Bowers (commonly known as Bowers Beach) is a town in Kent County,

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

, United States. It is part of the

Dover, Delaware Dover () is the capital and second-largest city of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County and the principal city of the Dover, DE, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Kent County and is part of ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...

. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the city is 335.

History

Bowers Beach was originally settled in the late 1600s and was named Whitwell's Delight by Francis Whitwell. The land was acquired by William Frampton in 1685 and was called Dover Peers. After Frampton died, the land was sold to William Bassett. Eventually, 420 acres of Whitwell's Delight belonged to Nathaniel and Mary Hunn. After Nathaniel Hunn died in 1734, his children sold the land to John Bowers and the land along the

Delaware Bay Delaware Bay is the estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the northeast seaboard of the United States. It is approximately in area, the bay's freshwater mixes for many miles with the saltwater of the Atlantic Ocean. The bay is bordered inlan ...

between the St. Jones River and

Murderkill River The Murderkill River is a river flowing to Delaware Bay in central Delaware in the United States. It is approximately long and drains an area of on the Atlantic Coastal Plain. The Murderkill flows for its entire length in southern Kent Coun ...

became known as Bowers Beach starting on August 16, 1734. The land later belonged to John Bowers' son and then his granddaughter, with the latter being the last person in the Bowers family to own the land. Part of the land was acquired by John Booth in 1750, who sold it later in the year to Benjamin Chew. By the 1800s, the properties in Bowers Beach were owned by Joseph Wood. The properties were later sold to multiple owners. Bowers' population was 150 in 1890, and was 146 in 1900. On March 9, 1907, Bowers was incorporated. In 1962, the settlement was reincorporated as the Town of Bowers. Throughout its history, Bowers Beach was a major fishing town along the Delaware Bay and once saw an average of 300 boats at the docks. Today, people come to Bowers Beach for fishing, swimming, birdwatching, kayaking, sailing, and the beaches along the Delaware Bay. The Fourteen Foot Bank Light and Saxton United Methodist Church are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and 3.33% is water. Bowers Beach is situated along the

between the St. Jones River to the north and the

to the south.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Road access to Bowers Beach is provided by Bowers Beach Road, which leads west to an interchange with

Delaware Route 1 Delaware Route 1 (DE 1) is the longest numbered state highway in the U.S. state of Delaware. The route runs from the Maryland state line in Fenwick Island, Sussex County, where the road continues south into that state as Maryland R ...

Little Heaven Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt * ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film *The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...

. DE 1 heads north toward

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

and Wilmington and south toward

Milford Milford may refer to: Place names Canada * Milford (Annapolis), Nova Scotia * Milford (Halifax), Nova Scotia * Milford, Ontario England * Milford, Derbyshire * Milford, Devon, a place in Devon * Milford on Sea, Hampshire * Milford, Shro ...

and the

Delaware Beaches The Delaware Beaches are located along the Atlantic Ocean in the eastern part of Sussex County, Delaware, which is in the southern part of the state. In addition to beaches along the ocean, the area offers many amenities, including restaurants, ...

Utilities

Delmarva Power Delmarva Power is an energy company that provides electricity and natural gas to customers on portions of the Delmarva Peninsula in the states of Delaware and Maryland. The company is a subsidiary of Exelon. Electricity and natural gas Delmarva P ...

, a subsidiary of

Exelon Exelon Corporation is an American Fortune 100 energy company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois and incorporated in Pennsylvania. It generates revenues of approximately $33.5 billion and employs approximately 33,400 people. Exelon is the larges ...

, provides electricity to Bowers Beach. Chesapeake Utilities provides natural gas to the town. Trash and recycling collection in Bowers Beach is provided under contract by

Waste Industries Waste Industries is a waste management company headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. Specializing in non-hazardous solid waste, recycling collection of waste disposal from residential and commercial customers in the southeastern United St ...

Education

Bowers is within the

Lake Forest School District Lake Forest School District, in Kent County, Delaware, was created when funding was not sufficient for three proximal districts (Harrington School District, Felton School District, and Frederica School District) so the three were merged to create a ...

. The zoned high school is Lake Forest High School.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2000, there were 305 people, 138 households, and 81 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 224 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 91.48%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 5.25%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.98%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.33% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.97% from two or more races. There were 138 households, out of which 21.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.9% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.3% were non-families. 29.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.74. In the town, the population was spread out, with 20.7% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 31.8% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 16.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.1 males. The median income for a household in the town was $37,031, and the median income for a family was $45,625. Males had a median income of $29,500 versus $23,594 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the town was $21,404. About 10.6% of families and 12.0% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 25.9% of those under the age of eighteen and 15.1% of those 65 or over.

References

{{authority control Towns in Kent County, Delaware Towns in Delaware Beaches of Delaware