Dark glazed headers spell out numerals and letters on the Zachariah Ferris House in Wilmington. The house was built between 1718 and 1749 and stands as an example of an early farmhouse continually occupied by professional and working families. It is a two-story brick dwelling, quietly measured at 29 feet wide and 18 feet deep, capped with a simple gable roof.
Look up at the second floor: between the two windows a panel of brickwork still holds two rows of numerals and letters, set in with dark glazed headers — a small, stubborn signature of the builders who laid these bricks long ago. The house passed through notable hands, once owned by Congressman Louis McLane and U.S. Senator Outerbridge Horsey. Recognized for its history, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.
To save it from demolition the house was moved in 1976 to Willistown Square; it is now owned by the Delaware Historical Society and forms part of the Old Town Hall Commercial Historic District. Picture that brick panel of numerals above the windows, then follow the square and its surrounding district.