History of Cape Henlopen
Cape Henlopen Lighthouse

Buy a Cape Henlopen Lighthouse: Harbour Lights Lighthouse

Philadelphia's early trade came through Delaware Bay and the Delaware River, where the merchants and ship owners suffered many losses due to shipwrecks. Although there is some evidence of temporary forms of light in the area, like whale oil lamps or kettles of burning tar, no permanent lighthouse was installed, and loss of life and cargo continued for many years along this treacherous coast.

To rectify the problem, leaders of Philadelphia organized a lottery to build a lighthouse at the entrance to the bay, near Lewes, Delaware. Even though lotteries wre common means of fund raising in those days (primarily for churches but sometimes for improvement to the cities) Cape Henlopen is the only lighthouse ever built by lottery.

Tickets sold for 40 shillings each in 1761 and 1762. Land was purchased in 1763 and construction was completed on the octagonal design in 1765. The solid granite walls of the Cape Henlopen stood 69 feet, 3 inches tall, tapering from 6 foot thick at the base to 3 foot 3 inches at the top.

Cape Henlopen was said to be one of the most important navigational aids in the new world because of its importance of the location to the bay and Philadelphia. When it was built it was the talles building in the USA.

At the time of its construction the 69 foot lighthouse stood atop a high sand dune, about a quarter mile from the ocean and 3,300 feet from the north tip of the Cape.

The light reflector was imported from France for 40,000 dollars, franks, or shillings as I'm not sure which means of currency was used, as the recoreded amounts are unclear in history books. There has been discussion over this over the years. The granite stone was brought over from Mother England before we were a United States in the 1760's.

In 1777, during the Revolutionary War, the lighthouse was gutted by fire and not repaired or returned to activity duty until 1784. No one is certain how the fire began, but it was said to be the work of a British landing party who requested fresh cattle that were grazing on the lighthouse grass. Angered by the keeper refusing them the cattle, the British crewmen apparently set fire to the lighthouse in retaliation. For the remainder of the war, Cape Henlopen remained unlit and stood only as a daytime landmark.

Repairs were made in 1784 and, once again, Cape Henlopen became fully operational. For more than one hundred years afterward, preservationists battled shifting sands to protect Cape Henlopen from deteriorating, but frequent storms would undo whatever progress has been made. Early in the 20th century, an inspector warned of serious damaged the solution was abandonment.

During the Revolution, the lighthouse was used as a lookout station to observe incoming vessels and send warnings to Philadelphia if an armed British ship would start up the Delaware Bay.

Cape Henlopen was last lit September 20, 1924. High tides and strong winds toppled it on April 13, 1926. Souvenir hunters and stone sellers make short work of most of the remains, but in the Zawanendale museum, located in Lewes you can see displays of some of the artifacts.

Cape Henlopen Lighthouse
Circa 1900	1926 about to fall into the sea.	April 27 1926 Day after Cape Henlopen Lighthouse fell.
Courtesy US Coast Guard

In final years of existence, the lighthouse teetered on the edge of an 80 foot great sand dune. About noon on April 13, 1926 a sudden wind with great velocity and fierce gust swept the lighthouse to tumble it into the sea. This brought tremendous sounds of destruction which could be heard for miles. In a mere five minutes it all but completely tumbled down the dune and into the sea.

Some legends still living today witnessed such a fall nearby. Upon the fall many locals immediately gathered to collect the many granite bricks that build the lighthouse.

Because of so much collection, there are many homes in the Delaware area with original fireplaces made of the Old Cape Henlopen. There is one family who to this day has a huge pile of such bricks in the back of their once farm yard, now home back yard. The bricks were offered to build the recent replica but for some unknown reason was not accepted by the city.

Interesting facts abound the lighthouse. It was tradition in Rehoboth to go to the great dunes on Easter Sunday and have an Easter Egg roll down the dunes. Such pictures appear in many locals personal alblums.

The dunes were the sight to many a Sunday picnic and family celebrations all welcomed by the various lighthouse keepers. The sand dunes were as high as the dunes in North Carolina called Jockeys Ridge. They since have dissipated into the sea.

In 1925 an old realtors office located on the first block of Rehoboth Avenue, shaped like the lighthouse replica with extra windows added, was donated to the City for restoration. It was moved to its present location at the entrance of Rehoboth Beach. It was known to mark the entrance to Rehoboth Beach. The project was donated by a local women club, Village Improvement Association. It too weathered damage over the years. In 1996 the replica was torn down after much local controversy and replaced by an exact one third (1/3) replica. It was palce in the same location as the original replica.

The moneys gathered by locals of Rehoboth Beach and the Historical Society of Rehoboth Beach, funded the new replica. It took approximately $15,000 plus countless hours of City employees and many volunteers hours to complete the project. Many of the original pictures and artifacts about the lighthouse can be viewed in the Anna Hazard Museum in downtown Rehoboth Beach, Delaware on Philadelphia Avenue. The Anna Hazard building is also an original camp meeting cabin (not replica) from the beginnings of the City back in 1874.

A few years earlier before the replica was reconstructed, the old town train station dated 1879, was donated by Dominick Pulieri and was moved from the first block of Rehoboth Avenue to its present location next to the replica lighthouse. The train station was also completely restored and now houses the Chamber of Commerce.

The lighthouse is the City of Rehoboth Beaches' sea and on their unofficial City Flag. As a matter of fact Rehoboth Beach was first named Cape Henlopen City and later renamed Rehoboth Beach. The name "Cape Henlopen City" apparently did not gain sufficient appeal during the town's first two years of existence. On May 2, 1893, the State General Assembly formally changed the name to simply Rehoboth. In 1937 another act was passed making the change to what we use today, "The City of Rehoboth Beach".