The Green - Dover, Delaware - American Guide Series on Waymarking.com

"1. THE GREEN, junction of State St, and Bank Lane, Dover's tree-shaded public square, is surrounded by office buildings, law and corporation offices, and by private residences. A granite monument, erected by the Delaware State Society of Cincinnati and other citizens in 1912, commemorates the final review in 1780 of the Delaware Regiment, prior to its marching south to take part in the campaign that ended in Yorktown. Because much of the history of the State has centered about this quiet spot, fact and legend have peopled it with notables for 250 years.
  Here took place, in 1745, the laying of the restless ghost of Chief Justice Samuel Chew by a public ceremony. Chew, born in 1693, was appointed Chief Justice of the Three Lower Counties in 1741, and retained that office until his death in 1744. Late on night, a rustic on his way home of over the Green was astonished to see a shadowy figure under a poplar tree. Upon drawing nearer, he recognized it as the late Chief Justice, standing in his favorite attitude, head bowed in deep meditation. By coincidence, the local miller crossed the Green at the same spot a few nights later, and there stood the dim figure of the Chief Justice under the same poplar tree. But this time the jurist beckoned to the miller.
  So generally believed were these tales that Dover residents took to staying home nights, to the dismay of tavern-keepers and shopkeepers. Consultation resulted in a scheme to lay the ghost. A grave was dug under the old poplar tree, and on a sunny day a funeral procession of townspeople was formed, which moved across the Green to the grave. With bared heads they stood while a bell tolled solemnly and a clergyman intoned the burial service, cosigning the spirit of Samuel Chew to everlasting peace and rest. The ghost of Samuel Chew never again disturbed late pedestrians.
  The elms on the Green were planted in 1849 and the Green was stoutly fenced for more than ten years until the young trees were well established.

-Delaware: A Guide to the First State, 1938

Today the Green remains much as described in the guide. The granite marker described in the guide still stands at the eastern end, near the Old State House. Historic government buildings and residences provide an interesting backdrop while walking the length of the Green.

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