Historic Lewes

By Paul W. Ross
Special to the Coastal Point

	Coastal Point • PAUL W. ROSS Above, the fishing dock in Lewes offers good public access.

Lewes is not your typical summer beach community, but a delightful village from a more leisurely era. Lewes prides itself in being “the first town” in Delaware. Henry Hudson discovered the area around Lewes on a voyage up the Delaware River in August of 1609. The Dutch settled the town of Lewes in 1631, well over 350 years ago. In later years, control of the area passed to the English, and after the revolution, to the United States.

Lewes is one of my favorite communities to visit. Within an area approximately a half-mile square, you will find the Lewes historic district. This area contains many of the older homes and the Zwaanendael Museum. Lewes is a great place to visit at any time of the year.

We have found Lewes to be a shopper’s delight. There are more than 40 shops that provide an uncommon selection of merchandise, ranging from antiques to modern gallery art. The best feature for us is the selection of restaurants where you can take time out and have a relaxing meal. There are also several inns, bed and breakfasts, and motels if you wish to stay overnight. Of course, reservations are needed for sleeping accommodations.

After lunch, walk along Front Street and browse the shops. I am a bit of an antique freak, so my favorite is the Lewes Mercantile Antique Gallery. I make it a point to stop there every few months to see what new items they might have. (Like I need more stuff in my house.)

After all this hard work, time for desert. No low-carbohydrate stuff for us. Real food for real people. Go up Front Street to King’s Ice Cream. It is all homemade, hand-dipped, and in more flavors than you might imagine. I’m a chocolate fancier, so my choice is easy. Back out for more prowling around in the Lewes shops. The milkshakes at King’s are exceptionally creamy.

For those inclined to visit museums, a stop by the Zwaanendael Museum on the corner of King’s Highway and Savannah Road is worth your time. It is three blocks west of Front Street. Exhibits at Zwaanendael Museum depict the history of Sussex County and Lewes. Artifacts relating to that ill-fated settlement and to the British bombardment of Lewes in the War of 1812 are featured, as are displays pertaining to the old Cape Henlopen Lighthouse and the shipwrecked HMS DeBraak.

	Coastal Point • PAUL W. ROSS The Zwaanendael Museum.

Throughout its history, Lewes has relied on the sea for its existence. Lewes is home to an excellent harbor and remains an active fishing port. You can charter bang-up fishing trips for a morning or afternoon. For the truly ambitious, all day trips can be scheduled. The boat dock is located to the east across the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal on Savannah Road.

By chance, as I parked my car for getting background information for this article, I stumbled onto the town fishing dock, just below the parking lot, and north of the bridge over the Lewes-Rehoboth canal. You cannot imagine a more peaceful spot, for those inclined to some fishing.

One of the more interesting sights in Lewes is the lightship Overfalls. It is located to the north, along Front Street. This lightship was the last one built by the United States Lighthouse Service. It was commissioned in 1938 and was considered at that time to be “state of the art” in lightship design. It was taken out of service in 1971 and decommissioned in 1972. The Overfalls is one of only 17 remaining lightships out of a total of 179 built from 1820 to 1952. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

Maybe time for some more ice cream before we head back to Bethany Beach? Touring can be hard work.

How do we get there?

From the totem pole at Bethany Beach, head north on Route 1, Ocean Highway. Continue on past Dewey Beach, Rehoboth Beach and the outlets. Watch for the signs for Lewes and Route 9 east. Bear right on to Route 9 east toward the Cape May Ferry and Cape Henlopen State Park. Bear right again on Cape Henlopen Drive and follow the signs into Lewes. Ample parking is available on in off-street lots.

Driving time to Lewes is about 45 minutes, depending on traffic. The distance is around 22 miles.