Page 333 - REH18 Flip Book

4 AREA HISTORY
2018
Sussex is Delaware’s largest County spanning 979 square miles. Founded as the Dutch settlement Lewes in 1631, it is also the oldest county in the State.
Sussex County www.sussexcountyde.gov Sussex County lies at the confluence of the Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean. The county was the site of the first European settlement in Delaware. From its early agricultural beginnings through the arrival of the railroads and the Golden Age, Sussex has a rich past and a wonderful heritage to support a prosperous future.
Frankford
frankford.delaware.gov
Founded in 1808, Frankford wasn’t officially named until 1848 upon acquiring a post office. With the arrival of the Pennsylvania Railroad Station came a hotel, commercial businesses, and an opera house. Frankford became a thriving commercial and cultural center. The town was incorporated in 1937.
Bethany Beach Boardwalk
Bethany Beach www.townofbethanybeach.com
Bethany Beach was founded in 1909. Known as “The Quiet Resorts,” Bethany and South Bethany feature Delaware Seashore State Park, a six mile long barrier island providing a substantial buffer from adjacent beach communities.
Dagsboro
dagsboro.delaware.gov
This quiet town of 850 is energized in the summer by Route 26 beach traffic. The town was founded in 1630 and has been known as Blackfoot Town, Dagsbury, and Dagsborough.
Dewey Beach
www.townofdeweybeach.com
Dewey Beach was founded by Christian evangelists for beachside summer camp meetings—now it is a popular East Coast summer destination. The town is one mile long and only two blocks wide. On summer evenings, particularly on the weekends, Route 1 is often packed with pedestrians and partygoers.
Ellendale
ellendale.delaware.gov
Ellendale is a small hamlet on Routes 113
and 16 on a major route to the Delaware beaches. Founded in the early 1800s, it was first settled near the Morris Tavern Crossroads by a handful of families. Ellendale’s current site was established in 1866 when the families moved east to settle around the Junction and Breakwater Railroad Depot.
Fenwick Island
fenwickisland.delaware.gov
Fenwick Island is on a barrier island nestled between the Atlantic Ocean and Little Assawoman Bay. In 1859, Fenwick Island’s picturesque 87-foot tall lighthouse was completed. Besides great fishing, it features sandy beaches, crabs, clams, and mussels.
n www.georgetowndel.com Georgetown has been the Sussex County Seat since 1791. The center of town, known as “The
Circle,” is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is the site of Return Day. The event is celebrated on the Thursday after the November general election featuring a parade, the reading of election results from the courthouse tower, and the “burying of the hatchet.”
Henlopen Acres
henlopenacres.delaware.gov
Henlopen Acres is the third smallest town in Delaware. The town’s history began in the 1930s when developer W.S. Corkran planned a “residential development where quiet-loving, cultured people may live in a country-seaside community amid conditions, which make for health, comfort, and refined pleasure.”
Lewes (pronounced ‘LOO-is’)
www.lewes.com
The First Town in the First State! Lewes was settled by the Dutch, founded in 1631, and incorporated in 1883. It’s located on the Delaware Bay and is Sussex County’s northernmost coastal town. Known for both bay and ocean beaches, which provide fishing marinas, swimming,
and water sports of all kinds. It also has a rich assortment of historic buildings and homes, many of which have been lovingly restored.
Market Street, Georgetown
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Lewes 1941
AREA HISTORY