Getting To Our Wilmington Law Office

Dalton & Associates, P.A. is in the Cool Spring neighborhood of Wilmington at:

1106 West 10th Street
Wilmington, DE 19806

Our law office building is the former Cool Spring Meeting House. Originally built in 1915, the building was home to Quaker worship meetings from September of that year until 1942. Our law firm purchased the building in 2001 and renovated the property to reflect the unique qualities of both the building’s history and our firm.

The building is on the corner of West 10th Street and North Harrison Street, across from Cool Spring Park and easily accessible via I-95.

Please email or call 302-549-0093 to schedule a meeting. Free on-street parking is plentiful for visitors. We also offer phone and video meetings, and can travel to you when necessary.

From our law office in Wilmington, we serve people in New Castle County and throughout Delaware.

The History Of The Cool Spring Meeting House

In 1913, the members of the Wilmington Monthly Meeting of Orthodox Friends, a Quaker worship group still active today, decided to move. At the time, they worshiped in a dilapidated wooden building on 9th and Tatnall, but they were ready for an upgrade. On May 8th of that year, they purchased an empty lot at 10th and Harrison where a new meeting house could be built. The lot cost $1,675.

George A. Rhoads, who was also one of the clerks of the meeting, chaired the committee designated to purchase and develop the lot. A Quaker architect, Walter Smedely, drew the plans for the building. The A.S. Reed & Brother Company was contracted to build it for the price of $10,372, materials and labor included.

Smedely’s design for the building was certainly atypical for Meeting Houses then and now. Meeting Houses are typically made from wood or brick, and are almost invariably in a box or barn shape. This new Meeting House was to be made of stone. Large Doric columns, capped with Romanesque triangles, would flank each of two main entrances. Inside, Smedely’s design called for a barrel vault roof and a fireplace. Despite the unique approach, the project moved forward.

After minor delays in construction, the Cool Spring Meeting House was completed. The Wilmington Meeting of Orthodox Friends held their first meeting for worship in their new building on September 1st, 1915.

Of all the exceptional features of Smedely’s design, the standout is undoubtedly the 16-foot wide counterweighted raise-up panel door. During worship meetings, this door was brought down, splitting the main first floor room in two. On one side the men worshiped. On the other side, the women worshipped. The door was raised for Quaker Monthly Business Meetings. The Wilmington Meeting of Orthodox Friends listened for the ‘inner voice’ separately, but when it came to financial decisions, the issuing of statements and letters from the meeting as a whole, or day to day decisions related to the maintenance and upkeep of their quite unorthodox, orthodox meeting house, everyone had equal voice.

The scope of influence held by Quakers throughout the Delaware Valley from the time the first European settlers arrived through the Vietnam War is hard to quantify. Quakers spearheaded the majority of social initiatives relating to the women’s suffrage and civil rights movements in the area. As pacifists, Quakers shaped the non-violence dialog for over a century in this country.

The Wilmington Meeting of Orthodox Friends was no different. Talks were held throughout both World Wars on how to apply principles of non-violence into daily life. Letters that protested the militaristic path the country had taken while also extolling the virtues of national pride were sent to all levels of local and federal government. Numerous members of the meeting were involved in dispensing aid to anyone in Europe who needed it regardless of religious or political affiliation through the then-recently-established AFSC (American Friends Service Committee).

The first of several weddings were held in the building on June 15th, 1917. It was the wedding of Robert H. Maris to Katherine E. Spear. The two would remain very active in the meetings for the rest of their lives, as Robert Maris’ family had before him.

Among the other prominent Wilmington Quakers that worshiped at the Cool Spring Meeting House at 10th and Harrison were: Edith C. Rhoads, Horace J. and Robert R. Tatnall, George A. Rhoads, Irving J. Cox, B. and Catherine B. Swift.

After the Second World War, the schism that had segmented the Quaker faith subsided. Wilmington Meeting of Orthodox Friends decided to merge with the Wilmington Meeting of Hixite Friends who worshiped in the much larger 4th and West Meeting House. Noted in the minutes of the final Quaker meeting held at 10th and Harrison, one of the original members of the meeting, Horace J. Tatnall, said that the present status is preferable to change. He went on to say that he “could not conscientiously join in such a change.” Following this objection the final minute is noted.

Despite his objection, it was agreed that the time had come to proceed with the formation of United Monthly Meeting, although loving sympathy was felt for any who may conscientiously object to such a step.

Dalton & Associates purchased the building in 2001 and have completely renovated it to reflect the unique quality of both the building and our firm. With a focus on preserving the historical integrity and uniqueness of the building, we began construction in November of 2012 on a new 2,000 square foot wing adjacent to the existing building. Construction was completed in May of 2014, providing a beautiful new space that houses four new offices, a conference room, and a vaulted barrel ceiling mirroring the original Meeting House architecture over the lobby.

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