware.
A deed showing that in 1723 Nicholas bought Andrew Caldwell the tract of land known as part of "The Range, lying at the head of St. Jones River," for 100 pounds. Presumably, he and his wife, Susan Emerson Loockerman, built their house soon thereafter. was the early home of their son Vincent, a Revolutionary patriot whose own fine house of 1742 is a landmark in Dover."
In Scharf's "History of Delaware" (1888) one finds a brief and accurate description of the house as to its dimensions and adornments. He adds: "The slave quarters were a short distance away. Here Mr. Loockerman lived in the easy style of the old-time Southern gentleman, and here he died. He built a dam and sawmill at the head of St. Jones Creek, northeast of the house..."
The main significance of the Loockerman Hall mansion is its outstanding, handsome, and sturdy example of the Georgian plantation houses of America, and speaks eloquently of the culture of its era. It is one of high importance on any list of the old homes of Delaware and the Eastern Shore. Indeed, it is an important contributor to one of our country's greatest inheritances, the high quality of architecture.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1971.
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.