Cannon-Maston House restoration gets underway

On May 15, board members of the Sussex County Land Trust along with county and state officials gathered at Ickford Park to mark the anticipated start of renovations and restoration of the Cannon-Maston House located on Atlanta Road northwest of Seaford.

The historic home and surrounding 59 acres were acquired by the trust in partnership with Sussex County Council in 2008 with a combination of private, state and county funds, for the purpose of protecting and restoring the historic structure and surrounding agricultural landscape. 

Constructed in 1727, the Cannon-Maston House is one of the oldest brick homes on the Delmarva Peninsula. When the home was constructed, the surrounding area was still a part of Maryland; it did not become part of Delaware until the American Revolution.

Construction is slated to start this spring to repair the foundation and exterior walls of the home. The following phases of the project will restore the interior finishes and rebuild the fireplace. Future plans include locating small farm outbuildings on the site as well as trails and restrooms. In addition to the preservation of the Cannon-Maston House, the trust recently completed a relocation and restoration of a century-old structure known as the Williams-Litchford House, also situated on the property.

“Once this restoration work is completed, our goal is to develop public programming for the site interpreting agricultural life in Sussex County during early 17th and 19th centuries,” said Sussex County Land Trust Chair Ring Lardner. 

“Sussex County is proud to once again work hand-in-hand with the Sussex County Land Trust to protect those places that add to our natural and cultural heritage. The preservation and restoration of the Williams-Litchford House at the forthcoming Ickford Park, along with maintaining the nearby Cannon-Maston House, which the county purchased some years ago, will ensure these priceless, historical snapshots of Sussex County’s past will not fade for the generations yet to come,” said Sussex County Council President Mike Vincent.

For more information, go to www.sclandtrust.org.