Spring walking tours in Lewes announced
The Lewes Historical Society invites the public to enjoy its schedule of spring and early summer walking tours, which are scheduled from the beginning of April through June: Life in Lewes Tour, the Maritime Tour, and a variety of History Highlight Tours.
Unless otherwise noted, the cost of each tour is $10. Society members, children and students are free. Tours leave from the Ryves Holt House Museum Gift Shop at the corner of Second and Mulberry streets in historic Lewes. Tickets can be purchased at the Ryves Holt House or by calling 302-645-7670.
Life in Lewes Tour
This 90-minute tour highlights six buildings on the Historic Complex where visitors will get to see how Lewes grew from a small Dutch settlement to a bustling seashore town.
From April 4 through June 27, this tour will take place Sundays, Fridays, and Saturdays, beginning at 2 p.m. Starting in July, this tour’s schedule will expand.
Maritime Tour
Participants will journey through Lewes’s salty past while learning of the explorers who first put Lewes on the map, the pirates who sailed the local waters, and the brave United States Life-Saving Service men who rescued victims from perilous shipwrecks. This 90-minute tour includes admission to both the Lewes Life-Saving Station and the Cannonball House Maritime Museum.
From April 5 through June 30, this tour will take place Mondays and Saturdays, beginning at 11 a.m.. Starting in July, this tour’s schedule will increase. The cost is $10 and includes admission to the Cannonball House.
History Highlight Tours
History Highlight walking tours are designed to give an in-depth look at a variety of interesting topics. Tour themes will include architecture, historic cemeteries, homesteading, and more. Each date, every other Wednesday from April 2 through June 25, will have a different topic.
Lewes Cemetery Tours will be led by Russ Allen April 30, May 28, and June 25. Architectural Tours of Lewes will be led by Pat Hall April 16, May 14, and June 11. These specialty tours will continue July through October with additional topics. All History Highlight Tours begin at 4 p.m. The cost is $10.
The cemeteries of Lewes are rather unique. With the exception of a few scattered family burial grounds, all the cemeteries are associated with churches; without exception, they all tell the story of the history of Lewes over the last 300 years. Tours will guide visitors through the memorials and graves of some of the town's most interesting citizens buried at either St. Peter's Episcopal Church or Lewes Presbyterian Church on Kings Highway.
The Architectural Tour is designed to introduce visitors to the various styles of architecture and illustrate with existing houses how those styles and stylistic elements have been used in Lewes.
In July, The Lewes Historical Society’s summer tour schedule will begin. An extensive variety of tours will be offered, including Historic Trolley Tours, Maritime Trolley Tours, Eco-History Tours, Family Tours, Haunted Lewes Tours, and Kayak Tours: History Paddles. Life in Lewes Tours, Maritime Tours, and History Highlight Tours will also continue.
For more information on The Lewes Historical Society, historic Lewes tours, museums, events and more, go to www.HistoricLewes.org or call 302-645-7670.
