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In the early 1760's, Philadelphia merchants, alarmed
over the loss of shipping in the Delaware Bay, began
raising funds for the construction of a lighthouse
at Cape Henlopen. The lighthouse would mark the southern
end of the mouth of the bay.
Two hundred acres was granted for the lighthouse,
which was completed sometime between 1765-1767.
The light shone from a stone octagonal tower set on a
high sand hill. An 1851 report listed the light as
84 feet from base to the top of the lantern.
The walls were six feet thick at the base.
A keeper's residence was constructed
next to the light from bricks formerly used as ballast
on English ships. Upon completion, Cape Henlopen became
the seventh lighthouse of the American Colonies.
On April 1, 1777, the interior of the lighthouse, including
the wooden staircase, was gutted by fire. The cause of the
fire is not clear. One story says that British soldiers
from the man-o-war Roebuck landed in search of
cattle. When the keeper, a man named Hedgecock, refused,
the British returned in force and burned the lighthouse.
However the fire may have started, it was not
until 1783-1784 that the lighthouse was repaired
and relit. In 1789, the lighthouse was transferred to
the Federal Government.
The sands of Cape Henlopen were a constant problem.
The keepers frequently needed to dig out the sand around
the residence to get to and from the lighthouse tower.
By 1860, the original brick residence was completely
covered in sand. By 1825, the distance of the lighthouse
to the tip of the cape grew from 3000 feet to one mile.
This buildup of sand led to the construction of the
Cape Henlopen Beacon.
Nonetheless, the tower remained in service. A first-order
Fresnel lens was installed in December 1855. A new
keeper's dwelling was added in 1863. A cast-iron stairwell
was installed in 1866-67.
Up until the 20th century, the shifting sands of Cape Henlopen
deposited sand to the north of the tower at a rate
of about 23 feet per year. In the 1900's,
the cape began to erode to the east, and the sand dunes shifted
to the west. The tower itself remained in good condition,
but its foundation was gradually undermined.
Despite efforts to hold back the sea, the lighthouse
was finally abandoned on September 30, 1924. The lens was
dismantled and stored at the Edgemoor Lighthouse Depot,
where it remained until destroyed in a warehouse fire in 1925.
A metal tower replaced the lighthouse.
The lighthouse stood until April 13, 1926, when it finally
collapsed due to erosion. The residence eventually disappeared
as well. Locals removed the lighthouse rubble, which were
sold as souvenirs or as construction material. Some material
was preserved at the Zwaanendael Museum in Lewes, DE.
Guiding Lights of the Delaware River and Bay, Gowdy and Ruth pp. 269-276
Lighthouse of New Jersey and Delaware, Trapani pp. 78-83
Lighthouses of the Mid-Atlantic Coast, DeWire and Johnson pp. 23-25
Mid-Atlantic Lighthouses, Roberts and Jones pp. 49-51
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