primary basis for the character of Simeon Halliday. Stowe also described the trials and recounted her correspondence with Garrett in her book A Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin, where she noted, "The writer had in mind, at the time of writing, the scenes in the trial of [...] Garret, of Wilmington, Delaware, for the crime of hiring a hack to convey a mother and four children from Newcastle jail to Wilmington." By the time the Civil War broke out, Garrett had helped 2,700 slaves escape to freedom. Hunn served with the Freedmen's Bureau, and his son was elected Delaware governor and oversaw state approval of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution. Taney would go on to author the decision in the famous Dred Scott case in 1857, which held that blacks could not be considered American citizens. Bayard later defeated Wales again in 1850 when he won election to the Senate, where he became one of the fiercest critics of the loyalty oaths and where he voted to acquit President Andrew Johnson in his impeachment trial. Museum and National Park The Court House was opened as a museum by the state of Delaware in 1963. The building is now part of First State National Historical Park. The park's headquarters and visitor's center will be located in the Sheriff's House adjacent to the Court House. The National Historical Park was created to preserve and interpret the unique history of the region's colonization by the Swedes, Dutch, and English, and Delaware's role in establishing the United States leading up to it becoming the first state. See also National Register of Historic Places listings in northern New Castle County, Delaware List of National Historic Landmarks in Delaware List of the oldest buildings in Delaware Penn–Calvert Boundary Dispute The Twelve-Mile Circle Read House & Gardens Stonum References External links New Castle Court House Museum National Park Service Website: First State National Historical Park County courthouses in Delaware Buildings and structures in New Castle, Delaware History museums in Delaware Museums in New Castle County, Delaware Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Delaware National Historic Landmarks in Delaware Historic American Buildings Survey in Delaware British colonial architecture in the United States Colonial architecture in Delaware National Register of Historic Places in New Castle County, Delaware First State National Historical Park