The Delaware Public Archives is excited to present a new digital exhibit that highlights the history and importance of Delaware’s agricultural industry: Grown & Gathered: Harvest in the First State. On display in the lobby of the Delaware Public Archives, the exhibit highlights Delaware’s important role in ensuring that people across the country have access to fresh produce and poultry.
Drawing on records preserved at the Delaware Public Archives, the exhibit features photographs and videos showing how generations of Delaware farmers have kept people fed for centuries. Grown & Gathered: Harvest in the First State explores Delaware’s harvest from the field to the wider community, highlighting the people, crops, tools, traditions, and transportation networks that shaped agricultural life across the state. Through historic photographs and motion picture film, the exhibit follows the work of preparing and harvesting crops, the processing and sharing of foods such as apples and sweet potatoes, and the ways produce moved from farms to markets by road and rail.
Learn more about how produce was transported by visiting the Tracks, Towns, and Transformation: How the Railroad Changed Delaware exhibit while you’re at the Archives. Grown & Gathered: Harvest in the First State is on display in the lobby of the Delaware Public Archives through Fall 2026. For more information about the Delaware Public Archives and other exhibits and events, visit the Archives online.
Thanks to the Delaware Department of Agriculture for contributing its 2027 calendar, which features recipes that utilize in-season produce. You can pick up one in the Delaware Public Archives lobby while supplies last.
Looking for fresh produce for your latest recipe? Check out the Delaware Department of Agriculture’s online Farmers Market Guide. Broken down by county, this guide will help you find a convenient location to purchase fresh produce for you and your family to enjoy.
