The Delaware Breakwater Range Rear Light (also known as the Green Hill Light) was a lighthouse west of

Lewes, Delaware Lewes ( ) is an incorporated city on the Delaware Bay in eastern Sussex County, Delaware, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population is 2,747. Along with neighboring Rehoboth Beach, Lewes is one of the principal cities of Delawar ...

. It was made obsolete by the shifting of

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 ...

and was disassembled and moved to Florida to become the Boca Grande Entrance Range Rear Light.

History

This light was erected in 1881 to form a range to guide ships around Cape Henlopen and into the relatively sheltered area behind it, which was also protected by the

Delaware Breakwater The Delaware Breakwater is a set of breakwaters east of Lewes, Delaware on Cape Henlopen that form Lewes Harbor. They were listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 12, 1976. The original and breakwaters were built in 1828 ...

. A typical skeletal tower of the period was constructed near Lewes on the shore of

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 ...

and equipped with a third order

Fresnel lens A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens developed by the French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788–1827) for use in lighthouses. It has been called "the invention that saved a million ships." The design allows the c ...

. A wooden keeper's dwelling was also constructed; this was supplemented with a second dwelling for an assistant in 1910, built of concrete. The original house was sold and eventually burned. Extensive ornamental gardens were planted on the grounds in 1901. The original front light was the Delaware Breakwater Range Front Light, a much older light situated at the west end of the breakwater as originally constructed; in 1903 this light was discontinued and the

Delaware Breakwater East End Light The Delaware Breakwater East End Light is a lighthouse located on the inner Delaware Breakwater in the Delaware Bay, just off the coast of Cape Henlopen and the town of Lewes, Delaware. Construction and early use In 1884 a light was commission ...

was designated as the front light instead. Gasparillalhrear

Cape Henlopen continued to shift, and in 1918 the range was eliminated and the rear light was extinguished. In 1919 it was dismantled, and in 1927 it was reassembled as the rear light of the Boca Grande Entrance Range on

Gasparilla Island Gasparilla Island is a barrier island in southwest Florida, United States, straddling the border of Charlotte and Lee counties. Its largest town is Boca Grande, and it is the location of the Gasparilla Island State Park. The island has been an ...

in Florida, where it still stands. At the original site the second dwelling survives, along with an oil house and a barn. The City of Lewes has considered restoration of the site as part of its trails system.

References

{{authority control Lighthouses in Sussex County, Delaware Lighthouses completed in 1881 Buildings and structures demolished in 1919 1881 establishments in Delaware 1919 disestablishments in the United States