Swanwyck
building in Delaware, United States
Swanwyck is a historic home located near New Castle in New Castle County, Delaware. It was built between 1813 and 1819, and is a two-story, three-bay, stuccoed brick dwelling reflective of the Regency period. The house has been modified by later additions and is now surrounded by 20th century residential development, unlike its original farmland setting.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.
History
Swanwyck was designed and built by Peter Bauduy for his daughter, Cora, sometime between 1813 and 1819. Bauduy was a French immigrant who came to Wilmington after fleeing first the French Revolution and then the Haitian Revolution. An associate of the Du Pont family, he was also credited as the architect of the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Wilmington. The name "Swanwyck" came from an old Dutch settlement located nearby on the Delaware River upriver from New Castle.
In the 1940s and 1950s, the farmland around Swanwyck was developed into a residential subdivision called Swanwyck Estates. An addition was built onto the northwest corner of the house around this time, including a new front entrance since the original building is now oriented sideways relative to the street.
The public source identifies “Swanwyck” as building in Delaware, United States. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Swanwyck, building and Delaware.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Swanwyck”, the useful work is to connect “building in Delaware, United States” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 5, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7653774. Authority coordinates are 39.694, -75.566. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1813, 1819 and 1977.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Swanwyck”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Swanwyck primary sources, Swanwyck archive and Swanwyck research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Swanwyck”?
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- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Swanwyck” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.