National Register of Historic Places

Laurel

Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware
Listed
December 4, 1974
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
74000603

About this property

The Dudley Spencer House, also called Laurel, is a Frank Lloyd Wright–designed Usonian home in Wilmington, Delaware. Wright designed this home in 1956 and named it "Laurel". This house is of the hemicycle design, and is built of irregularly coursed fieldstone. This single story house has a flat roof with curvilinear extensions and windows under roof extensions. The interior fireplace and hearth serves as dominant structural and aesthetic element. Typical of Wright designs, the home successfully blends with the surrounding wooded environment. The Dudley Spencer house is private and not accessible to the public. The house was built by its first owner, Dudley Spencer, over a five-year period between 1956 and 1961. In a 1969 interview, Spencer said he personally designed and built the steel structures used in the house and enlisted the help of a local prison gang. Following the death of Spencer in 2012, the house was sold to its current owners in 2013. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

Location

619 Shipley Rd.
Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware
39.77400, -75.51679

Categories

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTUREARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Overview
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The Land
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Geology
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LiDAR Terrain
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Conflict & War
The battles, raids and skirmishes fought near here, across every era of American conflict.
The Civil War
The Civil War on this ground, 1861 to 1865: who held it, and the battles, camps and regiments nearby.
The Soldiers
The men who marched from here in the Civil War, named and traced where the record allows.
Native Heritage
The Native nations who held this land, mapped across time from before European contact to today.
Settlement
Who claimed and held this ground, from Indigenous homelands through the colonial powers to the United States.
The Community
How the town grew, who came, and what kind of place it became, traced through the census record.
Rivers & Rail
The rivers, canals and railroads that connected this place between 1830 and 1911.
Notable People
The people born, buried or genuinely tied to this exact place, with their stories.
Historical Maps
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Finds & Access
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Literature
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Spotlight
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Points of Interest
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Nearby Historic Sites

Rockwood Estate Historic District (Additional Documentation)
Listed
0.2 mi
Newark Union Church and Cemetery
Civil War
0.9 mi
Marcus Hook Range Rear Light
Industrial
1.1 mi
Dupont, P. S., High School
Industrial
1.1 mi
Riverview Cemetery Company of Wilmington, Delaware
Listed
1.2 mi

Nearby Battles

Battle of Brandywine — Birmingham Hill
1777Revolutionary War
4.3 mi
Battle of Birmingham Hill (Brandywine)
1777Revolutionary War
5 mi
Skirmish at Brandywine – Birmingham Hill
1777Revolutionary War
5.1 mi

Questions about this property

When was Laurel listed on the National Register?

Laurel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 4, 1974.

What type of historic resource is Laurel?

Laurel is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Laurel?

The period of significance for Laurel is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Laurel?

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