Cape Henlopen Light was a

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

near

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of ...

, in present-day

Cape Henlopen State Park Cape Henlopen State Park is a Delaware state park on on Cape Henlopen in Sussex County, Delaware, in the United States. William Penn made the beaches of Cape Henlopen one of the first public lands established in what has become the United State ...

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 The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The lighthouse was on the north side of the Great Dune on

Cape Henlopen Cape Henlopen is the southern cape of the Delaware Bay along the Atlantic coast of the United States. It lies in the state of Delaware, near the town of Lewes, where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. Off the coast on the bay side are two ...

. It was the sixth lighthouse built in the colonies.

History

Cape Henlopen Lighthouse was constructed on the north side of the Great Dune to obtain additional height. A lighthouse was needed after many ships were falling victim to the dark waters around the cape. Many mariners from Philadelphia lobbied for the construction of a lighthouse. The land was donated by Thomas and William Penn. It was completed in 1767 and first lit in 1769. In 1777, during the American Revolution, the lighthouse was almost completely destroyed by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

. The wardens repaired the damage and it was relit by 1784. In 1897, the sand dune surrounding the tower was reported to be steadily blowing away at a rate of a year. In 1905, several tons of brush were placed about the tower and oil house to prevent the foundations and brick walls from being undermined by the drifting away of the sand. Before the collapse, though, the tower had been discontinued as a lighthouse. Earlier in 1924, the lens was removed from the light for refurbishing and to be placed on display. With the building of the Brandywine Light, waiting areas were no longer needed behind the breakwaters, so the light was disabled. All measures to protect the tower failed and in April 1926, a storm undermined the tower, causing it to fall seaward. Another light also once stood on Cape Henlopen. In 1824, the Cape Henlopen Beacon was constructed on a tower about a mile north of the Cape Henlopen Lighthouse. Before the Beacon was assigned a keeper. The keeper of the Henlopen Light was in charge of maintaining the Beacon.

Replicas and representations

A replica of Cape Henlopen Light was built in 1924, and in 2004 was moved to the middle of the

roundabout A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford En ...

on Delaware Route 1A (Rehoboth Avenue) entering

Rehoboth Beach Rehoboth Beach ( ) is a city on the Atlantic Ocean along the Delaware Beaches in eastern Sussex County, Delaware. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the population was 1,327, reflecting a decline of 161 (11.2%) from the 1,488 counted in the 2000 ce ...

. A second replica of the lighthouse was built and placed on a small hill overlooking the 5 points intersection on Route 1. The Light is featured in a lot of local artwork, books, and media. Many local gift shops have wooden replicas for sale. The light is also used in the

Cape Henlopen School District The Cape Henlopen School District (CHSD) is a public school district in Sussex County, Delaware, Sussex County, Delaware in the United States. The district is based in an unincorporated area with a Lewes, Delaware, Lewes postal address, and serves ...

's logo.

References

{{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1767 Maritime history of Delaware Lighthouses in Sussex County, Delaware 1767 establishments in Delaware Demolished buildings and structures in Delaware Buildings and structures demolished in 1926