Duck Creek Hundred in Smyrna in Kent County, Delaware — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Former site of Whitehall Plantation

Photographed by Don Morfe, November 10, 2019

1. Former site of Whitehall Plantation Marker

Inscription. Whitehall Plantation, once owned by the Chew family, contained over 400 acres of land and was worked solely by enslaved labor. Among those enslaved was Richard Allen who was born here and later founded the African Methodist Episcopal Church. By 1798 Benjamin Chew’s records indicate that he enslaved 42 men and women, making Whitehall the largest plantation worked by enslaved labor in Delaware and Chew the largest enslaver in the state. Unwilling to free his captives and incur a loss of profit, Chew sold Whitehall and stipulated that those enslaved be a part of the sale. George Kennard purchased Whitehall in 1803 and shortly thereafter freed the enslaved men and women.

Erected 2017 by Delaware Public Archives. (Marker Number K-123.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Religion & Religious Structures. In addition, it is included in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, and the Delaware Public Archives series lists.

Location. 39° 15.498′ N, 75° 28.674′ W. Marker is in Smyrna, Delaware, in Kent County. It is in Duck Creek Hundred. It is on Whitehall Neck Road. The marker is located at the entrance to Bombay Hook National

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Wildlife Refuge. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2610 Whitehall Neck Road, Smyrna DE 19977, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American Mid-Atlantic

and on the Delmarva Peninsula.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Netherland,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 6 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Allee House (approx. 2.3 miles away); Roby United Methodist Church (approx. 2.3 miles away); Octagonal Schoolhouse (approx. 4.3 miles away); Octagonal School House (approx. 4.3 miles away); Dover International Speedway (approx. 5.4 miles away); In This Place… (approx. 5½ miles away); In This Place... (approx. 5½ miles away); a different marker also named In This Place... (approx. 5½ miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Smyrna.

Photographed by Don Morfe, November 10, 2019

2. Former site of Whitehall Plantation Marker

Photographed by Don Morfe, November 10, 2019

3. Former site of Whitehall Plantation Marker

Visitor Center-Bombay Hook Wildlife Refuge image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Don Morfe, November 10, 2019

4. Visitor Center-Bombay Hook Wildlife Refuge

Credits. This page was last revised on May 15, 2026. It was originally submitted on November 12, 2019, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. This page has been viewed 1,331 times since then and 50 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on November 12, 2019, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.