Cape Henlopen Lighthouse - 1764

The Cape Henlopen Lighthouse was the fifth lighthouse constructed in the Colonies, completed in 1764, the same year as the Sandy Hook Lighthouse in New Jersey. The story of the Cape Henlopen Lighthouse is one of eroding sand, accreting sand, shifting sand, sand seeping into the keepers' dwelling and the tower, and amassing sand. Sand amassed in such large amounts that at times it piled up against the dwelling to the extent that the keeper's children could exit via tile upstairs windows and slide to the ground.