the Hendrickson House . . . . the Kalmar Nyckel
(see NOTE below)
THE HENDRICKSON HOUSE was built in 1690 by Andrew Hendrickson, a Swedish
farmer who had settled near Chester, Pennsylvania. The house was moved to this site in
1958 and restored. Originally consisting of one large room on the first floor for all the
family's daily activities and a large bedroom above, the house was enlarged in the 1790's.
Andrew Hendrickson, the first owner, built the house when he was married; he eventually
had eight children. The house was occupied by three generations of Hendricksons. They sold
it in 1788, and it was used as a house for tenant farmers. A fire in the early 1900s
destroyed many wooden parts of the house.
the Hendrickson House . . . . the Kalmar Nyckel
(see NOTE below)
Inside is a small scale model of the Kalmar Nyckel, here on permanent loan from the City of Wilmington. The model was a gift to the City of Wilmington from its sister city, Kalmar, Sweden.
The restoration of the Hendrickson House took place in 1958, after it was moved to Wilmington to prevent its being torn down. The pine mantel and woodwork around the large fireplace are original, but the floorboards were taken from a Massachusetts farmhouse of the same period. The pine ceiling beams were made by hand as part of the restoration. Existing doors and windows were used as patterns for new ones, and the curved staircase was reconstructed in accordance with marks on the walls. The straight staircase is new; it was added for safety reasons. The house is now used as the church offices and a small museum.
hearth . . . . . . . . . . table . . . . . . . . . . pitcher
The furniture in the Hendrickson House dates from approximately 1690-1800, but none of it was original to the house. The table in the center of the room probably dates from about 1690, and the chairs are from the 1700s. One chair is Russian leather. The large storage chest, or "kast," is similar to a linen cabinet or closet. The spinning wheel is from about 1800 but is a reminder that families like the Hendricksons had to spin wool or flax to make cloth for their clothes. A household inventory shows that the Hendricksons had six spinning wheels. The pewter dishes and vessels date from the 1700s; the set features unusual graduated sizes. Other cooking and serving pieces are copper, a metal that was widely used in Sweden.
In the era before electric lights and oil heat,
life was simpler and we were more aware of the fragility of human existence. The family
bible recorded birth, death, and marriage with greater frequency and more sharply etched
emotion than we can muster today.
After the introduction to the United States (in the 1860's) of the practice of decorating a pine tree to celebrate the birth of the Christ Child, decorations were made fresh each year and hung on a freshly-cut tree -- carefully kept far from the fireplace.
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NOTE: To learn more about the Kalmar Nyckel, her history , and her role in
Wilmington's future, visit the home page of the Kalmar
Nyckel Foundation.
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URL: http://www.oldswedes.org/hendrick.htm
Latest changes: 97Dec20 - created /
