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No one can say that the Fort Miles Historical Association is resting on its laurels.
The association has been busy over the past four years restoring and promoting the World War II base at Cape Henlopen State Park.
The next two years should be even busier.
The group, which now has 350 members, is actively involved in three major projects with a fourth looming in the near future, said Gary Wray, president.
The top priority, and the project dominating most of the association’s efforts over the past three years, is the opening of a World War II museum in the Battery 519 bunker in the Great Dune at Fort Miles in Cape Henlopen State Park.
“This will be the best World War II museum in the country,” Wray said. “Most museums are set apart from the events, but this one will actually be inside a World War II bunker – as well as being inside the second-largest sand dune on the East Coast.”
In the 1940s, the bunker housed two 12-inch guns plus storage areas, barracks and offices.
Fort Miles was established as a vital component in the U.S. military’s coastal defense system as it defended important shipping lanes in the Delaware Bay. The bustling Army base was later turned into a secret listening post during the Cold War, when its sophisticated equipment kept track of Soviet submarines.
In 1964, more than 500 acres of the base were turned over to the state to form the central part of Cape Henlopen State Park, although the Navy maintained a base on the southern end of Fort Miles and didn’t turn over the land to the state until the 1990s.
Wray said the association and the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control’s Division of Parks and Recreation are sharing the cost of a curator, Paul Rosenthals, from the Smithsonian Institute, to design the interior of the museum.
Most of the artifacts for the museum have already been collected, Wray said. Major costs associated with conversion of the large bunker to a museum include the heating and air-conditioning system and handicapped accessibility.
“When finished it will be one of the largest museums around,” he said. “We are all very excited about this project.”
Wray estimates that the museum could be open to the public sometime in late 2008 or 2009.
“The beauty of it is that it’s inside a park that is heavily visited by 1.5 million visitors each year,” he said.
A really big gun
The second venture on the group’s agenda really is a big project. The board and officers are looking at options for transporting a giant, 16-inch gun from Fort Dahlgren, Va., to Fort Miles.
The fort already has a 12-inch gun in place but does not have the larger gun.
The gun and carriage, which together weigh around 300 tons, will be donated to the association, which will be responsible for transportation costs.
Wray said the board is looking at transporting it by rail or barge. “The bigger the weapon, the bigger the problems,” he said.
The options, potential costs and funding will be discussed at an upcoming board meeting.
The two 16-inch guns at Battery Smith were the hallmark of Fort Miles during World War II. Although they were not fired frequently, when they were, windowpanes in Lewes shattered.
“It reached a point where a man on a horse – a town crier – would alert people a half hour before the gun was to be fired so people could raise their windows a crack to avoid the concussion,” Wray said.
Four observation towers were constructed along the New Jersey shore near Cape May to monitor the huge 2,700-pound. shell fired from the massive gun.
Wray said observers in the towers at Fort Miles could only see about 14 miles, and the gun could fire a shell about 25 miles.
Tower preservation
In addition, the association is working with the Friends of the Indian River Lifesaving Station to open a second observation tower to the public. Fort
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The two groups are looking at ways to raise funds to secure a tower near Dewey Beach, just off Route 1 in Delaware Seashore State Park. Wray said about $300,000 will be needed for construction costs.
Plans also include the construction of a World War II memorial at the site with a database of information about World War II veterans. Wray said a system will be set up for people to donate money to the tower in memory of loved ones lost in war.
Wray said most of the 11 towers in the Cape Region, which are considered part of Fort Miles, are in surprisingly good shape. “We had the tower at Dewey checked with a concrete analysis and the concrete was basically in the same shape it was in 1942,” he said.
A fourth future project could involve the preservation of the two towers located along the ocean shore near Herring Point and Gordon’s Pond in Cape Henlopen State Park.
The towers are flooded at extreme high tides and during storms. Wray said a long-range plan is needed to better protect the towers.
A recent groin-rebuilding project at Herring Point is helping, Wray said.
“The good news is that sand is starting to build up in front of the two towers,” Wray said.
The association will sponsor a day at Fort Miles on Saturday, July 28, with a special dedication of a plaque to commemorate the secret Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS) used to detect Russian submarines. Another of the highlights of the day will be a recreation of the surrender at Fort Miles of the German U-boat crew of 58 men on May 14, 1945.
Contact Ron MacArthur at ronm@capegazette.com
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