The Nutter D. Marvel Museum in Georgetown, Delaware

Located just outside of the town of Georgetown sits a gathering of buildings and barns which house a truly incredible collection. The items, historical memorabilia and stories preserved inside this complex offers visitors an amazing snapshot of life in Sussex County. This gathering of artifacts took place a number of years ago and reflects the life and passions of a local businessman, legislator and horse lover. Nutter D. Marvel passed in 1988 and his collections were given to the town by his family members. Today it is manged by the Georgetown Historical Society, who continues to operate the Carriage Museum, Return Day Headquarters, a gift shop and last but not least, a fascinating Telephone Museum.

The view above is seen as you enter the grounds, with the house and gift shop on your left and the buildings which house Mr. Marvel's vast collections straight ahead.

Update: in August 2016 I was back at the museum and took a new batch of photos that you can see here on my Facebook page. Update #2: video slideshow of the museum is now on YouTube.



There are many historic buildings on the museum grounds that Mr. Nutter Marvel acquired and then moved to the location. A church, one room school house dating from 1833 and magnificent barns are all present to walk through and admire. The barns house the carriages which he collected, featuring such pieces as a Disney carriage, wagons and delivery vehicles of all kinds. Below is the building which is now home to the Georgetown Historical Society.

From the website: "There are many historic buildings on the museum grounds such as the Ellis School, a one room school house built in 1833. There are two large barns on the grounds which house carriages from Mr. Nutter Marvel's collection. Among these carriages are the Queen's carriage, the Disney carriage, a peddlers wagon and an 1800's era horse drawn hearse carriage. There are many treasures to be seen here such as the beautiful collection of victrolas, ephemera, photographs, telephones, furniture and many more items related to Georgetown history."

A player piano in the central area that our host showed us

Rooms featuring furnishings and collectibles Mr. Marvel had gathered

A workshop on the property which showed how concrete blocks were once made. Can you imagine?

He even had an old post office inside!

School house building

The tall, stately barns which house the carriages

This church, originally in the area of Gumboro/Millsboro, was moved here in the 1960's and is still used today.

The only Confederate monument in the state of Delaware

This facility is ALSO home to the Delaware Telephone Museum (there's going to be a separate post about that). The Georgetown Historical Society is located at:
510 S Bedford Street
Georgetown, Delaware 19947.

Visit their website at http://www.marvelmuseum.com and find them on Facebook. If you are looking for a cool and different wedding venue they hold them there and I think that would be an amazing place for photos. Here is a link to a photographer who did the pictures for this recent wedding.

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