Library, Museums and Press Staff
July 15, 2026

Delaware and the 250th Anniversary: The First State Celebrates National Milestones

By David Cardillo, Digital Collections and Preservation

 

As America celebrates its 250th birthday this year—also known as the Semiquincentennial—communities across the country are marking the occasion with events that began well before Independence Day and will continue throughout the year. After all, 250 years of history, innovation and progress cannot be celebrated in a single day.

During the past century alone, the United States has witnessed remarkable milestones, from the commercialization of air travel and the dawn of space exploration to the admission of Alaska and Hawaii as the nation’s 49th and 50th states. Technological advances—including computers, the internet and smartphones—have transformed nearly every aspect of daily life.

But what did Americans celebrate 100 years ago during the nation’s Sesquicentennial?

The University of Delaware Library’s Digital Collections and Preservation department has digitized A Pictorial Record of the Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition, featuring photographs from the world’s fair held in Philadelphia from June 1 through Dec. 1, 1926. The volume is part of the Special Collections Print Materials digital collection and offers a fascinating glimpse into how Americans viewed innovation, culture and history a century ago. 

The exposition was enormous. It featured its own Administration Building, a massive auditorium with seating for 15,000 people and what was then the largest organ in the United States. 

 

A split sepia-toned page showing the grand exterior of the Administration Building on top. The bottom half captures a vast, multi-columned Exposition Auditorium surrounded by tree-lined paths and early 20th-century cars.

 

Science and technology were among the exposition’s biggest attractions. The Palace of Liberal Arts and Manufactures housed more than 200 exhibits showcasing the latest innovations. One featured the Burroughs Adding Machine, a mechanical calculator roughly the size of a thick laptop that represented cutting-edge business technology at the time.

 

A split sepia page featuring a panoramic view of the massive, elongated Palace of Liberal Arts and Manufactures building at the top. The bottom image shows the extensive, multi-stalled indoor trade booth for the Burroughs Adding Machine Co.

 

Home technology was evolving as well. Refrigeration was still relatively new, although it looked much different than today’s appliances. Early systems often housed the mechanical components outdoors or in a basement, with cooling lines connected to a large insulated icebox inside the home.

 

A sepia collage highlighting the Frigidaire exhibit by Delco Light Co., framed with decorative art nouveau floral borders. It captures a grand stepped-archway booth entry, a large statue titled "The Modern Iceman," and a mechanical display unit.

 

The typewriter was another revolutionary invention on display. Long before personal computers and desktop printers, the typewriter gave businesses and individuals the ability to produce professional-looking documents quickly and efficiently.

 

A sepia photograph of the symmetrical Underwood Typewriter Company pavilion. The setup features a large ornamental arch stretching over a display with giant open book props, flanked by palm plants and comfortable sitting areas.

 

The exposition extended well beyond science and technology. The Palace of Agriculture, Food, Civic and Foreign Exhibits also featured more than 200 displays representing industries, cultures and nations from around the world.

 

A high-angle, sepia aerial photograph overlooking a bustling walkway outside the Palace of Agriculture. The broad thoroughfare is filled with fairgoers strolling between manicured green lawns, young trees, and parked vintage automobiles.

 

Among the most popular attractions were the Japanese exhibits, which showcased traditional artwork, textiles and other cultural treasures.

 

A multi-panel sepia layout showcasing the Raw Silk Association of Japan's educational exhibit. The images depict detailed dioramas of traditional silk worm raising and an elegant store display filled with finished silk garments and umbrellas.

 

A collection of four sepia images detailing intricate Japanese textile displays. The top images show rows of delicate pavilion booths, while the bottom panels display close-ups of hand-embroidered silk folding screens depicting rough ocean waves and a peaceful autumn forest.

 

One familiar name visitors encountered was the Royal Baking Powder Company, which had also exhibited at the nation’s Centennial Exposition in 1876. Although the company would cease to exist as an independent business after merging with other firms in 1929, its presence reflected the growing influence of nationally recognized consumer brands.

 

A sepia photograph displaying the exhibition booth for the Royal Baking Powder Co. The structure mimics a medieval stone castle facade complete with turrets, a central conical roof, and vines trailing down the walls.

 

Photography enthusiasts could also visit Kodak’s exhibit, which included a Motion Picture Salon highlighting one of the era’s fastest-growing technologies.

 

A collage of three sepia photographs highlighting Kodak's presence at the exposition. It features the orderly interior of the Sesqui Store, a cozy Motion Picture Salon with wicker chairs, and the exterior of the photography studio building.

 

Delaware’s contributions to American independence were represented as well.

In an October 2024 blog post, Delaware Historical Figures: Caesar Rodney, we highlighted the Delaware delegate whose famous overnight ride helped secure the colony’s vote for independence. After Thomas McKean and George Read split Delaware’s delegation, Rodney rode approximately 80 miles through the night during a thunderstorm to cast the deciding vote in favor of independence.

That legendary journey inspired Edward Doyle’s poem Liberty Bell, written for the 1926 Sesquicentennial Exposition in Philadelphia.

 

A simple light blue booklet cover featuring a black-and-white emblem of the Liberty Bell at the top center. The text below announces it as a souvenir written in honor of Caesar Rodney for the Sesqui-Centennial Exposition (1776–1926).

 

As Delaware joins the nation in celebrating America’s 250th anniversary, these historical collections remind us that every generation reflects on the country’s past while imagining its future. Looking back at the Sesquicentennial offers a unique perspective on how Americans once envisioned tomorrow—and invites us to consider what the next 50 or even 100 years of innovation, discovery and progress may hold.