De Vries Palisade, also known as DeVries Palisade of 1631, is an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology a ...

located at Lewes, Sussex County, Delaware. It is the site of the

Zwaanendael Colony or was a short-lived Dutch colonial settlement in Delaware. It was built in 1631. The name is archaic Dutch for "swan valley." The site of the settlement later became the town of Lewes, Delaware. History Two directors of the Amsterdam ch ...

, the first permanent European presence on 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 inland ...

in 1631, settled by a group of settlers under David Pietersz. de Vries. The settlers landed near this spot to form a whale hunting station and agricultural settlement. A monument was erected on the site; it was dedicated on September 22, 1909. It was 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 ...

in 1972.

References

External links

"DeVries Monument in Lewes," by Hazel D. Brittingham, 1997
Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Delaware Geography of Sussex County, Delaware Buildings and structures in Lewes, Delaware National Register of Historic Places in Sussex County, Delaware {{Delaware-NRHP-stub

See also

References

External links